Nadia Gordynsky creates nonprofit serving women, children on the frontlines of Ukraine
PHILADELPHIA -- Ukraine native Nadia Gordynsky is using her personal tragedy and struggles to make a real difference in this world. Gordynsky created and founded Save A Life International, a nonprofit organization serving women and children in Ukraine.
A Pro-Life 501(c)3 agency that supports women in crisis pregnancy, Save A Life International focuses on saving lives by providing women with education about making the choice of life in a crisis pregnancy situation, and giving hope to women without hope.
Gordynsky, a recognized Christian artist and staunch advocate for women and children, says that it was only through personal struggle that she was able to answer God’s calling in her life and fulfill her purpose to help pregnant women in crisis.
In 2005, Gordynsky lost a child after 18 hours of labor. While that tragic event impacted her greatly, Gordynsky said that she always trusted in God’s plan for her life. According to Gordynsky, “Through my heartbreak over the loss of my son, God was able to reveal to me the sanctity of life, and what would become my purpose.”
Just months after the loss of her child, Gordynsky was invited to appear at a Pro Life rally in Ukraine, where she learned that abortion was regarded as a popular method of contraception and that millions of Ukrainian babies were being aborted each year. Gordynsky stated, “I was completely unaware of the plight of the unborn in Ukraine. I felt called to defend life.”
In 2015 Gordynsky answered the calling that had tugged on her heart and started Save A Life International. With a mission to support women in crisis pregnancy, the organization focuses on providing crisis pregnancy support, violence and domestic abuse assistance, humanitarian aid for mothers and children, and educational programming. Headquartered in Philadelphia, Save a Life International offers support through its nine Life Centers, which are located in Chernivtsi, Ukraine; Gdynia, Poland; Khmelnytsky, Ukraine; Lviv, Ukraine; Odessa, Ukraine; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Pokrovsk, Ukraine; Poltava, Ukraine; and Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Since its inception in 2015, the organization has helped nearly 2000 women.
The organization’s outreach has extended to a broad cross-section of women in need: from sex slavery survivors to grieving women grappling with the loss of a child through miscarriage or abortion, to victims of violence and abuse, to young moms who need guidance and financial support, and others facing crisis.
Gordynsky said that at the heart of Save A Life International’s work is a steadfast desire to provide nonjudgmental support: “It is vitally important that we meet women where they are, no matter the circumstances. In order to save a life, we must do so with compassion, love and kindness. We offer support without judgement.”
While the organization continues to focus on its crucial outreach to women in crisis, the recent war in Ukraine has demanded the organization expand on the scope of its outreach: at present, all of the Save a Life International Life Centers have incorporated refugee assistance and humanitarian aid projects as primary objectives.
Save a Life International (www.savealifeintl.org) is a pro-life 501(c)3 nonprofit headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.