On Easter Eve I received a phone call:
“Good evening, my name is Lyuda. I have six children, we rent an apartment daily and today we will be forced to stay in the street if we can not pay for a dwelling. Help us!” It was rather strange request because daily apartment rent costs much higher than monthly payment.
We decided to find out what is happening and the next day together with Olga, a volunteer of our fund, we paid a visit to having many children family of Lyudmila Mihay.
In the rented one room apartment of Zaporozhye district Kosmicheskiy there were six children together with their mother and two young men of twenty years old. At first sight all family members seemed to be Gipsy or Moldavian.
Looking into sparkling children's eyes and withstanding prejudicial view on gypsies in our society we decided to make an attempt to take these children out of vicious circle of asocial life.
Lyudmila told about her family’s wandering and appeals to different power bodies. According to her words the house in Novonikolaevsky district where they have been registered was destroyed and for several years the women and her children have been living in rent apartments. She has not yet succeeded to get registered for housing conditions improvement – either officials refuse her or she can not collect all necessary documents. At present moment daily payment for one room apartment constitute 170 grivnas.
Two older daughters (16 and 17 years old) and four children of 3, 5, 7 and 10 years are living with Lyudmila. All six children have never gone to kindergarten or school and according to their mother all of them have different fathers. Till recently Lyudmila has been receiving welfare payment at the amount of 3300 grivnas for all children but last month the sum was reduced to 1100 grivnas.
Certificate of receiving financial help at the amount of 300 grivnas
"Dear Lyudmila Grigoryevna!
Regional Fund of social help for citizens having need for urgent help after the statement to regional state administration has appropriated you a financial help at the amount of 300 grivnas but to receive it you have to send us a copy of identification code."
Almost at once it became obvious that the problem of this family was first of all social but not financial. Lyudmila doesn’t make an impression of a person who drinks and in spite of ingenuous view on life gained our certain confidence.
We managed to rent half a house in Kosmicheskiy dictrict for this family, at the price of 400 grivnas per month. There were only two small rooms, cold water in the kitchen, one sofa and one kitchen table. In spite of absence of normal living conditions this was at least some roof over their heads which give a feeling of stability.
Unfortunately the only financial help will not solve the problem of Lyudmila and her children. Without social maintenance the family will lead the same way of life and depriving of maternal rights and placing children into an orphanage will be the only way out. However with getting an orphan status every child will receive not less than 2000 grivnas of state financial help a month. At the same time for one child living in his or her biological family nearly 180 grivnas per month is appropriated.
Thus the mother and children need urgent psychological help, it is necessary to draw up documents for allowance receiving, to lead complete medical checkup for children and to place them into kindergarten and school. Together with social adaptation it is necessary to improve the Mihay Family conditions of life as much as one can.
Volunteers and social workers ready to give a part of their spare time and efforts to return the family to ordinary life could help children. For this it is important to visit Lyudmila and her kids several times a week, to communicate with them, to support them. It is assiduous but at the same time significant work, real help to one’s neighbour to which all world religions appeal.
“What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone” (Jac. 2:14-17)
Those who wish to help the family can contact workers of “Happy child” - fund and we give you more detailed information and the phone number of Lyudmila Mihay.
Sincerely yours,
Albert Pavlov, info [at] deti.zp.ua
+3 8 066 513 34 35
