Caritas Czech Republic organizes help for children in Chechnya(Caritas Czech Republic) As many as 250 pre-school children, most of whom are war orphans or have lost one parent, attend four children centres in ravaged Chechen capital Grozny every day. During the last two years the kindergartens have been set up by the staff of Czech humanitarian organisation Caritas Czech Republic (CCR), which has been running a Nazran-based mission for Chechnya, Ingushetia and other regions of the North Caucasus since August 2000.
The first hundred children in the centres have become a target for CCR's project ”Help Children in Chechnya”. ”Upon local workers’ recommendation, we have chosen more than a hundred children from all our kindergartens for whom we would like to find their respective donors”, said the project’s co-ordinator Kateřina Stejskalová of the CCR's humanitarian section. ”We have put together the lives of the children in brief forms stating their financial situation, family conditions and the state of their health. Besides, there is a photo joined to each form. Most of the children have lost father, but some miss mother, too. Other come from large or disorderly families, and live in disastrous conditions of the ravaged Grozny”, said Kateřina Stejskalová.
From each family a maximum of two children have been chosen. ”Thus we can help more families”, said Stejskalová. “Through the project we try to find donors who would be willing to contribute 500 Czech crowns (about 14 US dollars) monthly, i.e. 6,000 crowns per year (about 160 dollars), to a particular child. The money will be used for the child’s food, personal care equipment or medicine,” Stejskalová elaborated.
CCR staff will work as intermediaries between the children and their donors, providing the latter with the child’s photo. ”Because the children are of pre-school age, having no skills in writing, each donor will be given for example pictures made by ”their” child.”
CCR declares it will keep the contact between donors and the children for two years. ”However, due to security reasons, we cannot promise further contact with children who finish their pre-school education. The situation in Grozny is still confused and moving around the capital freely is almost impossible, ” concluded Stejskalová.
Donations can be sent to Caritas Czech Republic's account No. 1011017777/5500, variable symbol 126, Raiffeisenbank, Vodičkova 38, Prague 1, the Czech Republic.
(Translated by Prague Watchdog.)
P.S.: If you are unable to read the information (in Czech) on the website of Caritas Czech Republic (http://www.charita.cz), you can ask Prague Watchdog for additional information about the organisation.
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