Dear members and friends,
Recent events have been extremely worrying and there have been distressing developments. Our work in Ukraine, Syria and the DR of Congo has been seriously constrained in many ways, not least by the personal danger our friends, partners and their families have faced. Our representatives here are endeavouring to maintain 24 hour communication to give them advice and ensure their safety. This worrying situation should, however, in no way detract from some of the positive outcomes we have had in the field. These are detailed below in this update.
1° Syria
In January , the Vivere-Syria program provided assistance to 45 babies in total, 22 of whom are new to the program this month.
The situation in the country is unstable and is constantly becoming worse due to continuing violence. In their most recent letter, our co-workers said:
‘Three months….no wages, thousands fired from their jobs,….Every day- thefts, kidnappings, murders, dead bodies, vengeance…..Islam- really ? Everybody is desperate to leave, by any means possible…’
‘Mouatassem is the 5th child of this family, very poor, immigrants, living in a squat.
The father has done his compulsory military service, but is currently fleeing, fearful of being killed and hoping to normalise his situation…
Now this family is living rough on the streets, having been thrown out of the house when the owner returned from exile…
This is the dramatic situation that many Syrians-with definite or supposed links to the former regime- find themselves in.’
Mouatassem now receives nutritional supplements.
2° Moldavia : winter aid for vulnerable, elderly and isolated people
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- For Elena Jomir (87 years old) the arrival of the firewood was a big surprise, because she received it when she had just a few more days of wood left. Elena worked tirelessly throughout the night and in the rain to carefully store the wood and cover it in a box, so that the rain wouldn’t spoil it.
Last December, after a pause of nearly two years, due to health and fear of being attacked by Russia, our partner association Compasiune was able to make contact again with the village of Costeti. We were able to help save the lives of elderly people who are living in the most precarious of situations,desperately trying to survive the ravages of a brutal winter. 72 people in total benefited from food parcels, and/or a stock of firewood. The total cost of this is CHF 40,44 per person (E 42,38)
Translated witness statements:
‘ If I have wood for the winter, I consider myself to be the richest and luckiest woman in the world’ These are Elena Jomir’s words, who -tears in her eyes, tells us about how her life has been blighted with difficulties and hardship.‘During the winter, we used to go and look for wood in the forest, and since we didn’t have any transport, we would carry the wood on our backs for 5km. We would make the wood last for 3 days. Later on, it was easier to get to the forest, but we didn’t have the money to buy enough wood to last us through the cold parts of the year.’
- For Elena Jomir (87 years old) the arrival of the firewood was a big surprise, because she received it when she had just a few more days of wood left. Elena worked tirelessly throughout the night and in the rain to carefully store the wood and cover it in a box, so that the rain wouldn’t spoil it.
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Lupu Maria: ‘I cut down all the trees in the garden…..and the fence….but when I cut down the walnut tree, I cried my eyes out…That tree has saved me in many a difficult time: I earned money from it, used it to feed my children…. I felt each stroke of the axe to the core of my body.
3°Assistance to Ukranian refugees in Montenegro
Between last November and January, 112 refugees, 64 of whom are children, received food donations, hygienic products, and medicine as well as a few small Christmas presents. These people were forced to flee the following cities: Kiev, Poltava, Dnepro, Donetsk, Vinnitsa, Lougansk, Zaprozhye, Irpen, Sumi, Kharkiv, Kherson, and Odessa. The total cost comes to CHF 9,62 (E10,08) per person.
4° Such a moving gesture
Last December, a young apprentice donated CHF200 to Vivere from his very first pay packet. ‘Value isn’t dependent on age!’
5° Reminder: Vivere AGM, Thursday 8 May 2025, Lausanne
Thank you in advance for marking this important date in your diary; we would very much like your participation! You will be receiving an invitation and agenda in due course.
Dear members and friends, we would like to emphasize our gratitude for your continued support and interest in our work, the confidence that you show us and your