Carelinks 2006 Winter Heating Appeal
Last year, Carelinks initiated a major project to try to meet
the significant problem of suffering as a result of the very low
temperatures in Eastern Europe and the former USSR. As reported
in our updates, we believe we did significantly alleviate the
suffering of several families, single mothers and especially
elderly brothers and sisters. We're really appreciative of
your support and we so hope it can continue this year. We'd
like to remind you that CCM have no admin costs and no salaried
workers, the administration of these projects is gladly done by
our workers on a voluntary basis. The problems arise in the
following areas in the following ways:
- In URBAN AREAS prices of property and fuel have risen
enormously especially in the Baltic states. Some have gotten very
wealthy, whilst the majority have become poorer, especially the
elderly and those living alone [of whom there are many, thanks to
the legacy of the USSR, which taught that the state would care
for people from cradle to grave, and the family was unimportant].
This means that over the Winter, many elderly folk must pay all
of their monthly pension just to cover heating bills. And yet
they have to buy medicines and food [even if we provide many of
them with clothing]
- Many of the blocks our folk live in are from the Soviet
period and the heating can't be regulated; the heating is
ineficient and oil fired, from the days when oil was cheap within
the USSR. If heating isn't paid, residents are turned out, or
if they own their apartment, the apartment is taken from
them.
- In RURAL areas there are many subsistence farmers, living on
parcels of land taken from former collective farms. These land
parcels are often far from roads and shops. As folk get older and
weaker, it becomes harder to scratch a living. Young people move
to the towns; those with none to support them have very little
cash income and yet they need to repair their homes and buy
heating material to survive.
Summing up, each year large numbers of people die from the
cold and related problems. These are mostly elderly folk living
alone- and we have many such baptized as our brothers and
sisters.
Please do pray for our brothers and sisters. But let's
reflect on the perhaps inevitable passage that comes to mind-
James 2:15-17: "Suppose a brother or sister is without
clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, 'Go, I
wish you well; keep warm and fed,' but does nothing about his
physical needs, what good is it? Even so faith, if it have not
works, is dead in itself".
What we've done is to set up detailed information about
some of the cases we wish to help at
http://www.carelinks.net/appeals/Winter_Heating.html .
We encourage you to have a look at that page and see the specific
needs; you can also donate online there.
We are appealing for a total of GBP £ 6,000 towards
these causes.
You can send donations online as explained at
http://www.carelinks.net/about/donate.htm.
Cheques made out to 'Carelinks' can be accepted by our
treasurer Bro. John Thatcher, c/o Carelinks, PO Box 152, Menai
NSW 2234 AUSTRALIA
or in North America to Brother Mike Warren, Carelinks, PO Box
820392, Vancouver, WA 98682 USA email pacificpath@msn.com.
Carelinks is a tax deductible charity in the USA.;
or in the UK to Carelinks, c/o Robin & Jean Field, 4
Ellergreen, Burneside, Kendal LA9 5SD UK Email:
stratagems@ukf.net
You can either send towards the general need, or you may
prefer to review the cases and decide to support particular
cases. Although none of these folk are online, we'll
personally update you as to progress. If you chose to support a
specific case that's already been funded, we'll of course
let you know; we'll update our website accordingly too.
Here are some of the cases- you can see pictures and more
information at
http://www.carelinks.net/appeals/Winter_Heating.html
Abinsk ecclesia, Russia
This is a small but faithful ecclesia in rural Russia. Some are
refugees from the fighting in Chechnya. They meet together for
the breaking of bread as you can see but malnutrition is
especially a problem during the Winter when they have to live off
the harvest stored from the Summer.
APPEAL SUM: GBP 210
Brother Fyodyor
Brother Fyodyor is very deaf and walks with difficulty. He is a
WW2 veteran and lives in a small town with a very low pension. He
loves God’s word and attends Bible gatherings even when he
can’t hear well. His pension isn’t enough to cover
his monthly heating bills let alone any other expenses such as
food and medicines.
APPEAL SUM: GBP 210
Brother Ivan and family
Brother Ivan and his 6 children live in the far North of Russia
near the Arctic Circle. Temperatures go down to -60 degrees C
there. The growing season is short over the Summer and things are
really hard for them over the Winter. Firewood needs to be bought
and the children could do with more meat in their diet over the
Winter. In the photo you can see him fishing through the ice to
help provide protein for the children.
APPEAL SUM: GBP 200
Brother Petris
Brother Petris lives in a poorly constructed and delapidated
building a few kilometres walk to the nearest road quite apart
from any shops. He is suffering badly from tuberculosis and
can’t really endure living in such cold circumstances. His
physical strength is weak and he really needs to be provided with
heated accomodation.
APPEAL SUM: GBP 500
Brother Viktor
Brother Viktor suffers from cancer, emphysemia and a heart
condition. He tries to keep his apartment warm by piling up old
clothes against the damp walls. He needs help in meeting heating
bills and in some work on the apartment to conserve heat.
APPEAL SUM: GBP 300
Sister Dzidra
Our invalid sister Dzidra lives alone most of the time and is
cared for by another sister, who you can see breaking bread with
her in the photo. Her pension simply isn’t enough to cover
the cost of Winter heating.
APPEAL SUM: GBP 250
Sister Evgeniya
Our elderly sister Evgeniya lives alone with her goats [which she
has indoors with her over the Winter] in Russia. She collects
water in buckets which she places at the edge of her tin roof
[see photo]. But temperatures got so low and firewood so
expensive that last year she didn’t even have enough heat
in the house to melt the snow on the roof. She needs help with
firewood and Winter repairs to her home.
APPEAL SUM: GBP 150
Sister Galina
Sister Galina is a very faithful sister whose husband has
recently died and so she is left alone to meet the Winter heating
bills. In her area, the heating bills in the Winter are about the
same as her monthly pension, leaving her with nothing to live off
at all. We need to help her with the bills each month over the
Winter.
APPEAL SUM: GBP 300
Sister Larisa
Sister Larisa [far right, pictured with her relatives along with
a blanket made for them by Australian sisters last Winter] is a
victim of Chernobyl radiation, and needs many medications, all of
which make it impossible for her to meet her Winter heating
bills.
APPEAL SUM: GBP 200
Sister Lilija
Sister Lilija is a refugee from Kurdistan now living in Latvia.
She lives in a women’s shelter but she needs regular
support as sometimes she sleeps in a cellar where she works.
We are trying to get her accomodation but that’s very
expensive, up to GBP 600 for the Winter period. She works for
a very low salary and is a regular attender at the ecclesia. If
we can’t help her with that whole sum at least we will help
her with funds and warm clothing and food as we can.
Sister Ludmila [Russia] [1]
Sister Ludmila was assisted last Winter by the heating appeal and
she does need help again this year. She is a dwarf, has never
been married, and is now elderly and living alone in a small
house on the edge of a village, far from even the next house. She
is frequently attacked by local Moslem neighbours who break her
windows and steal the bucket and chain on her well [see photo-
she is using a saucepan to get water].
APPEAL SUM: GBP 150
Sister Ludmila [Russia] [2]
Sister Lumdila needs help with rebuilding her stove, as this is
her main source of heat. We’d need to get local labourers
to do this which is difficult as she lives so far from
anywhere.
APPEAL SUM: GBP 150
Sister Nina
We reported earlier on Sister Nina’s tragic loss of her
farm buildings which were burnt to the ground, including the loss
of all her animals. Since then we’ve helped her rebuild as
reported on carelinks. However she needs support with buying
firewood and some meat as she only has potatoes and some
preserved vegetables to eat over the Winter.
APPEAL SUM: GBP 150
Sister Rita
Sister Rita [left in photo] works hard washing linen for a hotel
but still it’s hard for her to meet Winter heating bills on
her apartment. You can see her in the photo receiving spectacles
donated by sisters in the UK. In her case we would assist towards
her heating bills rather than pay them completely.
APPEAL SUM: GBP 150
Sister Sofia
Sister Sofia lives faithfully in a tumbledown home. Recently four
of her distant relatives were baptized thanks to her preaching.
However she is very weak physically, walking with difficulty with
a stick, and only has outside washing facilities. You can imagine
how hard this is for an elderly woman living alone when the
temperatures are down to -40 degrees C.
APPEAL SUM: GBP 300
Sister Tanya
Sister Tanya [in the photo, wrapped in blanket] is a very
faithful sister who has led others to the way of life. She
suffers with her health and has a very small pension- the heating
bills in Winter are about the same as her pension, which leaves
her in a really difficult position so far as food, clothing and
medicines are concerned. When she had to go into hospital for
some weeks last Winter she was at least in the warm. But we
should make some contribution to her Winter heating this
year.
APPEAL SUM : GBP 250
Sister Zina
Sister Zina lives in a small town, alone in her 80s. She is very
shaky on her feet but has to walk 1 km. each way to the shop and
even further to get her pension. She needs help with paying the
heating over the Winter.
APPEAL SUM: 250
General- fixing windows
Most heat is lost through windows and doors, and when people are
spending their entire pension or wage on food, it becomes really
hard for the elderly or some single women to be able to fix up
their homes. Broken glass is fixed with nailed boards, e.g.,
which simply don’t keep the heat in. There are several
we’d like to assist with this.
APPEAL SUM: GBP 600
General- improving toilet and washing facilities
Outside, hole-in-the-ground toilets are difficult for young
families at the best of times, but at temperatures of down to -40
degrees in much of the ex-USSR and Eastern Europe, it really
becomes a problem- not least because of the slippery nature of
the ice which develops around them. To provide inside toilets is
a major job but there are ’Portaloo’ chemical toilets
which can be used.
APPEAL SUM: GBP 500
General- renovation of wells
The dramatic climate changes of recent years in Eastern Europe
have meant that many wells have dropped in their level. Lower
temperatures in Winter have also meant that wells are freezing.
Re-boring is very expensive and difficult but local tradesmen can
be brought in to fix some of them, provide longer chains and pour
a salt additive into the well which stops the freezing.
APPEAL SUM: GBP 150
With love from your brothers and sisters of CCM