Вінніпеґ Український № 22 (46) (December 2018)

Mission Without Borders is a Christian organization
that serves children, individuals and families
who are suffering from poverty in six of Eastern
Europe’s poorest countries – Albania, Bosnia-
Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Moldova, Romania and
Ukraine.
Giving
Practical Help at
Through material, emotional & spiritual support, we give hope
by meeting urgent needs as well as working towards building
self-sufficient communities. We work through local churches,
volunteers and our own specialist national staff, who know their
own culture, language and local needs best.
MWB offers a range of programs, from vocational training to
agricultural projects, to helping institutionalized children find a
better future, and struggling individuals & families move towards
self-reliance.
CHRISTMAS
Time
C
THE GAMZA FAMILY
hristmas time in the Gamza family is one of those rare moments
when the whole family is together. It is a precious
time for Vitaliy’s wife and children to see him, as they live
in a small village in the Sarny region, in western Ukraine, but he
works as a builder in the city 400 km away.
“It is difficult to return home to find that your kids have grown
taller and to realize how small is your input and influence on them.
I wish I could work closer to home,” he said. “There is total unemployment
locally. There are no roads, no manufacturing, no
business.”
“Only a few can get work in woodwork or have agricultural machines
to do farming. We live in an unfinished building and do not
have social benefits.”
Another reason for Vitaliy to wish he was home more often: “Until
the age of four, my son Vladyslav was a lively, joyful boy, the apple
of my eye, our firstborn. Suddenly he had a brain inflammation and
since then, has been paralyzed, unable to see and talk. He can hear
and sometimes communicate with movement.”
The children’s grandmother has devoted herself to the care of
her grandson Vladyslav, now 13, who has severe cerebral palsy.
She holds him tenderly on her lap. The two seem to be so close
that his pain is her pain too.
She said, “We tried different doctors and clinics. His disease
is so severe that he has little chance of improvement. The only
relief for him is rehabilitation therapy, but in our desolate village
with no hospital we cannot provide it. So I give him massages.”
Vitaliy’s wife Lyudmyla is so thankful for such a helper. She
takes care of her other boy, Valentyn, (10) and their two girls,
Valentyna (8) and Vladyslava (7), as well as doing the housework
22 Український Вінніпеґ - ГРУДЕНЬ 2018 -