A Ukrainian-born physician who grew up during the Soviet Union's domination of the country is trying to rebuild Ukraine's healthcare system by offering a unique 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 in an interview.
The Soviet Union had an unofficial policy of state atheism, and the government took various steps to reduce the prevalence of religion by persecuting believers and controlling religious ceremonies and education.
Semikov remembered discreetly attending Sunday school as a child in the 1980s because the Soviet Union restricted religious instruction. The Sunday classes were usually held at night or on the rooftop of someone's house, and Semikov recalled feeling inspired by the stories of Biblical heroes.
Two years after the Soviet Union's collapse in 1991, the same year Ukraine declared independence, Semikov truly came to know Jesus at the age of 12. American missionaries, including doctors from St. Louis, Missouri, visited the area during this time.
"It was fascinating for me to see that Christians can be great medical professionals," he said.
While the physician had grown up in a Christian family, he still appreciated by the camps the American missionaries set up for kids. At the camps, Semikov and other children sang Christian songs and learned more about Jesus.
The medical missionaries also brought the Ukrainian's mother to Missouri after she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1994. After visiting a Jewish hospital in America for diagnostics, the doctors determined, however, that Semikov's mother had a benign tumor.
"The medicine was much better than it was in Ukraine in the nineties," the physician and cancer researcher said about medicine in the United States. "It was a motivation for me to study medicine and also 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."
The Ukrainian obtained his Doctor of Medicine 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 in global health.
In 2016, Semikov founded the Peace and Development Foundation, an organization that brings Ukrainian healthcare professionals to the United States for two -- to three-week training. He first formed the foundation in Kyiv, Ukraine, in 2016 and then established it in Houston, Texas, in 2021 after relocating.
The doctor operates the program in collaboration with the Ukraine Ministry of Health, and colleagues Semikov met through the Christian Medical Association when he was involved with the organization from 2006 to 2011.
Through the foundation, Ukrainian doctors can learn at some of the top medical and educational institutions in the United States, such as John Hopkins University. 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 the Ukrainian-born doctor, a neonatal-perinatal pediatrician named Ronald Hoekstra was one of 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.
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 80 Ukrainian medical personnel train in the United States in the last year.
In addition to visiting major hospitals in the United States, 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 foundation had a $50 million investment offer, which disappeared after the war started. The physician then reached out to donors, raising $200,000 to provide humanitarian relief to Ukraine's people and continue expanding the medical outreach program.
"It expanded significantly," Semikov said about the program during the war.