Blogspot #7

May 8, 2012

One of the challenges for the Mennonite Centre is to find local leaders who will be able initiate strategies that will further develop their own civil society.  We feel fortunate in having developed positive working relationships with a number of such leaders in Molochansk.  On Friday, May 4, a number of these, together with their spouses joined us for a delightful evening at the Mennonite Centre.  This group consisted of school principals, deputies of town council, hospital and care home directors, etc.  Ira, our head cook, together with our staff, prepared a lovely meal, delicious and beautifully presented.  Following the meal, we enjoyed the wonderful music performed by Sergei Lokotkov (guitar) and his daughter (flute).  The purpose of this gathering was to show our gratitude to these leaders who are serving the people of their community and to encourage them.  Secondly, we wanted to present a challenge that all of them could be involved with at various levels.  The challenge was to make Molochansk  “A Clean City”.  This could involve students in various ways, encourage volunteerism, rewards for the best “clean” project, helping elderly neighbors, being an example to others, etc.  The potential for beauty is abundantly evident. The deputy in attendance agreed to set up a meeting for Mennonite Centre and the mayor to further explore this idea.  Those in attendance appreciated the positive atmosphere and pleasant entertainment of the evening. 

 

Blogspot #6

May 3, 2012

We had the pleasure of visiting many of our medical projects last week with Drs. Art and Marlyce Friesen from BC.  Art is a member of our Mennonite Centre board of directors, so it was most helpful to discuss issues relating to these projects.  They have visited Ukraine many times, providing medical consultations, speaking at medical conferences, as well as assisting with the work of the Mennonite Centre.  For us personally, it was an opportunity to process issues face to face with a board member, as well as to glean wisdom and encouragement from seasoned workers.  Both of them have retired from busy medical practices in BC, and have spent many of their holidays serving the people of Ukraine. In the photo three of the doctors (on the left) who hold regular clinics at the Mennonite Centre are meeting with the Friesens.

We met with the directors of the Molochansk and Tokmak Hospitals, inviting them to share their hopes and dreams with us for the future of their facilities.  Their budgets are limited and they receive very little funding for maintenance.  Among their requests was an ambulance, an ICU, lab supplies, expanding our services to include more village feldshers (medical practitioners), providing a network to share information throughout the hospital, etc.  The list is endless.  They are invited to submit proposals to the Mennonite Centre to which we will respond as we are able.  A ray of hope was a promise from the government to provide funding for an MRI, lab equipment, and rehabilitation equipment.  Now the waiting begins to see if the funds will come through. 

We were deeply saddened by our interactions with two different doctors.  A urologist who had practiced in Tokmak many years was now working with fewer staff and old equipment.  He looked sad and tired.  We met another doctor who formerly directed a village hospital, had often been assisted by Mennonite Centre, but now only ran a clinic. The hospital had been shut down by the government.  He had dedicated most of his life to this medical facility, demonstrating creativity and innovation to make ends meet.  Now he felt defeated.  Could Mennonite Centre perhaps extend funding for feldsher services to this group of villages?

Mennonite Centre provides funding for medicines to many feldshers in small villages.  Many villagers are unable to purchase basic medicines and we provide funding for a certain amount every month.  Some of the clinics are in deplorable conditions because of lack of money for repairs, heating, and basic equipment.  In one case, the heating system was no longer functioning, so the temperature inside the clinic was about 0 degrees during the winter!  How impressive to hear that the doctors had then made house calls instead of neglecting their patients.  What a contrast to visit a clinic in another village that had been renovated and well-maintained.  We were told that the local town council had provided the funding to do this.  How encouraging to see people in public office working to provide services for their own communities.  But in each case, the feldshers were very grateful for the help they had received, not only the funds for medicines but also some basic equipment.  In one clinic a gift of paska accompanied by huge smiles was their expression of gratitude! 

Once you meet Luba (the woman on the left), our contact in one of the villages, you do not forget her!  Her weathered face wreathed in smiles, speaks of her love and care for her community.  She has been entrusted with medical funds for her village and determines who the needy recipients are.  As we were speaking with her, an elderly woman walking along the street came up to us.  When she realized that we represented the Mennonite Centre, she thanked us for the help she had received with tears streaming down her face!

In that same village, we also stopped at the monument placed there in memory of all the murdered victims of the former village of Eichenfeld.  Over 80 villagers were cruelly murdered during a single night in 1919!  All this had been witnessed by a young boy who recently passed away at the age of 90+ in BC.  Art had had the privilege of getting to know him, and hearing about that experience firsthand.  What was so striking about this man was his ability to maintain his sanity despite this horrible event.  He had come to the conclusion that he had to forgive, instead of harboring hate and bitterness!

Blogspot #5 April 18, 2012

CONTRASTS IN UKRAINE: Despair and Hope

We arrive during the gray, messy time of late winter. Last year’s dried weeds and strewn garbage is a scene of despair. A few weeks later spring has changed the landscape to fresh shades of green. Blooming daffodils, hyacinths, crocuses, tulips and the blossoms of the various fruit trees lift our spirits and give us hope. It seems that the resurrection is enacted before our eyes!

Garbage disposal is a despairing issue in Ukraine. There is litter along highways and in public places. For some reason, vacant lots become garbage dumps! However, when Easter approaches, people begin to clean up. Children are seen carrying rakes and brooms to school to participate in a work day. Schoolyards are generally tidy and some private yards are meticulous. Several tenants from our apartment worked together for a whole afternoon, cleaning the empty lot in front of the building, gathering garbage, raking, loading branches and old bricks onto a truck. A young friend of ours who has done a practicum in Germany tells us how he gets after his friends who litter, insisting that they have to clean it up!

According to news media and talk on the streets, corruption in this country is staggering, reaching into all levels of society.  Has this country not suffered hard and long enough? How we all need to pray for this country! However, the local mayor has said that he is planning to overhaul the water system in Molochansk. We hope for this, because the citizens are often without running water due to breaks in the water pipes. A Ukrainian friend tells us she is still hopeful for Ukraine, claiming that the younger generation will not put up with corruption in the long run.

The quality of education in the schools varies. Changes do not come easily. One new principal demands performance from her staff. She has given demonstrations as to how to teach and encourage students. We were invited to observe one of her classes and were impressed by her example.

Common scenes in the town reveal the extent of alcohol abuse: An inebriated middle aged woman on all fours on the sidewalk, struggling to stand u p straight; youths walking along the street with open bottles of liquor; a man sleeping off a drunken stupor lying beside the path behind our apartment. In contrast, we observe the youth at the Centre becoming involved in a computer club or history exploration group. These meetings are followed by a snack and games of Dutch Blitz or table tennis. A large youth group attends the local Mennonite Church services regularly, assists with the children’s activities , and enjoys weekly floor hockey matches in the school gym. Many more families with young children have become involved in the church. Classes in the sports, music, and craft schools provide opportunities f or wholesome activities.

Blogspot # 4

April 10, 2012

Two of the many projects we are currently working on are due to the generosity of children in Canada. How wonderful when the younger generation demonstrates compassion for the less fortunate!

A young girl by the name of Rebecca decided that the guests at her birthday party should bring a donation for a charity instead of a gift for her personally. She raised $200 for the students in the Sanitorium School in Molochansk, who need sports equipment. For her donation the Mennonite Centre purchased a ping- pong table with the necessary accessories. The staff and the students were very pleased to receive such a gift, which will provide many hours of healthful activity for the children, some of whom are there from 3 months to a year. Thank-you, Rebecca!

A group of Sunday School students from Altona Mennonite Church raised money for a library in a Mennonite Church in a Ukraine village. Children in Canada have always had easy access to Christian books for all ages, but in a country where Bibles and related literature were outlawed for generations, Christian books are still uncommon, especially in the villages. The money that was raised is being used for books, SS curriculum, magazine subscriptions, craft supplies, and DVDs. The Sunday School is continuing to raise money to support the Christian day camps that the church will organize in the summer. A big Thank-you goes out to the Altona Mennonite Church Sunday School!

We have also been impressed by the huge generosity of 6 men who travelled about 42 hours from Germany to volunteer at the building site of the new Mennonite Church in Molochansk. They are giving up their holiday time to dig trenches and pour the cement for the foundation, clean up trash and scrubby undergrowth, and build a fence. They are doing this out of their desire to serve God and their fellowman. We have been impressed by the spirit of faith in which this project has been undertaken by these volunteers as well as the local church. Doing such a project without excavating machinery, cement trucks having to travel almost 2 hours from Zaporoshiya, and neighbors continuing to dispose of their garbage on the building site (because they had always thrown it on this empty lot until now), are challenges that boggle our western mindsets. The energy and commitment of these young men has been exemplary and an encouragement and inspiration for the local church. We had the privilege of hosting 2 of them in our apartment.

Blog #3, March 23, 2012

The care for seniors in the former Molotschna colony took a step forward in 2011 when one floor of the Molochansk hospital was designated to provide care for up to 30 seniors. One room of this floor had earlier been renovated and furnished by the Mennonite Centre to serve as a respite centre for up to four patients.

A recent tour of this ward revealed clean facilities and patients who seemed content. Fourteen staff, including patient care, kitchen, maintenance and administrative staff, are funded by the government’s social services department, separate from the health department. Funding for basic maintenance of the building, upgrading of equipment, even basic supplies and medications is seriously lacking. The new, commercial quality stove purchased by the Mennonite Centre in fall, 2011 was found inside a cardboard box, still unused, because the kitchen in which it was to be installed did not pass inspection. Consequently all the meals are still prepared in a poorly equipped kitchen in a building next door. All the food is then carried by hand across the yard, to the patients on the wards. Several hot plates are used to prepare the food; old, scarred metal tables are used for food preparation and dishes are washed by hand in large metal tubs. Large windows in patient rooms facing west overlook the Molotshna valley, but have only partial sheer coverings. This will cause problems in the summertime in an un-air-conditioned building when outdoor temperatures can reach the high 30’s. Linoleum floor-coverings are cracked and broken so that the wheels on the wheelchairs get stuck in them. The seniors are expected to pay for food and medications from their own meager pensions.

In the nearby village of Kutuzovka, the Mennonite church has expanded its facilities for senior care from six to ten women. Being a two-storey facility with no elevator service is problematic for the seniors. Long-term plans, after the church has built a new sanctuary in Molochansk, call for more extensive renovations of the existing sanctuary to further increase their capacity for seniors. Lilli, supported by a German mission agency, gives positive and energetic leadership in this facility. Together with her staff, she has managed to develop a strong community atmosphere with the residents which includes spiritual care. Here also, the residents are expected to contribute much of their pensions to provide for their basic needs. One of the residents was so pleased to be here that she described her present conditions as paradise, compared to her former living conditions. Nevertheless, despite donations from Mennonite Centre and others, funding is a continual challenge for the staff.

Having observed our parents and other relatives through the aging process and eventual death, we sometimes feel that our western society has not yet discovered ideal care and support for our seniors. However, those of us in Canada in or nearing retirement can rest assured at the huge advantage we have over the present Ukrainian system.

At the other end of the age spectrum are the children in schools also lacking sufficient funding. A recent donation by the Mennonite Centre to pay for transportation allowed the 50-voice girls’ choir from the Russian school #2 in Molochansk to participate in a music festival in Melitopol. Their strong and sensitive musicality was rewarded with a third place finish. Their enthusiastic cheers signaled their delight despite the long and tiring day they had experienced!

Thursday was clean-up day at the apartments. Shortly after lunch a dozen individuals gathered to dispose of last summer’s tall weeds on the property in front of the apartment.
Sergei Zubov, also a resident and local businessman provided a front-end loader and truck to haul away garbage and branches that could not be burned on site. While the yard may not qualify as being manicured, a marked improvement is evident. Perhaps of even greater value was the spirit of cooperation in a joint project among the participants. Discussions even arose regarding the possible further development of this property into a playground by constructing a fence along the street and adding appropriate structures. That, however, will require more than “elbow grease”.

Blog #2, March 18, 2012

“Typical” or “routine” are not the best words to describe life at the Mennonite Centre. On Monday our day began with an extended breakfast visit with Jakob & Natasha Tiessen, the German pastor couple of the Kutuzovka Mennonite Church. While our German language skills are often put to the test as we discuss various issues facing the church and life in Ukraine, we enjoy the opportunity to communicate without an interpreter. They are planning a transition back to Germany after giving leadership to the church for 9 years. This represents a major transition for the church that so far has had only non-Ukranians in leadership. The church is also in the process of building a new place of worship in Molochansk with plans to convert the former sanctuary into a personal care home. These are challenging transitions for any congregation, and they are amplified in a community with limited financial and other resources. At the same time we celebrate an increase in participation among the youth and young families in the congregation. Six individuals were baptized last summer.

Tuesday morning finds us en route to our neighboring city of Tokmak. Bobbing and weaving our way, carefully choosing which of the pot holes we can drive through and which need to be avoided to prevent damage to our Lanos, the 10 kilometer drive often takes us more than half an hour. A recent rain complicates the process because we cannot determine the depth of the pot holes. The purpose of our trip is to do some banking for the Centre. This time, the forty-five minute process is successful.

We maximize the benefit of the trip to Tokmak by including other errands: picking up glasses for some senior’s as prescribed by the optometrist that has regular eye-examinations at the Centre (we can provide prescription glasses for 25 to 40 grievna, or about 3 to 5 U.S. dollars), and doing some grocery shopping. Fresh fruits and vegetables we pick up at the open-air market while other goods are available in a small, crowded supermarket. Deciphering the Russian labels on the various products is always an interesting process, occasionally resulting in surprises after we open them at home.

Wednesday we enjoy a visit from one of our co-workers from Zaporizhia. She speaks English fluently and has become a trusted friend, so the conversation flows easily and comfortably. However, in the afternoon a phone call to the Centre announcing yet another building inspection causes more frustration. Allegedly for the purpose of ensuring a safe workplace for us, the technical documentation required by these inspections tends to be onerous.

Thursday morning we are greeted by the director of a local school requesting some financial assistance in repairing some of their sewer pipes and several toilets. The need for such repairs is seldom in question, and since this is a school with whom we have worked previously we expect the project to be approved by our board. We write up the proposal and email it to Canada.

After her regular day at the clinic or hospital, a local doctor sees patients at the Centre after 4:00 p.m. Prescriptions are ordered by the Centre at reduced cost for the patients.

Friday is the day some 50-60 seniors come to the Centre for tea and a sandwich. But before they are done, we receive unexpected guests from Germany. Their Mennonite background tweaks their curiosity about the purpose of the Mennonite Centre in Ukraine and we enjoy a pleasant lunch together, once again exercising our German by describing to them the various projects of the Mennonite Centre.

Saturday, between laundry and other household chores, we attend a recital at the local music school. The musicality and skills of these young musicians are impressive. They have a capable instructor who seems to take a personal interest in each one of his students. To hear this recital is encouraging for us, because there are many less-positive alternatives for them to occupy their time; these are choosing a better way than many.

Sunday morning sees us at the 2-hour Russian worship service. We are welcomed warmly, but communication with many of these friends remains a challenge.

Thus, we look forward to another week, with the full awareness that next week will likely not be at all like the week just described.

Hoping to leave winter behind us as we traveled snow-covered roads to the Winnipeg airport, we did indeed find more spring-like conditions upon our arrival in Molochansk. However, this was to be short-lived as snow flurries and below-freezing temperatures keep us indoors more than outside. International Women’s Day, celebrated as a national holiday on March 8, with its many cards, pictures and gifts of flowers, is a welcome reminder that the Ukrainian fields and gardens will soon bloom again. We are invited to a celebration of this event in the Russian School Number 2 in Molochansk where the boys have prepared an hour-long presentation of songs, skits, poetry and tributes for the women staff of the school. The celebration ends with each of the performers inviting a female staff member to dance with them.

We have learned by now that it is women who are giving leadership to many of the community institutions, and so the day is a fitting tribute to the women who work hard at improving life in often difficult circumstances. Among them is Marina, long-time friend of the Mennonite Centre, former director of the Dolina School and current director of the larger of the two schools (grades 2-11) in Molochansk.—about 340 students. Among her recent accomplishments is her success in convincing local governments to install a natural gas heating system in the school. Only in her second year in this capacity, she is already dreaming of establishing a small museum room in the school to commemorate the history of the town, formerly Halbstadt.

On Friday, the usual day for some 50 seniors to enjoy tea and a sandwich at the Centre, the staff present each of the “babushkas” with a hand-crafted card (quilling?) and a small gift. Marina and Dema team up for entertaining duets. We can only imagine the stories these women could tell of their seventy or eighty years in Ukraine! We have heard a few of them from people like Olga who has served the Mennonite Centre as receptionist for many years but is now retired.

On Sunday a group of five university students from Zaporizhia visited the Centre. Their assignment was to learn about German influence in Ukraine, specifically in the area of architecture. They were fascinated with the story of the Mennonites in Ukraine over the years. Rudy Friesen’s book on Mennonite architecture will be an invaluable resource for them as they prepare their presentation. We donated two books for them to take along to their faculty library and instructor, and in addition four of them purchased their own copies as well. Since they are part of the German department at the University, their presentation will be in German as well. They promised to invite us.