Well the last two
weeks have been busier here. The
temperature has also finally gone up and we are actually slightly above the
freezing mark today. The only thing is
that the warmer temperatures bring more snow, but the snowstorms I’ve seen
here so far are like what I call the picture postcard kind of storm. It’s fun to see people building snowmen, or
should I say many parents building snowmen for their kids.
Last week I tagged
along with our doctor from Kyiv on some consultation visits. This is where he assesses who may benefit
from surgery. After the kids are
assessed they go to Kyiv for further assessment to determine if surgery is
beneficial. It was certainly amazing to
see the “after picture” of one girl who has so far had four surgeries to
straighten her legs. Before her
surgeries she was not able to stand without support. Now she’s walking around normally even though
she has braces on her legs. (I didn’t
even realize she had braces on until she took off her socks.) The doctor told me that not only is she
walking around but that she has much more self confidence now. She looks so happy and has one of the biggest
smiles I have ever seen. In fact, since
the surgeries she has taken up swimming.
She recently won a local competition and is moving on to a national
competition for the handicapped. I won’t
be at all surprised to see her represent Ukraine in a future Paralympics. She already has that winner’s smile.
I also recently had an
opportunity to meet some more amazing people who are involved in various
different programmes here in Krivoy Rog.
There’s Olya who has a heart for the mentally challenged. I’ll be tagging along with her tomorrow to
Dome Invalid (the invalid home for kids) to see her in action. There is also Natasha who has a heart for the
homeless. She wants to start some kind
of programme but just doesn’t know where to begin. The recent record cold snap here has made a lot
of people aware of how unprepared Ukraine is for situations like this when they
happen. (Most of the deaths in Europe were here in Ukraine.) We
were able to bat around some ideas but the trouble is that it would take a
minimum of $3000 per month to do something like a soup kitchen and there is
just no budget here for that. $3000 per
month is a lot by Canadian standards let alone in the Ukrainian economy. All prayers, ideas to help the homeless, etc. would be greatly appreciated for this.
It is a HUGE need here.
These last two weeks
have really made me realize just how many, as well as how great and varied the
needs are here. It also made me realize
even more of how amazing the people on the ground here really are. They do so much with a little. I can only imagine how much more can be done
with more “tools” and resources. If
anyone feels led to help us at LINK127 with our various programmes you can
click the donation link at the right side of this blog to donate on line. If you wish to donate but want to send a
cheque, just click the link and then on the next page click the tab that says
“details and Contact info” and there is a mailing address there. You can also get more information about
LINK127 by going to the other link at the side of the blog (www.link127.org).
Thank you all for your
continued prayers, your support and for seeing my heart. Till next time…Я
люблю тебя!
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| Some more Saturday Programme fun |
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| Some of the amazing people on the ground here (and me) |
