DanChurchAid
Russia
Help the freezing Russians
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Nochlezhka
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| Maxim Jegorov (to the right) recieves clothes for the homeless. |
Right now the health staff at Nochlezhka are daily dressing serious frost-bites on 10-15 homeless persons. In six cases they had to refer the patients to a hospital for amputation of one or more limbs, and so far the hostel knows about four deaths.
”Fortunately, it is not as bad as during the tough winter last year. It was the worst I have ever experienced. Several hundred died,” says Maxim Jegorov. He is the head of Nochlezhka, one of the few existing hostels in the one million-people city.
| Out in the cold |
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| There are approx. 4.2 million homeless people in Russia. Nobody knows exactly how many in Sct. Petersburg, but Nochklezhka has registered 17,000. 42 per cent are homeless due to family problems, 20 per cent are released from prison and 17 per cent have been cheated in connection with sale of their house or flat. Source: Nochlezhka Donate now |
Minus 20 Centigrade
Like in Denmark, the first part of the winter in Russia was exceptionally mild – so mild that the Russian bears did not hibernate. But in January it became colder, and three weeks ago the winter really arrived with minus 20 Centigrade every night. And nothing in the weather forecast indicates an early spring. In the worst case, the winter may last until far into April.
So, one week ago, Nochlezhka decided to encourage people to check their wardrobes for surplus clothing and deliver it to the hostel. Thanks to good cooperation with the local media and the goodwill of the population, the hostel succeeded in collecting enough warm clothes for the rest of the winter. Maxim Jegorov is very happy with this collection, as the homeless do not usually receive much sympathy from the general population or from the authorities.
The politicians do not care
”In order to avoid a situation like last winter, already in August last year we sent a letter to the City Council and to the leaders of the Orthodox Church in Sct. Petersburg to draw attention to the problem in due time. The City Council never answered, and the Church replied only in January, but the reply was negative,” he explains.
A few days ago an emergency tent was put up in front of the hostel where the homeless can get first aid, warm soup and social counselling. One tent is not enough compared to the need, and therefore Nochlezhka needs money to put up fore tents around in the city
By Anette Krarup, ak@dca.dk
Russia
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