2011 Winter Heating Appeal
In previous Winters for several years now, Carelinks initiated a major project to try to meet the significant problem of suffering as a result of the low temperatures in Eastern Europe and the former USSR. We provided funds to pay for heating bills, improved houses against the cold, installed internal toilets, delivered firewood, warm clothing, medical and other assistance to around 50 of the most needy brothers and sisters. As reported in our updates, we believe this significantly alleviated the suffering of several families, single mothers and especially elderly brothers and sisters. Given rising fuel prices the average cost of heating an apartment is almost the entire old age pension for sisters. Those with no supporting relatives, living alone, are left with literally nothing to survive on over the Winter months. For those living in the large concrete blocks which house the majority of the urban population, if they don’t pay their heating bills, they have to vacate the apartment- which often means going to live in the night shelters, and being out on the street from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. We’d like to continue our project this Winter too. Please consider donating whatever you can afford to enable us to do this. Following are a few typical examples of those we have helped in previous years and would like to continue assisting. We’ll provide feedback on how your funds are spent through our newsletters, and we can also email you specific details and photos of those assisted by you. We’re seeking to provide a total of 10,000 GBP [15,000 $] to those in need. We have no overheads and no salaried workers, so your funds go direct to those in need.
Sister Tanya [in the photo, wrapped in blanket] is a very faithful sister who has led others to the way of life. She suffers with her health and has a very small pension; the heating bills in Winter are about the same as her pension, which leaves her in a really difficult position so far as food, clothing and medicines are concerned. She tries to make her own medicines as she can't afford to buy them in Winter, like grinding up eggshells to make calcium. We would like to again make some contribution to her Winter heating this year so that she doesn’t have to go into a night shelter.
Sister Rita & Brother Yuri were living in a room without heating, trying to keep warm by covering themselves in sleeping bags and boiling water with an element and trying to warm themselves from the steam; we provided bar heaters, covered their electic bill and got them into better accommodation. We did this for quite a few of our most urgent cases:
In rural areas, we delivered firewood and other assistance to isolated brothers and sisters too old or ill to cope with the Winter, often due to having been abandonned by neighbours and family who have gone off to the towns and forgotten about them:
With temperatures down to -45 degrees in some parts of Russia where we have brethren, Winter becomes very difficult to cope with for the sick, elderly, single mothers and isolated. We try to provide relevant material support for them, including warm clothing and welfare packages:
This is a wonderful project, involving relevant humanitarian help being given to a lot of good hearted brothers and sisters who are in urgent need through no fault of their own, living as they are in the broken down social and economic situation which there is in the ex-USSR, with no other source of support, and in an area where temperatures can go as low as -45 C . This isn't just a nice idea, this program has been run for many years already and we have all contacts in place for it to happen this year too if you can fund it. Please do be as generous as you can and pass this appeal on to others, and above all please pray for this project and for our brethren and sisters.
Here’s how you can donate:
Send a cheque made out to “Carelinks” to:
AUSTRALIA: Carelinks, FAO John Thatcher. P.O. Box 152, MENAI CENTRAL, NSW 2234 Australia
CANADA: Steve and Connie Keating, 3420 Lakeshore Road, R.R.3, Alexandria, ON K0C 1A0 Canada
EUROPE: Sonia Hemingray, 40 Rue de la Baisse, F-69100, VILLEURBANNE, FRANCE
NEW ZEALAND: Glynn & Helen Pyper, 24 B Charlotte Street, Stanmore Bay 0932, Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
UNITED KINGDOM: Robin & Jean Field, 4 Ellergreen, Burneside, Kendal LA9 5SD U.K.
U.S.A.: Carelinks USA, c/o Charlie Klennert, PO Box 1049, Sumner, WA 98390 U.S.A.
ELSEWHERE: Carelinks, FAO John Thatcher. P.O. Box 152, MENAI CENTRAL, NSW 2234 Australia
Donate online via PayPal - more information at http://carelinks.net/doc/otherdonations
For more information, details of tax efficient giving or comments please contact one of the above Carelinks members or email us
You can donate anonymously to our bank account:
Name: Carelinks BSB#: 062259 Account#: 10255595
Bank: Sutherland Commonwealth Bank
Branch Name: Sydney, Australia
Sort Code CTBAAU2S IBAN: 06225910255595
Whether you can donate or not, please do join us in prayer for this significantly large group of brothers and sisters who will be facing considerable hardship and worry this Winter.
