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

For 11 years the amount of wards, served by Hesed highly grew up. From the first days of the Hesed's existence such programs as "Feeding", "Care at home", "Volontery", "Rental of medical equipment", "Club", "Hesed on the wheels" began to work.

Time went on. Hesed developed. Together with growth of amount of the wards, a spectrum of fulfilled services broadened.

New programs appeared. The "Rental" programme have provided 170 persons in 1998, and 830 units of equipment were delivered in 2002. "Care at home" program was created to help the not mobile and slow-moving patients, 170 persons were served by this programme in 1998, and nowadays - there are more than 600 people.
Six new dining-rooms were opened, and total number of them reached seven: two in Lvov, five in a region.

For people who can not visit the dining-rooms due to the state of the health, a programme "Dinners on wheels” appeared. And for those, who can’t leave the house and who needs the special diet, the "Products on a house” programme set to work in January, 2003.

The "Mokhed” ("Communal help") program have extended its activity, and now it is engaged in washing the linen, and repairing of the shoes, does other necessary services: haircutting, bathing, conducts disinfection in apartments. Within the "Moked” program, the design bureau "KB-volunteer" is working successfully, where the devices for wards with the limited physical possibilities are made and designed.

A lot of volunteers work In Hesed, without which our activity is impossible. There are 350 persons for today. Unfortunately, the amount of volunteers went down lately. "Old troops" leave, and young people aren’t in a hurry to take their place.
Eight years ago we established a new service - the curators. Due to work of curators we see the picture of necessary help to a wards more clearly.

The Program "Sounded book" takes under its care peaople who are blind and poorly seeing. They have a possibility to listen to the books recorded to the tape. The quantity of this program’s wards grew up from 53 to 90 persons.

The "Mazl Towe” program for pregnant women and families which have a child under 3 years, started its work in October, 2000. For today more than 150 babies are engaged in the program.

In June, 2001 the program "Daily center" ("kindergarten for old men") started working. Today it counts 90 participants.

In February, 2000 the "Hesed Arieh” branch was opened in Drogobitch city – “Gur-Arieh”, which has already been helping us with a half in distribution of all programs in the Lvov region.

Medical program which began from a pharmacy in Lvov, where our wards could get medicines with a 50% discount, today grew into the powerful network of different medical services.

Consultations of doctors-specialists, dantist help, operations on treating the cataract, hospitalization on vital indexes - here is the incomplete list of their activity.

A Club is show-case window of Hesed. Here we celebrate every shabat on every friday, here every wednesday and every sunday of different concerts are waiting for you, meetings with interesting people, literary and musical evenings etc. While our library have become a favourite place for receiving the spiritual energy not only by wards but also by employees.

The community programs appeared when it became clearly, that not only old people turn to Hesed and not for social help. Young people, children and people of middle age, began to come to Hesed searching for communication, for Jewish values. So there appeared the Jewish youth theater "Debut", choreographic ensemble "Jewish miniatures", klesmers orchestra, art-studio, "Family club" program, child's developing program "Beyteynu", computer class, the "Bubbot” puppet-play, Museum of history of the         Galisian Jews, and a group of studing the Jewish traditions.

Annual Book festivals, which are held by Hesed during the last 10 years!

And the First international theatrical festival, which was organized and held by Hesed in Lvov in November, 2002!

Yes, a lot of work is done for the last 10 years! And, certainly, without JOINT’S support it wouldn’t be possible for us to make such a pleasant conclusions today. During all these years JOINT always was a friend, helper, adviser, and the main – a sponsor. Thanks to JOINT from all of us!

Of course, not all in our work is smooth yet. Not everything and not always turns out the way we want it to, but we are opened for criticism and ready to listen to any remarks. We want to hear your voice very much, our dear friends! In fact all our work is directed on 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