The Hope for Latvia Blog
a new home
We received some great news this week that left us very excited. One of the families we support had been living in a run down, wooden accommodation block with shared toilet and bathroom facilities but they have now been re-housed. One of my favourite aspects of the story is the reaction of the children.
Andrej (12) and Denise (10) have spent most of the last week playing and sitting in their new bath or on their new toilet.
You might consider this strange behaviour for two young boys but consider this;
This is the tap where they collected water to wash with. The corridor had no lighting, to take this picture we had to hold the outside door open (in freezing conditions) and use the flash on the camera. Their toilets were worse than the one below; the smell made me gag when they showed it to me.
This is the first time in their life that they have ever had access to their own bathroom, they are totally in love with it!
Another significant improvement is that the new accommodation block is made out of concrete. Our constant worry was that one of the 100 residents of their former building would accidently start a fire putting the whole accommodation block at risk.
They were able to be relocated after constant campaigning by their mother and the monthly support provided by our sponsors.
On behalf of Vera, Andrej and Denise THANK YOU
Thank you
Thanks for your ongoing support and interest in the work of Hope For Latvia .
The need of Latvian people continues to astound us: ‘Alise’ one of the mothers we work with, supports her 4 boys on £300 a month; this barely covers their food, heating and rent (Latvian prices are similar to UK ones). They live in a single room flat in a wooden accommodation block heated by a wooden fire with water collected from an outside pump. The family are too ashamed of their living conditions to build relationships with other families and as a result have become socially isolated. Sergej Kazakevichak, one of the Pastors at Good News Church, works alongside hundreds of Latvian families, he spoke of the severity of this situation; “even I have not seen this before, what can they do? Just exist?!”
Through your donations we are able to work with the family to help develop Alise’s confidence so that she can search for work. We are also working with her boys to help improve their grades at school and see them go on to have successful lives.
Our partners at Good News Church have launched an exciting new initiative to help some of Latvia’s poorest women. Every Saturday morning there is a line of women queuing up to have their hair cut for free. Most of the women who come to receive a haircut have not been able to afford one in the last year as the living conditions have become increasingly difficult during the recession. This simple and practical assistance helps increase their social confidence and shows them that they are loved and valued.
Thank you for your support.
Family Success
This month we had some exciting news about a family we have been supporting since 2007:
Inga has two sons, Ibragim (11) and Aleskers (10), who have often missing school due to poor health. Inevitably they struggled to keep up and ended up being held back a year. Inga was worried about their eye sight and was convinced that this was part of the reason the boys were not performing at school. Unfortunately Inga, who is out of work and looking after 2 year old daughter Maria was not in a position to pay for an expensive eye examination, she is barely able to pay for the flat.
However, through the support Hope for Latvia provided Inga was able to save enough money to pay a doctor who diagnosed the boys has having a rare sight disorder. They have now qualified for a place in a school for the visually impaired. Enjoying school and with all the support they need, they boys’ grades are improving and Inga is a proud mother!
This is the story of just one family who through your support we are able to help. As an organisation which is run entirely by volunteers, we rely on our supporters to raise awareness of the terrible living conditions experienced bythousands of Latvian families.
There are a number of simple ways you can help:
- Share our Facebook Page.
- Re-tweet us on Twitter.
- Forward this e-newsletter to a friend and encourage them to sign up to receive it.
- Run a Fundraising event, you can find an A-Z of great ideas on our blog.
Please consider how you can raise awareness. Thank you for your support.
Marathon
Its warming up, spring is here and there seems to be a lot more joggers out with the sun. Maybe you’re the running type, or maybe you just want to take on a new challenge, but there’s plenty of Marathons, half marathons and fun runs you could get stuck into with a sponsored run for Hope for Latvia.
I’ve been looking and thinking about a few recently:
The City of Norwich Half Marathon, Sunday 27th November http://www.cityofnorwichhalfmarathon.com/
Norfolk Coastal Marathon, Saturday 8th October 2011 http://race-calendar.com/norfolk-coastal-marathon-26-2-miles-kelling-081011/10455/
Coastal Half-Marathon, Portsmouth Sunday 12 February 2012
Kings Lynn 10 K, 2nd May http://www.greateastangliarun.co.uk/
Sponsored runs are rewarding, good for you and a great way to raise money to help lift people out of poverty in Latvia.
How You Can Help
You don’t have to give up vast swathes of your time or empty your bank account to make a difference in Latvia. There are plenty of other ways in which you can get involved. The key is to do what you can - whatever that looks like for you.
Here are some simple ideas:
- Speak to friends, family and colleagues about the need in Latvia. Show them our website for further information.
- If you are an Ebay junkie, you can now donate a percentage from every sale to Hope for Latvia.
- Do your shopping through www.easyfundraising.org.uk. This costs you nothing but enables retailers to donate on your behalf.
- Spread the word online; twitter, Facebook, blogging- however you use social media why not promote the work of Hope for Latvia.
Collect change regularly and send it to us to make a change in the lives of Latvian families.We love to hear stories of how people are helping to make a difference, please get in touch, we would love to hear from you.
