From January 2007
Dear Friends,
Please consider a year-end gift to help an elderly Ukrainian! As many of you
know, I run "American Friends of For Survival," www.forsurvival.org, a small
charity that helps poor elderly in Kyiv. We provide $15-30/month to
supplement Ukrainians' small pensions.
We need your help this year! As energy prices shoot up and Kyiv becomes a modern European city, with corresponding prices, the elderly on fixed
inocmes struggle to get by. The minimum pension in 2007 was equivalent to
about $80 per month.
"American Friends of For Survival" is run by volunteers; every cent of the
funds we collect goes to the elderly. Your support enables elderly people
to buy medicine for which there is no insurance, a winter coat or decent
food. Our website explains how recipients are screened and funds accounted
for, and of course, I would be happy to answer any questions.
I wish all our donors could meet the people we help, but I have space to
profile just one. Maria Matveyvna is typical of today's pensioners, the
generation that survived the horrors of World War II and Stalin's
repression. Now an eighty-two year old widow, Maria was trapped in Kyiv
during World War II. A Gestapo interrogation of the teenager "has left its
marks on me to this day," Maria says. She went on to graduate from an
institute and work in industry 40 years. Soon after she retired, the Soviet
Union disintegrated. Massive inflation wiped out the life savings of people
like Maria, who had worked all their lives. Governments facing economic
collapse were unable to help.
Pensions have risen since the 1990s, but not as much as prices. Maria writes
"life is difficult for pensioners, as we have many health problems,
medications are expensive but our pensions are insufficient."
This year "For Survival" has redoubled help to the homebound, organizing
volunteers to purchase and bring them food as well as companionship. "For
Survival also partnered with a youth organization, giving young and old an
opportunity to learn from each other.
Please consider a gift to "American Friends of For Survival." Just $180
will help someone like Maria for a full year, but any amount is deeply
appreciated. Donating is easy! All it takes is three clicks at our
website, www.forsurvival.org.
Dyakuyu! (Thank you) from the very bottom of our hearts. Have a wonderful
year!
Katie Fox
(President
American Friends of for Survival
3100 Connecticut Ave. N.W. #235
Washington, D.C. 20008)
