78-year-old Galina Pleshavtseva is a witness of the whole second half of the 20th century; not just an eyewitness to these historical events, but also a victim to them.
After all, the collapse of the Soviet Union brought a financial crisis and many difficulties which influenced her life and health.
The war which came to her small village of Popasna region in 2014 only increased the loneliness and hopelessness of this woman who has no family or children. The war has taken the last foundation of her life – her clarity of thinking and mental health.
Today Galina as a lonely elderly person with no place to live and mental health problems is the most vulnerable in the new situation of COVID-19 quarantine.
For the last 18 month, the woman has been living in a Christian hospice for the elderly in the small town of Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk region, where another 32 abandoned elderly persons have found a shelter. All of them had been evacuated from the war-affected towns and villages by the founder of the hospice, Yevhen Tkachov.
Galina has met our team at the women’s part of the hospice with a smile on her face. She was trying to keep the safe distance which means she understands the risks of the novel virus. Unlike most of the people living in the shelter who are almost immobile, Galina walks pretty well, despite of her age.
Today, Galina is helping at the kitchen and in the garden.
“I feel lonely and start feeling sick when I don’t have something to do. I’m almost 80 years old, and still a have this great desire to work! Of course you levels of energy depend on what you eat. I praise God that here at the shelter we have various and healthy food. I thank CBN-Emmanuel for providing food for us, lonely elderly people. Our shelter has no support from the government and we can only survive on donations from people who care”.
In April, 2020, CBN-Emmanuel donated 80,000 UAH ($2900) to the hospice and has undertaken an obligation to donate 25,000 UAH every month. Thanks to this financing, 32 persons living in the shelter will be provided with food.
This Chasiv Yar hospice cares for dozens of lonely and homeless persons who were left on their own at war and now in the conditions of quarantine measures imposing additional restrictions. Here they receive the needed care and help – medical, juridical, psychological, and, most importantly, spiritual. This is done only thank to the goodness and sharing hearts of the people serving at the hospice and their partners.
You can help these people and provide food for them by subscribing for a monthly donation here: http://helpua.org/en/home-en/
The donated finances will help us procure food and sanitary supplies for these lonely and homeless people living at the hospice.
This world will continue to be normal until there are people who care! Thank you for been indifferent!
By Anna Chaban
