When people have the basic commodities of life, food, clothing, and shelter, they then have the ability to provide a decent living for themselves. When the disabled pensioners in Russia lost their pension incomes due to the collapse of the Soviet Union, they lost this ability. Because our focus in Outreach is to help people help themselves, this became a primary interest for us.
Through our Pastor, Natalie Shiras, we were introduced to Oksana Petrova, minister of Trinity Methodist Church in St. Petersburg, Russia. Her little church supports a mission called, “The Boomerang Invalid Society.” These differently abled individuals are given funds with which to buy material that allows them to keep working at their various occupations, such as painting, jewelry making, and various other crafts, allowing them the freedom of independence.
We raised $10,000 for an endowment that enables us to send them $500 every Christmas for the purchase of supplies, medicines and educational workshops.
