By Joseph Nichols,
Kyiv
The weather is still good, but the evenings have the early autumn chill, usually welcome after a long and hot summer. Not so welcome this year.
The number of displaced people, mostly women and children, arriving into the central and western cities has grown significantly over the past couple of weeks. There is no lull in the fighting, and no sign that the war (and it is a war) will be tempered by winter weather. The fear of being stuck in the contested regions of eastern Ukraine has created a new exodus of civilians. The roads that will be soon wet and muddy will then freeze and actually help the millions of tons of armored vehicles to move freely around the conflict zone – now almost 2,000 km in length.
In the “Keep the Kid’s Learning Program” there are now:
• 215 teachers, each receiving a $30 – $50 (US) stipend a month (depending on our cash supply)
• 150 volunteers (no payment) – usually a parent or older teenager
• 1400+ children, ages 5 – 17, in 30+ locations
• 16 medical students that trade off making weekly visits to learning sites
• A fluctuating number of foreign volunteers teaching English and German …. and definitely a source of great entertainment for the kids as the volunteers try to speak Ukrainian.
With great luck, we have a number of doctors and dentists that make as-needed visits. Many of the children are being cared for by grandparents, and we try to keep in touch with these older displaced people as well. Ukraine has/had a number of medical universities that were destinations for students from around the world. Medical students from Africa, the Middle East and East Asia would study in Ukraine and then return to their home countries to practice medicine. Some of those students that have stayed in Ukraine to provide basic medical care are quite remarkable people.
Winter jackets will be distributed in November. They have been delivered to us already, but if we hand them out before they are really needed the kids, being kids, will misplace them as children will often do. Life needs to fit in a single bag here these days, anything “extra” can get easily left behind if they have to move quickly.
Thank you all for your generosity. Please let others know about the effort here, if you are inclined. I might even break-down and make a Facebook page……
Joseph