„Carry each other’s burdens…”
For a year now, Ukraine has been fighting for freedom, for the right to live in a civilized world, in a safe Europe. As christians and Europeans we want to help, not only by currently supplying humanitarian aid, but also by building lasting works, initiating long-term processes. Shortly before the start of the war, the system of foster care started to be implemented in Ukraine. This type of care for orphaned children is nowadays a standard in the western world, including Poland. Beyond our eastern border, however, the horrible, post-soviet mass orphanages are still dominant. They amount several hundreds of pupils, stuffed together, from babies to eighteen year-olds. Everyone must have an idea, just how detrimental this must be to the children’s development. The Ukrainians would want to implement western solutions, although it’s obviously a long process. The idea was propagated, the first trainings for foster families were conducted, and then the war broke out… The foster families were more or less left alone, most of the money goes to the war, the social welfare institutions are dramatically underfunded, and the number of orphans grows every day. The MOSTY (BRIDGES) group, an interparish initiative of the Wrocław diocese evangelicals, wants to build a support system for foster families in Ukraine, to connect the families in need with parishes or private persons willing to take care of such a family. SPECIFICS: – a verified list of families provided by the Ukrainian social care centers – genuine help from specific people – one entity (parish, private person): one family – commitment for a closed period of time, with the possibility of prolongation – a precise description of the pupil’s needs and living conditions, the possibility of making online contact, creating bonds – Ukrainian translators’ help with making contact – psychological support We intend for this help to be humanized, heartfelt, going beyond an anonimous click of a transfer order. To reach the other person you have to put in a bit of your personal effort. We want to build bridges to make this contact possible. Those interested in joining the project, we ask for an e-mail contact: mosty.luteranie@gmail.com