Caritas Kramatorsk organises its volunteers

In these times of the COVID-19 pandemic, Caritas Kramatorsk finds new ways to engage its volunteers in useful activities. First of all, Caritas became part of the Temporary Regional Coordination Center for Volunteers that was established in the Donetsk region. The Center is an interactive office, whose coordinators accept requests and sends them back to volunteers and charity organisations in the region.

In addition, one of the initiatives that Caritas Kramatorsk is doing with its volunteers now, is disseminating reliable information and counteracting fake information about the COVID-19 virus and quarantine. To deal with misinformation leading to panic in the community, volunteers post on their social network pages facts, labeling them with the hashtag #НіБрехні (#NoLies).

Another important area of volunteer work together with Caritas Kramatorsk is moral and spiritual support for the elderly called Onuki Online (Grandchildren Online). Volunteers turn into ’grandchildren’ for single elderly people, communicating with them on a regular basis.

In addition to communication and support, volunteers learn from their ’online grandparents’ about their needs, including hygiene items, food and medicines. Volunteers pass on requests to Caritas’ project coordinators, who are deciding how to address these needs.

Moreover, very popular among locals is another Caritas’ volunteer initiative – Nanny Online – where volunteers help children with school homework, play distance games and have fun online with kids, while parents may have time for work and rest.

Yet another effective initiative of Caritas is organising the sewing of safety masks with volunteers for local doctors and teachers.

In these ways, Caritas Kramatorsk tries to keep the development of the local community going in times when social distancing shouldn’t mean the end of positive initiatives.

200 beneficiaries received support on Easter in Odessa

Two hundred beneficiaries received food parcels on Easter thanks to Caritas Odessa and METRO Cash & Carry Ukraine.

In each parcel: pasta, sugar, buckwheat, corn grits, oil, canned peas and corn, as well as liquid soap. 178 lonely elderly beneficiaries of the Home Care project, as well as 22 large families from the Centre for Children and Families, were happy recipients of this charity action.

Every day people come to us for help. Single mothers, large families, elderly people – they all are in difficult conditions due to quarantine measures. Also, many people lost their jobs. METRO’s assistance was very timely.

Svetlana Kolodchyn, Deputy Director of Caritas Odessa

Caritas Zaporizhzhia assists people in need in the buffer zone

The mobile team of Caritas Zaporizhzhiia went to Mariinka (Donetsk region) to make a targeted delivery of medical vouchers to the beneficiaries, among the most vulnerable categories of locals. 15 elderly people, those who are seriously ill and the disabled have received the medicines they need to survive.

The mobile team acted within full accordance of the new safety protocols – with masks, gloves and protection suits. Updated protocols allow to reduce the risk of infection of the COVID-19 virus either by beneficiaries or the project’s staff.

Caritas Ivano-Frankivsk feeds homeless with hot lunches

During quarantine, Caritas Ivano-Frankivsk is preparing hot meals for local homeless people on an everyday basis. The number of people who turn to charity dining is growing constantly. On average, over 100 people are receiving free lunches in Caritas a day.

Meals are prepared fresh and are distributed with all necessary precautions – cooked with needed safety measures, servers wear masks and gloves and hand food through a window, and people stand in line with 1,5m of distance between them.

At first the initiative was aimed at the homeless; however, as quarantine is prolonged, charity dining is also providing meals to people who are in need due to losing their jobs and elderly people.