Chernivtsi Hosted a Charity Event – "Children for Children"

The charitable organization, Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) Ukraine, together with the Seventh-day Adventist Church, has implemented the Children for Children Project for the past five years. This year, more than 4,500 people ordered empty boxes and filled them with useful gifts for children in need. This season, about 900 gift boxes were collected in the Chernivtsi region.

Pavel Eremenko, a chaplain in the Bukovina region, says: “When there is the right motivation, Biblical motivation, then this is [true] love for our neighbor because we love God, which means that we love people, and we love children. And living here on earth, we cannot but notice that less and less kindness [is being] observed in the people around us. Somehow, the world is becoming [more] selfish. And we, as a church, believe that God gives us obligations, a mission. Without love, the mission cannot be fulfilled. We can tell people the truth, but people feel. [Perhaps in the past, all we had to do was] talk, but today people are watching our way of life. Therefore, we organize such actions to make life easier for those in need.”

ADRA Ukraine is part of the International Adventist Relief and Development Agency (ADRA International), which operates in 134 countries around the world. ADRA International was founded in 1956 as a branch of the Seventh-day Adventist Church and has consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.

The mission of the organization is to support the needy and vulnerable segments of the population, improving their lives, making them active and successful in overcoming difficult life situations.

ADRA Ukraine is officially registered and has been implementing humanitarian projects since February 21,1993. ADRA Ukraine helps victims of conflicts and disasters, Internally Displaced Populations and their families, orphans, children from orphanages and shelters, hospital patients, people in "hot spots", the disabled, and the elderly.

Since the beginning of the armed conflict in Ukraine, more than 1.5 million people have been assisted in 15 regions of Ukraine. About 130 children took part in the action "Children for Children", which was held in the center of Chernivtsi. The approximate price of the contents of each of the boxes was from 300 to 400 UAH.

Each gift included should include four types of products - hygiene products, stationery, toys, and treats. The main objective of the project is to give attention to children who are in need. “I would like to have a yo-yo toy, a toy car with a remote control,” little Yaroslav shared his dreams.

“I would like to get a beautiful ball and a new LEGO man,” Kostya, another child that benefited, exclaimed.

Local churches and Adventist schools throughout Ukraine are very actively involved in this initiative. Church members and parishioners of all ages are happy to purchase gifts and donate their funds to this initiative. It is also worth noting that there are children who buy gifts at their own expense to help their peers who find themselves in difficult life circumstances.

“When I come back from another distribution event, I get inspired first of all. I cannot tell and speak for those people what they feel, but I see the joy in their eyes. I see gratitude. And for me personally, this is important… I am glad that I could leave a tiny contribution, a particle of my heart, leaving my kindness to these children,” shares Pavel Eremenko, a chaplain in the Bukovina region.

This article was originally published on the Euro-Asia Division’s news site.