Ukrainian doctor who lived under Soviet rule spreading the Gospel in medical missions
A Ukrainian-born physician who grew up during the Soviet Union’s rule over the country is trying to rebuild Ukraine’s healthcare system by offering a training program to medical professionals that exposes them to the Gospel.
“I grew up in the former Soviet Union, and Christianity and the Gospel were not allowed,” Rostyslav Semikov told The Christian Post.
The USSR had a long history of state atheism, and the government took various steps to reduce the prevalence of religion by persecuting believers and controlling religious ceremonies and education.
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Semikov recalled discreetly attending Sunday school as a child in the 1980s amid the harsh crackdown on religious instruction. The Bible studies were usually held at night or on the rooftop of someone’s house, and Semikov recalled feeling inspired by the stories of biblical heroes.
The same year the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991, Ukraine declared its independence. Soon after, American missionaries, including doctors from St. Louis, Missouri, visited the area, and a 12-year-old Semikov first came to know Jesus.
“It was fascinating for me to see that Christians can be great medical professionals,” he said of their work and witness.
While the physician had grown up in a Christian family, he appreciated the church camps the American missionaries built for the children they witnessed to. At the church camps, Semikov and other children sang Christian songs and learned more about Jesus.
The medical missionaries also provided a way for Semikov's mother to travel to the U.S. for diagnostic testing after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1994. Here, the doctors determined that his mother had a benign tumor.
“The medicine was much better than it was in Ukraine in the '90s,” the physician and cancer researcher said, lauding the U.S. medical system. “It was a motivation for me to study medicine and to engage in an international experience to see the advantage of American medicine over Soviet medicine.”
“Because we were taught in schools that Soviets are better in everything,” he explained. “Because we have the biggest bombs in the world and the biggest land. But in terms of science and the combination of faith and profession, I saw how much the United States had to offer.”
Semikov obtained his medical degree in 2005 from Zaporizhzhia State Medical University in Ukraine. He also attended the University of Oxford from 2007 to 2008, where he pursued a Master of Science degree in global health.
In 2016, Semikov founded the Peace and Development Foundation, an organization that brings Ukrainian healthcare professionals to the U.S. for two- to three-week training. He first formed the foundation in Kyiv in 2016 and subsequently established a branch in Houston, Texas, in 2021 after relocating.
The doctorfacilitates the program in collaboration with the Ukraine Ministry of Health and colleagues he met through the Christian Medical Association when he was involved with the organization from 2006 to 2011.
Through the foundation, Ukrainian doctors can receive training at some of the top medical and educational institutions in the U.S., including Johns Hopkins. During the program, Semikov has the participants interact with Christian medical professionals and educators so they can help spread the Gospel in Ukraine.
“On a weekend, we take them to the church, and during the week we may also arrange meetings with outstanding Christian professionals who speak about their faith,” Semikov said.
According to Semikov, a neonatal-perinatal pediatrician named Ronald Hoekstra was among the most significant sources of inspiration for the program. The doctor, who was from Minnesota, traveled to Ukraine around 20 years ago to teach a medical team about caring for premature babies, with Semikov serving as his translator.
Hoekstra then selected several medical professionals, including two gynecologists and two nurses, to travel with him to the Children’s Minnesota Hospital in Minneapolis for training. The pediatrician also brought the team to church and explained to them that he sought to honor God through his work in medicine. He continued doing so for the next 10 years, bringing in more than 50 Ukrainians for training in Minnesota.
Semikov felt that Hoekstra helped transform neonatal care in Ukraine, so he decided to take a similar approach through his foundation. According to the ministry’s founder, the program has helped at least 82 Ukrainian medical personnel train in the U.S. since the fall of 2022.
In addition to visiting major hospitals throughout the U.S., the foundation has also helped medical personnel attend professional events. For example, five Ukrainian doctors attended the American Association for Cancer Research’s annual meeting in Florida last year through the foundation.
Operating the foundation has not been without its challenges, however, particularly after the outbreak of war between Russia and Ukraine in 2022. Semikov said his company, Audubon Bioscience, which was a major donor of the foundation, had a $15 million investment offer and $60 million evaluation in February 2022, which disappeared the next day after the war started. The physician then reached out to donors, raising $200,000 to provide humanitarian relief to Ukrainians and continue expanding the medical outreach program.
“It expanded significantly,” Semikov said about the program that was launched during the war.
Samantha Kamman is a reporter for The Christian Post. She can be reached at: [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter: @Samantha_Kamman
