In Donbas, on the occasion of the 81st anniversary of the Great Victory, the Patriarchal Humanitarian Mission presented gifts to its veterans, militia members and elderly wards - "children of war", whose childhood was during the Great Patriotic War, and old age — during new trials. Each gift included a warm blanket, a thermos and a sweet set.
"A few days ago, a woman turned to us for support — her dad is 96 years old, her mom is 90. We've worked at a city-forming factory all our lives. And in recent years, they have been forgotten about, the couple has "lost sight" of social services. When the volunteers of the Patriarchal Humanitarian Mission came to congratulate, Viktor Vasilyevich could not stop talking. The attention turned out to be much more important than the gift," says Oleg Leskov, coordinator of the Tokmak Center.
Congratulations are held in Donetsk, Mariupol, Tokmak, Skadovsk, Severodonetsk, Lisichansk. There are several dozen addresses in each city. Since most of the elderly wards are sedentary, congratulations are held at home.
"We have a grandmother with dementia. When the volunteers arrived, she clearly recalled how more than 81 years ago, soldiers in Kherson gave sweets to children, and then she fell into oblivion again and called her daughter, who now lives in Lviv. She asked me to put her down for a photo, although she always lies down — she really wanted a photo for the holiday," said the coordinator of the assistance center in Skadovsk (Kherson region) Eva Artyushkova.
"The visit of our sisters of mercy came as a complete surprise to many: they couldn't hold back their tears," said Daria Tkach, coordinator of the center in Lisichansk. — The story of a woman who almost completely lost her eyesight was especially touching.: she felt the donated plaid and was sincerely glad that she was remembered and cared for and given attention by the Church."
In Donetsk, priests joined the congratulations, including Archpriest Alexy Bystrov, head of the social department of the Donetsk Diocese.
"The other day we visited my 85-year-old grandmother, she was so touched by the attention from the Patriarchal Humanitarian Mission that she called us for several days in a row to express her gratitude. The gifts turned out to be very useful: it's still cold in the apartments — blankets with thermoses are really necessary things in this situation," said Ksenia Andreeva, coordinator of the center in Donetsk.
Congratulations will continue throughout the coming week.