photo: tvoe misto
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Former homeless people, like no one else, know how to be without a roof over their heads. That is why the residents of the «Emaus-Oselia» community were among the first to help. In particular, they started feeding people at the station and sorting things for the refugees.
Natalia Sanotska, the deputy head of the «Emaus-Oselia», told us before the war that their community had cared for the homeless in Lviv for more than 20 years and functioned in such a way that 30 formerly homeless people lived in the house. They ran a common household, earned their living and helped those who still lived on the streets or were in crisis. However, other work was added during the war.
Read also: On the first line. The story of volunteers who supply equipment to the frontline
«Oselia has vast experience in sorting things. So, from the beginning of the war until today, we have been taking things from the Administrative Services Centre and various volunteer initiatives, sorting them and turning them into specific factions. After that, we issue them for the specific inquiries,» – says Natalia Sanotska.
According to her, the community is very sensitive to the needs of people in crisis, so when they saw the huge queues at the station, they immediately became more active and began to take food there.
«We started sharing with people what we had,» – the deputy head of the community adds.
When the war broke out, six «Emaus-Oselia» residents enlisted as volunteer fighters, three of them are already on the front lines of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Others prepare food for the military, sort clothes that are later handed over to the settlers, and select fabrics of appropriate colours for weaving camouflage nets.
«We are very pleased that we have become the main centre in Lviv, which provides such raw materials. All this is done by our residents. On the one hand, one person can not radically change anything in this world, and on the other, those great changes depend on each person. We strongly believe that our work is approaching our victory,» – said Natalia Sanotska.
You can help the community with these details:
LMGO Oselya Mutual Aid Community
Joint Stock Company Raiffeisen Bank Aval,
Leskova str.9, KYIV, UKRAINE
SWIFT: AVALUAUKXXX
IBAN: UA503808050000000026005210462
Or bring things in good condition to one of the «Emaus-Oselia» containers in Lviv.
We will add that the media hub «Tvoe Misto» has launched a project of video stories «On the First Line» about those who help Ukrainians during the war – on the front line or in the rear. This is a series of short videos about war heroes, about their systematic work in defense of the country and hometown. The video will be published in two languages: Ukrainian and English.
Read more stories «On the first line» here:
How Lviv’s choir «Dudaryk» opened the shelter of St. Lazarus for refugees
How two friends from Lviv began to sew unloading vests for the army
«To take the wounded over the night, we drive to the touch.» war story of a paramedic
Translated by Vitalii Holich
Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Lviv Now is an English-language website for Lviv, Ukraine’s «tech-friendly cultural hub.» It is produced by Tvoe Misto («Your City») media-hub, which also hosts regular problem-solving public forums to benefit the city and its people.
