April 8, 2016
Ukraine
Members of the Caritas Czech Republic continue with the Ukrainian mission in Olomouc. An article is available about the visit to Lopatyn, where Olesya Župnik and her mother help people in need. ACHO also one of the donors to the foundation “Children in Need” which provides children with meals, clothes and school equipment.
After Kyiev we are heading for Lopatyn
Tuesday, April 5th – Lopatyn
Situation in Lopatyn
The people in Lopatyn also suffer from the economic crisis. The government is planning to reduce the capacity of the Lopatyn hospital as well as to close the local school that many students attend. People do not know what will happen. The town of around 3,600 inhabitants has very poor infrastructure and travelling to Lvov and nearby towns is very slow.
Olesya Župnik and her mother help people in need in Lopatyn, thanks to the foundation and Czech Caritas in Olomouc. With the support of the people and the above institutions, dozens of pupils can be fed. After our arrival, they meet at 11 o’clock outside the local centre. We begin with praying together and then have lunch. The atmosphere is cheerful in the dining room. Smiling cooks serve us full plates of borech, and the students sing after the meal.
Meeting with the local mayor
The mayor arrived after the students left the dining room. He spoke with the head of ACHO, Václav Keprt, humanitarian worker and priest, Rostislav Strojvus, and the head of the Humanitarian Departmen, Martin Zamazal. Olesya, who oversees the children of Lopatyn and and other people in need, describes how the first floor of a 
house next to the centre could be used as a place for the children, a social worker, a hairdresser, and dressmaker. “There is something similar in Radochov nearby. We could manage the place and provide all necessary equipment. The government would pay the employees”, explained Olesya, the person in charge of the children in need foundation The ACHO leader, Václav Keprt, said that it is important to support the initiatives of the local people. He explained that they know best what is needed in the area… If not, there is a risk the work would be conducted by the government organizations and you would have no say in the development of these activities.
According to the Lopatyn mayor, Ukrainian NGOs cannot legally conduct these activities.
The coordinator of projects in Ukraine, Rostislav Strojvus, suggests that the process of buying materials for the centre should be done in stages. "It is better to do the project in stages. Begin with roof repairs, then the interior, and you can continue later with the other steps. The building will not get damaged and you can start helping the ones in need. It is important that the parts of the project are not dependent on each other,“ he added .
We are on our way to the children's centre. Spaces for the social worker, dressmaker, and hairdresser, would be created in the surrounding building, where you can come directly from the centre. But the first priority is of repairing the building. We say farewell in the afternoon and leave for Lvov.
Wednesday, April 6th – Lvov
On Wednesday we visited Caritas Lvov. The local director described the situation to us. The economic crisis is also felt here. The most urgent item needed are children diapers, since the price has risen so much. People with low salaries of 55–110 Euros (cannot afford them. Another area that is in need of support is the care of autistic people, who are marginalized from society.
After the Lvov visit, we are going to Bortniky.
Karolína Opařilová, ACHO
Previous notes from the ACHO workers in Ukraine: Ternopil, Kyjev (Majdan) – The Ukrainian mission I
