Christmas celebration with native Mariupol residents

Christmas and New Year's holidays always remind us of a fairy tale, and we want our dreams to come true during these dreams and wishes come true on these days. Especially when it comes to childrenbecause they should have a happy childhood no matter what. А we, the adults, can and should give them those moments of joy even in the most difficult times for the country.

 

Therefore, for the second year in a row, our Diplomats team, together with Mariana Mamonova, has been meeting with children and their parents from the hero city of Mariupol, who have been united and cared for by our partners."Mariupol in Lviv". Two years ago, they started looking for contacts of those who managed to leave Mariana's town and get to Lviv, and then passed on information about where and when warm meetings of fellow townspeople take place. It's not news to anyone that Mariana worked as a military medic in the city, so when she learned about the creation of such an organization, she could not help but visit it, and we came along with her. This is how our joint assistance to these tireless people began. 

 

That is why, on the bright holiday of Christmas, our team decided to congratulate the children of Mariupol. Approximately two weeks before Christmas, Diplomats contacted the organization's chaplains to clarify the total number of children and to buy gifts for them. And Mariana came up with and organized an additional collection of gifts as part of the Secret Santa project. This cool idea was that everyone who cared could choose a child from the list and send a surprise for him or her. Thus, we received 64 gifts, and on December 24, we handed them over to the children at the Lviv Palace of Culture. On our part, our Diplomats team additionally purchased 120 sweet gifts worth more than UAH 40,000 and greeted all those present at the holiday. These sincere, genuine emotions that were raging at the holiday were visible on the faces of not only children but also adults - they had a special gift for them. The founders of the community "Mariupol in Lviv" organized a festive concert with Lviv singers and dance groups. 

 

The event was closed by the always cheerful and positive Mariana Mamonova. From the stage, she congratulated all the Mariupol residents present, dear to her heart, because they all had the same fate - they were forced to leave their homes, their hometown. As a reminder of Mariupol, Mariana read out the words from the famous song "Mariupol" by Alyona Alyona:  

I'm coming off the train through the platforms 

I will walk to the sea 

And in the parks, the crowns will make noise 

And from St. Peter's Church, the bell rings loudly 

Because everyone knows where that platform is and how to get to the sea from there... 

 

 -"But there is no time to be sad!" - Mariana called from the stage, because Mariupol is a city of strong people! People who support each other, help and rejoice together! And this is the most important thing, because when a person realizes that he or she is not alone, not lonely, he or she is capable of many things, capable of growing wings like the Phoenix bird! 

And our team "Diplomats", just like Mariana, is ready to support and help our partners, the organization "Mariupol in Lviv" and all Mariupol residents in general, we continue our volunteer path and there are many more good projects ahead, so if you have the opportunity and desire, join us! Our current projects and fundraisers are described on our website.