Charitable
Kitchen
“Give
us this day our daily bread…” |
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first projects of MAS were intended to help the citizens
who were in need of clothes and food. We have created
the Charitable Kitchen with the aim to help those people.
At present the kitchen works being able to feed 430 people
at 8 serving bodies for 5 days a week (excluding Saturday
and Sunday). Over 1120000 helpings have been served from
the beginning of its work till November 1, 1999. |
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The sponsor of the
Charitable Kitchen is Maltese Aid Service. Its work on this project
is supported financially by a German organization “Frainburg-Lviv
Friends’ Community”. |
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Charitable
Kitchen in general provides service for the aged people
who are below the poverty line. Due to the complicated
situation in Ukraine (especially in the branch of social
aid), MAS considers this project to be its moral obligation
and continues running it with the aim to support at least
a part of all citizens. Unfortunately, this can not be
done without contributors. We invite all who are not indifferent
to cooperate with us !
Thank you!
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| Visits
to boarding schools |
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Bukiv
village in Lviv Region is hardly known to anyone, but
almost everyone knows Rozdil village. These two villages
have one thing in common: they both have boarding schools
for mentally handicapped children aged 3-18. There are
no more boarding schools like those in the whole region.
These two ones are subordinate to the system of social
defense, because if the children do not come back to their
families or if they are not adopted by other families
(what is hardly possible), they will have to go to a regional
geriatric boarding school.
Parents’ love,
health and communication with other people are the greatest
things they lack in their life. |
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Therefore young Maltesers
decided to visit both of the boarding schools at least from time
to time with the aim to entertain the children. |
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Before
visiting the boarding schools Malteser’s youth prepare
entertaining games and presents.
Unfortunately,
boarding schools are always in need of financial support.
Thus, everyone wishing and able to help the schools
financially or just able to entertain the handicapped
children is welcome to join the Maltesers’ group. We
are very grateful for any helping hand !
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Maltese
educational summer camp
“Preservation
of belief and aid for needy” (the slogan of Malteser) |
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Malteser Aid Service
organises an educational summer camp annually at the very end
of July. Its aim is to teach the youth interested in cooperation
with MAS. |
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The
goals of the camp are:
- to acknovledge
the youth with hardships of people who have physical or
mental diseases, who are aged and alone, who are orphans,
etc. by carrying out seminars conducted by the proffesionals
working in this sphere;
- spiritual
wealthing of young people through the daily liturgy and
piligrimage;
- the first
aid courses;
- helping the
boarding school for mentally ill women. |
Due to this camp the
youth have a possibility to understand the sense of socially correct
behavior and to implement the slogan “Preservation of belief and
aid for needy”
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Youth’s
pilgrimage to Svyatouspenska Univska Lavra
““…
those who follow me will not be lost in darkness” (Jh.
8.12) |
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Town
Univ is one of the oldest shriving towns in the Ukraine. In the
times of kings, about 1400 years ago governor Lagodovski lived
here. He was incurably ill.
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upon a time the Blessed Virgin came to him in his dreams
and showed him the path to the curing spring. Having
drunk some water the governor was treated. He ordered
to build a church and a monastery as a gift for his rapid
recovery. After a while town Univ became the greatest
shriving place in Galychyna. There were times this place
gathered up to 12 thousand of piligrims. But the fate
was cruel to Univ. In 1939 a prison was built there
and later it was transformed to a hostel for mentally
ill women. |
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Liturgy was served
there again only in 1991. That year was also known for returning
to Univ of monastic life and piligrimage. Youth have gone on piligrimages
to Univ since 1994. Maltese Aid Service and TUSK “Obnova” together
with the fathers of the Lavra invite everybody to join the piligrimage. |
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Its
takes the piligrims two days to walk over 64 kilometers
to reach the place.
In 1999
twelve hundred of young people joined the piligrimage.
The Maltese Aid Service’s responsibilities during the
piligrimage are providing the participants with hot
meals (soups), medical aid, technical support as well
as helping the disabled during the trip.
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This
year 10 young disabled people participated in the piligrimage,
since the available vehicles could not fit more. |
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Action
“St. Nicholas - for the children of boarding schools
and orphanages
of Lviv Region” |
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Who
lives the most difficult life now? Don’t parents suffer realizing
that they can’t afford buying presents for their children on St.
Nicholas day?! And how do the children who have no parents feel?
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in Lviv region there are 7 orphan houses and 29 boarding
schools hosting totally 5500 children aged from 1 to 17.
18 of the bodies are located in the highland or country
territory and nowadays they are in difficult plight. Maltese
Aid Service initiated the measures called “St. Nicholas”
for the inhabitants of these schools. These measures were
blessed by the UGCC and supported by the Regional Educational
Administration and 8 youth communities of Lviv. |
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During the action
children wrote letters to St. Nicholas about themselves and their
wishes. These letters were submitted to Maltese Aid Service. MAS
printed and submitted them to the parishes which gave their consent
to pack the gifts for boarding schools’ children. Presents were
also given to children who could not write letters owing to their
age or illness. During the celebration of St. Nicholas holiday,
from Decemcer 17 till December 19 the organizers of the holiday
played concerts or performances at boarding schools and orphan
houses, at the end of which they gave presents to children.
In 1998 there were
8 youth organizations, 16 parishes and 25 sponsors taking part
in cooperation. Totally 1970 children got presents from St.
Nicholas.
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| Christmas
dinner for the Charitable Kitchen visitors |
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Christmas is one
of the greatest holidays in a year. Visitors of the Charitable
Kitchen are mostly aged people who have no possibility to celebrate
it with their families. |
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Such
people are invited to the holiday by the Maltese Aid Service.
The holiday starts with a short God’s service served by
the priest of MAS. After a dinner of 12 meals guests sing
Christmas songs, listen to Vertep and talk. Therefore
they have a chance to spend evening the way they did it
with their families, without feeling of loneliness at
least during these holy hours. |
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| Natural
family planning |
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In
1995 the Maltese Aid Service started its work on the project called
“Natural family planning”. The reason for starting this project
was a great quantity of abortions in the country and the existence
of only one alternative,
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is artificial contraception. The goal of the project is
to propose women and married couples an alternative method
which demands from both partners treating each other responsible.
This method strengthens mutual understanding in the family
without damaging their health. In 1998 the 3rd block of
seminars for consultants was carried out with the aim
to improve their qualification. |
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Within this project
Maltese Aid Service cooperate with parishes. The goal is to extend
the idea of natural family planning that can help Christian ground
of the family to survive. All interested in this project are welcome
to cooperate with us. |
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| The
First Aid |
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Everyone
can find oneself in a situation when he or she has to give an
immediate help to a victim of an accident in a household, at the
working place, on the road, in sport, etc.
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who expect to get a helping hand in an accident should
also be ready to help the others. The goal of the courses
is training people how to give the first aid before the
ambulance arrives and to make people understand the necessity
of giving the first aid. In accidents their skills in
combination with theoretical backgrounds become applicable. |
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People aged 14 and
above are welcome to the courses of giving the first aid. Groups
of 10 people have classes designed totally for 9 hours. Up to
present over 1400 people succeeded in passing the courses of the
first aid. In May and June the courses for participants of the
Lviv youth organizations’ camps have been taught. |
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THE
QUESTION
If you are
not able to give the first aid in a road accident properly,
it can cost a human’s life.
OF
COSTS
MAS’s courses
of the first aid cost only a little time and nothing
else.
They are
held for you to be able to save the lives!
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| Recollections |
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Twice a year the Maltesers gather because of a special
event - the 3-day recollections during the feast (March
and November).
Hello,
Jesus!
I am writing
a letter to you again, doing it with joy and gratefulness.
You will be not the only one to read it but I’m sure
the first one who will do it. Now I’m trying to remind
our recollections and the things which you’ve taught
us. We went to Truskavets with the aim to find the true
God.
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We wanted to find
and get rid of false God’s figures which bothered us to pray,
to live with you, to be your friends. Frankly speaking, I did
not expect to open your truth for myself because I know that when
a girl is organizing something she cannot have all benefits of
this and she always misses something most important, caring for
trifle problems; then she consoles herself with the mind
that other people will benefit of this more. Finally, somewhere
deep in her heart she feels not glad and, probably, a little bit
hurt. Thank you, Jesus, for your bringing me to the chapel that
time, for your easy opening my eyes on the false image of you
which existed in my heart and made my talks with you so difficult
for me. Thank you for your carrying out these recollections by
yourself instead of me, Andrew or father. Thank you for not demanding
from us any special efforts, for your making us open to each other,
for your giving us so much joy, peace and strength. Thank you
for meeting with the chaplain, for this wonderful chapel in which
the chaplain gave us a chance to pray. |
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Thank
you for helping us not to fall asleep during the night
prayers and for coming to us during the Liturgy. Thank
you for all the “fruits” that my friends brought back
to Lviv or to Frankivsk. Now we know you, we have already
found you at last. Don’t give us to mislead. Remind us
about yourself. If we suddenly mislead send us somebody
of your friends. I know you’re taking care of us. Thank
you once more… Maryana |
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