Soup Kitchen
The
IWC and the Charities group support a dozen soup kitchens in Moscow, many of
which are affiliated with churches of different denominations. Three of these
soup kitchens or stolovaya are run by the Moscow Protestant Chaplaincy. The IWC
provides support and many of its members help in the soup kitchens as
volunteers.
These
soup kitchens provide a hot meal to homeless, to pensioners, to the unemployed,
students living on a meager stipend, the poor and to anyone seeking nourishment.
Since the crisis, the need for soup kitchens is even greater. For many, lunch at
the soup kitchen is their only meal of the day, and their only source of
companionship and comfort. IWC volunteers help to serve meals, clear and clean
tables, and communicate with the people, who desperately need a smile and
listening ear. If you are interested in helping, please send an email to iwc_charities@yahoo.com
Street
Children
We have all
seen the street children here – hanging around the train stations
and big shopping centers.
Some of
them are begging but some of them are just lying on the ground looking ill, hungry
and inadequately clothed.
The
future looks very grim for these children. They become beggars, prostitutes,
selling drugs, etc. just to survive – it is estimated there are more than
200.000 children living on the streets in Moscow and up to 5 million in all of
Russia.
We
have all felt very sorry for them, as we believe that every child born has
a right to be cared
for.
In 2002,
the IWC decided to gather projects concerned with street children under one hat
so that more could be done to help.
We are
working on different levels by:
✯
Collaborating
with other
organizations - this can be by helping a street child to find a way to a better
life
i.e. placed in foster
care, orphanages, shelters or in the very basic way of providing the children with clothes and food.
✯
Supporting
private families/foster families who take street children into their care
✯
Developing ideas
and plans for what more we can do in the future to help individual children and
street children in general
If you are interested in helping with street children, please contact us at iwc_charities@yahoo.com