Christmas Outreach to Poor Pensioners in the Ukraine - Project: 011

This Christmas outreach came about as a result of the success of our other two Christmas programmes for poor folk in Bulgaria as well as Portugal.  In December 2018, Siloam empowered Pastor Peter Bevz of the Chernigov Baptist Missionary Church to be provided with £3,000 so that 300 bags of groceries could be shared with desperately poor pensioners in the villages around Chernigov.

The Ukraine is an extremely poor country and the area around Chernigov the Ukraine’s second city, is perhaps the most deprived region of the Ukraine.  Nearly all the villages are inhabited by poor old people living on meagre pensions.  Most of the youngsters have long since left the rural areas and sought employment in the towns and cities or even gone abroad.

This desperate situation provides yet another opportunity for the local church to present the Christmas message to those who do not understand the message of the gospel and the important implication it has for their eternal lives.

Siloam believes that most of the folk that are reached by this Christmas parcel initiative are old and indeed stand at the door of eternity.  For these dear folk there is not much time left to make that vital decision as to whether to accept the gift of eternal life offered by our Saviour the Lord Jesus Christ or the alternative of rejecting God forever and languishing in a lost eternity!

Pastor Peter Bevz has had a long association with Siloam going back to the late 1980s when Siloam started to help by providing aid in trucks after the 1986 disaster at the nuclear power station at Chernobyl.  We regularly fund children’s Bible camps but this was a new initiative which was launched in the winter of 2018/19 which proved to be a very effective way of reaching desperately poor old people with the lifesaving message of the Christian gospel.

A typical bag of groceries will cost less than £9.00 plus the transport costs and will do much to keep body and soul together during the worst of the winter.  The contents of a typical grocery parcel are:

• 2 bottles of sunflower oil
• 2 kgs of wheat flour
• 2 kgs of buck wheat
• 2 kgs of pasta
• 2 cans of fish
• 2 kgs of rice
• 1 packet of Lipton tea
• 1 packet of condense milk
• 1 packet of biscuits
• 2 kgs of sugar
• 1 can of peas
• 1 piece of salami sausage

You will notice the absence of any Christmas puddings or turkeys, the like of which these pensioners would never have had the opportunity to enjoy.

Please take time to read through our Christmas outreach brochure. We hope you will be inspired to empower Peter Bevz to continue his gospel ministry in this desperately poor area of the Ukraine.  Your love does matter, your gift will certainly make a difference.

Tatianna Shramko worked formerly at the Chernigov Polytechnic Institute for 30 years.  She is now retired with a severe mobility problem in her legs.  Sadly, Tatianna cannot walk so she stays most of the time at home and seldom ventures outside.  Her husband Vitaliy was a former construction engineer who worked for over 30 years.  He is also retired receiving a meagre pension of around £60.00 a month. To add to their difficult circumstances, they also have a 40 year old son that lives with them who is physically challenged.  They not only have to care for themselves but also make provision for the well-being of their disabled son.