For six years in a row, on the World Day of the Poor, the Maltese Relief Service has been organizing a joint meal with Lviv residents in need. This year we organized dinner for 200 people. Some of them shared the meal with us, and for some, we delivered it to their homes. This traditional dinner is organized by all Malteser Relief Services in the world and other international organizations.
World Day of the Poor is intended to help us reflect on our lifestyle and the many manifestations of poverty in our time. This day calls us to make efforts and work hard so that no one feels deprived of intimacy and kindness.
Every year the Malta Relief Service of Ukraine takes care of more than 1000 people in need. In general, we are talking about millions of servings of hot food during the activity of the project “Charity Kitchen”. Life has decreed that in old age these people are left alone, often seriously ill. And our mission is to help them!
“Everything really starts with us. If we turn away and do nothing to change this world, what will happen next, what kind of world will our children live in? We need to remember about the chain reaction. So, do we want to leave this world without kindness?”, says Victoria Luka, the manager of the Charity Kitchen project from the Maltese Relief Service of Ukraine.
“There is a lot of love and kindness in this work. It allows us to show our good qualities better and more. Most of all, I like the fact that this work gives you the strength to change the world for the better,” says Victoria Luka.
Helping the needy is one of the key vectors of the Malteser Relief Service`s activities. And despite the war, we continue to take care of people who, due to various circumstances, are unable to buy food and even cook their own lunch.
Our charity kitchen works in several directions. We have a “Kitchen on Wheels”: for people who are limited in their mobility, we deliver hot meals to their homes. We have charity kitchens at churches. Those in need receive hot meals at the Church of the Holy Virgin of Ukraine and the Church of the Resurrection of Christ in Lviv. In addition, elderly people with very low financial security, who can prepare their own food, regularly receive sets with the necessary food items.
It should be noted that in 2016 Pope Francis established the Day of the Poor for the first time, which the entire Catholic Church celebrates annually in November. “May this VI World Day of the Poor be an occasion of grace to make a personal and community examination of conscience, asking ourselves whether the poverty of Jesus Christ is a faithful companion of our lives,” Pope Francis encourages in this year’s message.