“We All Have Charity in Common”

For the fourth consecutive year, Kherson community activists hold various events aimed at disseminating knowledge about the psychological and material support that can be provided to critically ill people. The events take place on the eve of the World Hospice and Palliative Care Day, marked annually on the second Saturday of October. This year, the Anastasis Christian Youth Movement organized the campaign “We All Have Charity in Common.” They plan to hold a thematic roundtable on a local TV channel, four online programs on the Ukraine Social Community media channel, and art events at Kherson State University, regional puppet theater, and several entertainment venues this week. All campaigners will join the fundraising drive to assist the cancer-stricken children now treated in the hematology ward of Kherson Oblast Children’s Hospital.

“We do not aim to build a new hospital for the critically ill, because we understand that a project of such ambition cannot be implemented through community initiatives only. However, we would like to light a spark of altruism and concern about this global problem,” the coordinator of “We All Have Charity in Common” campaign Oleksii RIPA commented for The Day. “We believe that people should help even those who have just a little time left because of a terrible ailment. Therefore, we have been trying for a few years to maintain a permanent discussion on hospices and effective assistance to these institutions as well as hospitals that treat critically ill people. I am pleased to note that we have met with a positive reaction when discussing these issues in Kherson. Many residents have become involved in our activities. Of course, most of them have a personal reason to take an interest, but we meet new people at our events every year, too. We have found support from the local media, artists, and faith communities. The newly created Disabled Children’s Theater is an example of our cooperation. It may seem strange to some, but the children will stage their first performance soon, entitled Unread Letters to God, which, in my opinion, will dispel doubts and assertions that they are lost to the wider society. Thus, I hope that we will have more volunteers joining our events this year, allowing us to provide real help to the oblast children’s hospital in general and the cancer-stricken children in particular.”