Firewood for Russian Grannies
A group of poor Russian elderly in the Adopt-a-Granny project were surprised with a stock of firewood to keep them warm in the winter.
-"Elderly who live in the area of Tula receive a pension of € 80-100 euro a month" says Bert Dokter, Dorcas Regional Director CIS. "To buy enough firewood to stay warm in the winter costs about 220 euro. In other words: about two month's pension. Just for the wood."
The grannies were very thankful to receive the firewood. Seven volunteers from Dorcas' local partner organisation chopped the wood for the elderly.
Currently, it's -25 C in Tula.
Today, there are about 37 million elderly people in Russia who receive only a small pension: many have to continue to work in order to survive, for example by selling cigarettes or flowers on the market or by a subway station. Without work, it's very difficult to make ends meet.
This is why Dorcas in cooperation with local partnerorganisation Blagodat have established a the programme "Adopt-a-Granny" in Tula. Through this programme, the elderly receive both financial, social, spiritual and material support.The programme focuses on poor persons above 55 years of age who are not able to take care of themselves.
Dorcas Aid has Adopt-a-Granny-projects in 11 countries in Africa and Eastern Europe. The financial adoption of a granny costs € 25 a month.
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