How unnoticed time goes on! Twelve years have passed already... Twelve years ago in a solemn atmosphere a ribbon was cut, signifying the "Hesed-Arieh'' opening in Lvov .

For 12 years the amount of our clients, assisted by Hesed highly incraesed. From the first days of the Hesed's existence a number of programs like "Food", "Home care", "Volunteers", "Rehabilitation equipment loan", "Club", "Hesed on wheels" started to function.

The time has slipped  by.  Hesed has been developing. Along with increase of the number of its clients, the spectrum of its services has developed.

New programs appeared. The "Rehabilitation equipment loan" program  assisted 170 clients in 1998, and 830 units of rehabilitation equipment were delivered in 2002. "Home care" program was created in order to help iimmobile and bed-ridden people. 170 persons were served by this program in 1998, today this program assists more than 600 people.

Six new dining-rooms were opened, and total number of them reached seven: two in Lviv and five in the region.

For people who can not visit the dining-rooms because of their health condition, a program "Lunches on wheels" was established.  And for those, who can’t lgo ut  and who needs  special diet, the program "Food to homes"  started  to work in January, 2003.

"Moked" program have extended its activity, and now it is engaged in washing the linen, and repairing the shoes, renders other necessary assistance like haircutting, bathing, disinfection in apartments. With еthe frameworks of "Moked" program, the design bureau "KB-volunteer" is successfully working, where design and make the devices for the clients with the limited physical abilities.

A lot of volunteers work in Hesed, without their help our activity would be impossible. There are 350 of them. Unfortunately, the number of volunteers recently decreased. "Old troops" lare leaving, and young people do not hurry up to take their places.

Nine years ago we established new program – “Curators”. Due to the curator’s work we can more clearly who needs urgent assistance.

The Program "Talking book" takes care of blind people and people with poor sight. Such clients  are able to listen to the books recorded to the tape. The number of the clients of this program has  grown up from 53 up to 90 persons.

"Mazl Tow" program takes care of pregnant women and families with small children. It  started to work in October, 2000.

In June, 2001 the program "Daily Center" ("kindergarten for elderly people") started its dunctioning. Today it counts 90 clients.

In February, 2000 "Hesed Arieh’s"  branch "Goor-Arieh" was opened in Drogobych.

Medical program which started from the pharmacy in Lviv, where our clinets could get medicines with a 50% discount, today grew into the powerful network of various medical services.

Medical consultations, stomatological assistance, operations, hospitalization- that is incomplete list of its activity.

Club is Hesed’s show-case window. Here every Friday we celebrate Shabbat, here you can ejoy concerts and lectures, meetings with interesting people, literary and musical evenings, etc.

When it had become clear that Hesed’s activity is intended not only for the social assistance of elderly people, but also to the revival of Jewish culture and tradition and attraction of young generation to Jewish community, communal programs were established. Young people, children and people of middle age started to visit Hesed enjoying communication with each other, studying Jewish history, culture and heritage.  Soon Jewish youth theater "Debut", choreographic ensemble "Jewish miniatures", klesmer band, art-studio, "Family club", children’s program “Beiteinu”  were organized abd are successfully functioning now.  Museum-room "Tracing Galician Jews" is our special pride.

We can boast of annual Book Festivals, which taking place within last 12 years!

And the First international Theatrical Festival, which was organized and held by Hesed in Lviv in November, 2002!

Yes, a lot of work is done for the last 12 years! And, certainly, without JOINT’S support it wouldn’t be possible to sum up our work today! During all these years JOINT always was a friend, helper, adviser, and what is the most important – a sponsor. We all say thank you "JOINT"!

Of course, not everything in our work is so smooth . Not everything and not always turn out to be the way we want, but we are opened for criticism and ready to listen to any remarks. We want to hear you, our dear friends! In fact all our work is directed to you, we want you to live better and merrier!

Ada DYANOVA

Another year has passed. Life in Hesed is in its full swing.  Thus, our site can not follow the latest news. Therefore, from time to time I will insert some additions to the director’s page of our site.

Children’s programs have developed in their full entirety. Junior group “Mazl-Tov” (kids from 0 up to 4 years old) has been enlarged by the secondary one – “Ken-Eladim” ( kids from 4 up to 7 years old) and the senior- “Lev” (kids from 7 up to 18 years old). “Mazl-Tov” and “Lev” are the programs aimed for risk- group children (from not sufficiently provided families, large families, sick children, orphans and half-orphans, children from not full families). But “Ken-Eladim” is the program for everyone who has a wish as it deals with creative development and preschool training. Now, from the very morning our Hesed is getting full of children’s voices, their laughter and songs. And that is very pleasing not only for our employees but for elderly people, the clients of Daily Center and other social programs as well. Often the kids visit their grandmothers in Daily Center, singing and reading poems for them, and sometimes on Fridays they can appear during Schabbats. It makes faces of elderly people soft, breaking them into a smile.

There are a lot of news also in cultural life and in the life of community programs. We have already organized two Drama International Jewish Festivals “Constellation of Lion” and  Festival of  Decorative- Applied Art “Flame-mane Lion”. It  was fantastic! So much of talent, mastery and resourcefulness their participants from ten cities of Ukraine have brought with them! The exhibition was attended by about 2000 visitors. They expressed their thanks and gratitude in the visitors’ book. But closing of the Festival was a real show, finished by excellently prepared charitable auction. In general opinion, the Festival has become a real holiday not only for Jews, but for Lviv’s citizens of various nationalities as well.

International Scientific Conference “Metropolitan Andrey Sheptytskyy: dialem of  humanitarian choice within the conditions of totalitarian regimes”, which took place in “Hesed-Arieh” in November 2005, has become another important event for the city. The outstanding scientists from allover the world including Dan Michman, Schimon Redlich, Ahron Weiss, Myroslav Marynovych, Yaroslav Hrytsak have been discussing this extraordinary personality during  two and a half days of the conference. The Patriarch of  Ukrainian Geek-Catholic Church Lyubomyr Huzar  and Bishop from France Michael Hrynchyshyn attended the Conference and participated in it. The press of the whole world commented very enthusiastically this initiative of Jewish organizations, in particular of “Hesed-Arieh” and “Tkuma” Center from Dnipropetrovsk, their attempt to raise and investigate such a vital problem.

One more news - Daily Center was opened in Lviv Daily Center’s younger “brother”, our Drohobych branch “Hesed Goor-Arieh”.

I am sure that told you about all news, but briefly about the main.

Ada DYANOVA