A few weeks ago, planning began for another trip to Ukraine. Our concern, humanitarian aid and Christmas presents for a children’s clinic and an orphanage in Lviv. We are in close contact with both institutions in order to prepare everything in the best possible way. We put out an appeal asking the public for donations in kind for this project. Unexpectedly, this call met with a helpful response from the Kahla population. Many brought clothes, toys and sweets for the children. The Ukrainians who found refuge in Kahla also donated and helped with the preparations. They lovingly packed Christmas packages for over 80 children. After everything was packed up to the roof in two cars, we set off for Lviv at 5 a.m. on November 30th. Despite the winter conditions of cold, snow and ice, we reached Lviv after 18 hours.
The very next day, early, we had an appointment at the “Okhmatdyt” children’s clinic to hand over the donations we had brought with us. Unfortunately our visit had to be postponed due to air alerts. But at 11 a.m. the time had come and we drove to the clinic and met with the clinic management there. The children’s clinic “OKHMATDYT” is a multidisciplinary diagnostic and treatment facility that provides specialized, highly qualified medical care for children. It is also the oldest children’s hospital in Western Ukraine, founded in 1950. Every year around 65,000 young patients from the Lviv region are treated here. Everything that was destined for the children’s hospital was quickly unloaded with helpful hands. We then visited several stations to personally present a gift to children and young people, which they accepted with joy.
We then drove on to the “Lyubystok” orphanage, which was particularly close to our hearts. 67 orphans from eastern Ukraine, babies and small children up to the age of 7 are currently being cared for here. We were welcomed by Ms. Halyna Petrivna Kachanovska, the director. We noticed a memorial plaque at the orphanage founded in 1920. She referred to Jewish children who were housed here during World War II. The recording book from that time is still in the care of the director today, which we were able to look at. The orphanage has a sad past, even today. It narrowly escaped disaster on July 6, 2023. Several rockets hit the orphanage, causing damage to and within the building and the roof partially collapsing. Fortunately, staff were able to get all of the children to safety. The damage was still visible, but volunteers worked diligently to repair it. When we visited, the children were mostly still napping, so we were able to take a look at some of the dormitories and areas where the children played.
After all the donations were accepted with grateful joy and the lovingly packed Christmas packages were distributed to the children, we had to explain in detail the special feature and the purpose of the 80 “worry eaters”. The Ukrainians didn’t know about these and they were just right for the orphans. It was difficult for us to say goodbye.
The long return journey began on Sunday morning, marked by hours of waiting at the border crossing near Krakovets. At this point I/we would like to once again thank the many donors, supporters from France and the USA, the Ukrainian community in Kahla and above all the city of Kahla for their support. Without all of you this wouldn’t have been possible! Thanks! We plan to carry out another aid campaign for the orphanage in spring 2024. The good cooperation with the director enables us to provide targeted help.
