This month, Class 4 Cadets from Chazak Academy entered Segment 2.2, which includes a training deployment to Africa. Specifically, East Africa. Their first stop was at Love and Care For All, an incredible local ministry that takes in young homeless children off the streets in Uganda, and provides them with a home and schooling. 

There, Cadets spent time with the children, helped with ongoing building projects, and joined in the daily work of the home. Their training during this phase focuses on practical service, using first responder skills, leadership qualities, and growing their overseas travel experience in real-world settings while serving alongside local ministries.

From Uganda, the team plans to continue through other regions of East Africa, including parts of Kenya, assisting with rebuilding efforts and providing first aid and community response instruction to local volunteers and leaders.

Each experience brings new lessons in humility, leadership, and faith. We’re proud of Class 4 as they continue learning what it means to serve quietly and faithfully, far from the spotlight, and to put their training to work where it matters most.

Project Nightingale: Ukraine

Early this month, Chazak’s Project Nightingale team deployed to Ukraine. The mission was to train civilians, volunteers, and students in Stop-The-Bleed and Tactical First Aid across several war-ravaged regions.

By the end of the deployment, our team trained 480 people and distributed more than 100 IFAKs and 150 tourniquets, equipping civilians to respond to life-threatening injuries in the midst of an ongoing war.

The team partnered with Fight For Freedom, a Ukrainian organization providing humanitarian aid to widows, the elderly, and orphans. They also worked with local pastors and medics near the front line, many of whom serve daily under the threat of artillery and drone attacks.

David, one of our medical attachés, shared this reflection from the time in Ukraine:

"The nets help to stop the drones, but sometimes they still find holes to fly through." The pastor of the small church pointed to the acres of fish net strung between telephone poles along the roadway. In the last few weeks, several dozen civilians had been killed by first person drones in this frontline city. These drones hunt people as they go about their daily lives.

"You know," he said, "not long ago there was a mother walking her baby at the park. One of their drones flew over, saw them, and dropped a grenade right into the stroller. The baby's remains were not recognizable, and the mother later died from her injuries. We have an 8 year old girl in our church who walks with a limp after a drone attacked her and her mother. Her mother was killed, and the girls hip was crippled. They thought she would never walk again, but now she does. She has a limp, but she doesn't give up... We need your first aid training here."

As we entered the church, the pastor shared that 80% of his congregation has physical scars on their body from drone and artillery attacks. As I began to teach, the class hung on everything I said, and they were very active and involved. At one point, while talking about head wounds, a woman asked a question, but before she could finish, she burst into deep sobbing. We paused to comfort her, and the pastor took her to another room. When he returned, he whispered to me "Her son died in her arms of a head wound like this, and she didn't know what to do."

At the end of the class, people begged us to stay for coffee and cookies with them, and one elderly gentleman came over to me and, with tears in his eyes, held my hand. "Thank you for not forgetting us. Thank you for teaching us these things. I wish I'd known sooner... Thank you for your prayers. Thank you. Thank you." He pulled me close and embraced me, kissed my cheek, and then looked me in the eyes. "Thank you for coming to us in our suffering. Please, do not forget us. Do not forget."

Through training and partnerships, the team helped strengthen local capacity for emergency care and offered encouragement to the Ukrainian church, which continues to serve faithfully amid hardship.

Read the full story with reflections and photos in the Ukraine report here!

Project Jamaica Relief: Jamaica

On October 28, 2025, Hurricane Melissa made landfall in Jamaica as a Category 5 storm with sustained winds of 185 mph. It became one of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded in the Atlantic. Widespread flooding and wind damage cut off many communities across the island.

Chazak Rescue mobilized in coordination with Beacon Rescue, Plain Compassion, Gideon Rescue, and Jamaica Relief Ministries to assess the situation and begin welfare checks. The team established a base of operations, cleared blocked roads, and delivered aid to areas around Montego Bay and the island’s interior.

Among the first locations they reached was a children’s home called Robin’s Nest. The road to the home had only just been cleared of debris. The staff had been running low on clean water;  transportation and communications were still unreliable. From what supplies were available, our responders provided several cases of bottled water and food. It was a small delivery, but it arrived at exactly the right time.

One of the Guardians described another moment from a late-night aid delivery:

“We headed out after noon to deliver food packages to people impacted by the hurricane. Because of vehicle breakdowns, we weren’t able to get to the affected area till almost evening. The woman in this photo had lost her home earlier this year to fire. She was living in a shack when the storm hit. I can't imagine what it will take to rebuild not only her home but also her life as well. Before we left, we stopped and prayed with her. I don't have anything that can propel her through this, but my Father above does. He doesn't just have what she needs, He IS what she and everyone else in this world needs. My prayer is that we seek Him for what and who He is, and allow Him to take care of the rest.”

As of this writing, the team is handing off remaining supplies and ongoing coordination to our partners on the ground. The total estimated cost of this Chazak deployment is $28,000, and much of it has already been met through your generosity. If you’d still like to give toward this deployment and help it reach full funding, click here.

Full reflections, stories, and photos from this deployment will be shared in next month’s blog post as the team wraps up field operations in Jamaica.

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From classrooms in Ukraine to storm-battered hillsides in Jamaica to small villages in East Africa, October was a reminder that serving others looks different in every place, but the mission remains the same.

Thank you for standing with us, praying, and giving so that our teams can continue to bring hope to those caught in crisis.

If you would like to enable our teams, visit chazakrescue.org/give. There, you can choose between general giving, or give towards a specific deployment.