Humanitarian aid transport

Practical aid on a personal level in Eastern Europe and the Ukraine

Background

In many areas in the East no trace is left of the economic boom. Above all, people in rural areas live in chronic poverty. Many young people are drawn to the large cities when looking for work, where all too often their hopes are disappointed. Those who find work must spend most of what they earn on exorbitant rents. There is not much money left to live on.
That is why most people in Russia, Eastern Europe and central Asia live in straitened financial circumstances. Above all, the support for needy families and senior citizens in rural regions in the form of well-kept clothing and shoes from Germany is a huge gift and of great practical value

The project

Every year LICHT IM OSTEN (LIGHT IN THE EAST) transports about 200 tons of relief aid, for the most part to Eastern Europe and the Ukraine. Besides little-worn clothing and shoes, medical equipment, wheel chairs and hospital beds are also donated. We are so glad about the generosity of individuals and some firms who supply us with relief aid. The relief aid items are collected at the headquarters of LICHT IM OSTEN in Korntal, and here loaded onto the lorries of our partner-organisations, who coordinate the distribution in the receiving countries in cooperation with churches, social institutions and social welfare offices in rural areas. It is mandatory that all aid items meet the import and hygiene regulations of the different countries, which is why we can only accept certain relief items.

Response to the project

A missionary in Russia has written:
"I was standing at the supermarket check-out, a pensioner was in front of me with three items in her trolley. She peered sadly at her goods as she did not have enough money. When I then paid the few Rubels for her she looked at me, grateful and yet barely understanding".

Funding

Project costs: 35,000 € per year
for transport, customs duty, storage costs and insurance.
The above-mentioned project costs are funded exclusively by donations.