In the above photo (viewable if you click the link to go online) is a billboard stating “Kherson is Ukraine!”
Today (Saturday) I awoke to a temp of 8C! You can hear autumn as the wind rustles the drying leaves on the trees. Usually the mornings begin cool but then the sun warms things up.
Friday was spent full throttle and was a delightful day. We began making the rounds at the various political offices in the Kherson Region. I met with the Council on Regional issues and we had a very productive meeting. I am encouraged by the strong partnership that was evidenced in this meeting and the promise of continuing discussions on how our presence can become more definite.
The first container of shoes has been in “Port Limbo” since I arrived. A number of factors have stalled its release and we have been working on those issues bouncing communication from Odesa to Canada to Ivano-Frankivsk to Kherson—back and forth have gone the messages like a ping pong ball! Last night I thought we had everything resolved and they started unloading the container. We had put on the inventory new & used shoes but when they started unloading there were only new shoes found (if some had been taken out of boxes they would be considered used but I learned from communication in Ohio that it was too costly to take the shoes out of the box and they didn’t think that would be a problem—neither did I think that). So when no used shoes were found the Chief of Customs was called. The issue is being worked on and hopefully today it will be resolved.
I stopped briefly at the storage where the Kherson container was unloaded. This was the container of clothing, hygiene items, and toys sent by the Neelyville, MO brethren and coordinated by Tanya’s twin Jerry Max Morgan! (He had claimed to be MY twin but Tanya looks better than I so he decided to switch!)
In another session I was taken to a facility that our Consignee in Kherson (“Mongoose”) has established for retirees. As a retiree they receive 1,200 grievnas a month. In exchanges 1 USD = 26 grievna. So they get $47 per month. Utilities are 800 gr per month in winter which is about $30.00. So they have the rest ($17) to buy food, meds, etc. Some of the elderly need diapers and they are about 16 gr (about 61 cents) each and they use 4-5 per day which equals $3.00 per day. I found out that the elderly cannot go into the hospital IF they do not bring their own diapers (and the hospitals will NOT allow cloth diapers because they do not have laundry options). If the elderly are incontinent and buy diapers then they have no money for anything else. Evgenia and Mongoose have made available a special place for retirees. This was an old, abandoned building that they remodeled and made available to the retirees. They have made it possible for senior citizens to come and take a shower; provided a sewing room where they can med clothes; and even have a room set up where the ladies can fix one another’s hair.
These ladies want to work in distribution of the clothes sent by Neelyville. They want to hang the clothes instead of piling them in tables or leaving them in bags. They have a good plan and are excited about working in the project. Some said they could move a sewing machine to the distribution site where they could mend any garment needing repair.
Kherson is in the south of Ukraine and known for its fruits and especially watermelon. Tomorrow I leave on a 9½ hour bus ride from Kherson to Zaporozhye. In addition to my suitcase, my rolling carry-on and backpack, and a 6 liter jug of water, I now have 2 bags of fruit and a 15½ pound watermelon on a bus seat for 9½ hours!
Thank you for your prayers and concerns on this mission trip.
John L. Kachelman, Jr.
Kherson, Ukraine
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