{"id":39629,"date":"2015-08-07T15:09:07","date_gmt":"2015-08-07T15:09:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/uacrisis.org\/?p=30786"},"modified":"2015-08-07T23:44:31","modified_gmt":"2015-08-07T20:44:31","slug":"30786-sim-yi-dopomagayut-sim-yam-aktivisti","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uacrisis.org\/en\/30786-sim-yi-dopomagayut-sim-yam-aktivisti","title":{"rendered":"Activists: Forty families of Ukrainian troops received aid from the project Families Helping\u00a0Families \u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

WATCH IN ENGLISH<\/a><\/p>\n

Kyiv, August 7, 2015.<\/strong> <\/em>The volunteer project, Families Helping Families, began in April this year and began its mission of supporting the families of Ukrainian troops. Every family whose member died in combat or is currently\u00a0fighting in eastern Ukraine may receive aid by filling in a form on the website of the project<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Moreover, any family from Ukraine or abroad who is willing and able to help may choose \u2018a charge\u2019 from\u00a0the volunteers\u2019 database. \u201cWe are actively engaging sponsors. Together they provide material and\u00a0moral support: solving domestic problems, organizing common vacations and simply communicating\u00a0with people who care. All the volunteers are carefully selected and only those who are really willing to\u00a0help are included in the project,\u201d said project founder Oleksandr Romanko at a press\u00a0briefing at Ukraine Crisis Media Center.<\/p>\n

The initiative closely cooperated with the Ukrainian diaspora, in particular with the organization EuroMaidan-Canada. According to Romanko, since the beginning of the military conflict in eastern Ukraine,\u00a0Canadian expats have provided material aid to ATO families to the sum of about one million dollars.<\/p>\n

Another area the organization works is organizing holidays for Ukrainian troops\u2019 children abroad. There have already been\u00a0trips to England, Sweden and Italy. \u201dOn no account shall we support immaturity, i.e. the childish attitude\u00a0when a mother hopes all her problems will get solved by some donor. Educating and nurturing children\u00a0is the task of a woman who lost her husband to war. The sponsor\u2019s task is to support the family and\u00a0provide it with the opportunity to see the world in a different light,\u201d said project coordinator Anna Voshchykina. She also mentioned that the option of one-time financial aid is available. As of today, about\u00a0thirty families received financial aid equal to three hundred dollars.<\/p>\n

In the future, the organization plans to organize a widows\u2019 club to give the wives of those who have lost their lives in the conflict the possibility to comfort and\u00a0support one another. Educational exchange programs will be established with the participation of Canadian\u00a0universities as well. In addition, the organization is implementing a project for providing computers to families, village schools and\u00a0orphanages.<\/p>\n

According to Oksana Syvak who is one of the project\u2019s organizers and chairman of the board of the organization \u0415+,\u00a0the initiative first and foremost is intended for the families of ATO troops. Nevertheless, they are also\u00a0ready to provide help to everyone in need, IDPs and volunteers in particular.<\/p>\n