On the occasion of the Day of Sorrow and Remembrance of the Victims of the War, on June 21, 2019 representatives of the All-Ukrainian Charitable Fund “To You” (ACF 2U) and Kyiv City State Administration (KCSA) conducted a traditional meeting with the Righteous Gentiles, Righteous of Ukraine and Righteous of Baby Yar at the premise of the Museum of Kyiv History.
At the beginning of the meeting, Julia Goldenberg, ACF 2U Head and Founder, reported on what had already been done during this year and reminded of the procedures for the assistance provision be the fund, and then gave the floor to the head of the KCSA Department of Nationalities Olga Vlasenko. Mrs. Vlasenko told about the operations of the KCSA “Care” Program and stressed that this year few payments to the Righteous have been already performed to the “Kyiv Citizen Card”, and some are scheduled to be performed by the end of this calendar year. In addition, she noted that “many issues go beyond the Program “Care” and each individual case is considered individually, but, unfortunately, not everything depends on KCSA.”
Further, the participants were invited to tell about their concerns, express their wishes and opinions regarding the activities of the Foundation and the KCSA related to the Righteous. Here are just a few quotations from the speeches:
Ganna Bebyh, Righteous of Baby Yar: “With your help, we were able to live a supposedly second life.”
Oksana Yakovchuk, daughter of the Righteous of Ukraine and a long-term volunteer of the Fund: “The main thing in 2U activities is that they have not forgotten about us. Against the background of that darkness and existing problems, there is a ray that remembers and cares. Maybe those gifts are not as great as the feat that the Righteous accomplished, but when it was hard for me, I felt that there are people who did care; there is a team that raises the affairs of helping these heroic people on the state level.”
Sophia Yarova, Head of the Association of Righteous Among the Nations and Baby Yar: “Although the doctor did not recommend me, I could not help but come. I want to say: thank you that you remember. I wish that all of us in our Ukraine were all well, that there was no fascism; that June 22, 1941 would never repeat.”
In conclusion, Mrs. Goldenberg and Mrs. Vlasenko thanked everyone who, despite the hot weather, attended the meeting, and invited all those gathered to enjoy deserts and drinks prepared for them.
The meeting and gifts to the Righteous would not have been possible without the ongoing support of the English Charity Organization “World Jewish Relief” (WJR).
