Ben and Linda’s Ukraine
from letters by Ben and Linda Stobbe, summer 2006

The most common question asked of us by North Americans is “what exactly do you do in Ukraine?”  Exactly? Nothing. Everything here is done very inexactly.  After reflecting on what has happened this week it appears to be a mix of planning, opportunism and good guidance or some would suggest fortune.

Planning:

A lot of effort has gone into trying to deal with the ongoing winter problem of heating buildings. In Soviet times, villages like Molochansk relied a lot on a large central coal heating system where they had a big boiler guarded by a blackened sentinel chimney, with pipeline-like heating pipes wrapped in bats of insulation radiating out to schools, apartments and other major buildings. The problem with this approach was that when the price of coal went up or the supply diminished, buildings simply weren’t heated. Everyone was dependent on one central system.

The hospital in Vladovka (formerly Waldheim) ran out of coal last February while still in a protracted cold snap. The inventive administrator starting burning the shells of sunflower seeds; soon truckloads of shells were dumped on site and into the boilers. He could get the shells free from local processing plants and basically was only paying farmers for the fuel to deliver them. Not only did he get heat, he got good ash which he could return to the soil.

Now the administrator has come to us asking for support to build a storage shed for this year’s supply of sunflower seed shells. For $2000 US he will have a shed assuring him of winter heat for the hospital.
 Over the spring a lot of work went into this by the administrator, by the Regehrs (spring North American directors) and by the Friends of the Mennonite Centre in Ukraine board (FOMCU) reviewing the proposal, looking at plans, etc. The storage shed will now be built. And if this works (as it assuredly did last winter) we will be looking at using this and other local alternative fuel sources to replace or supplement coal.

And if you don’t think this makes a difference, ask the pensioners who survived because they stayed in this hospital during the coldest nights last winter. Other villages, apparently even Molochansk, had people who froze to death.

Opportunism:

Linda got a call at the beginning of the week from Ann Goertzen, the Mennonite Mother Teresa in Zaporozhye, who runs the Bethania care home. Could Linda, as a breast cancer survivor, come to Zaporozhye and have lunch with a local politician and another cancer activist to talk about her experiences dealing with cancer and give suggestions re fund raising. Friday found Linda and her friend Larissa Funk, one of the German Aussiedler missionaries, board a micro-bus called a Marshrootka (not Matruska, the Russian mini-dolls) and trundle off to the pizza place in Zap. They wanted to compare notes particularly on treatment and fund raising approaches. Linda talked about community fundraising events like “Run for the Cure” and “Cops for Cancer.”  She quickly breached the limit of their imagination when she described policewomen and policemen having their heads shaved in fundraising efforts. The dropped jaws and incredulous looks said everything.  Much here is said of police, but not this. They want her back this week, so off she will go, this time to meet with some doctors and visit hospitals.

Good guidance/good fortune?

On Wednesday Ben and Katya took the two and one-half hour drive to Dnepropetrovsk.  They had never met Lorne and Hilda Epp, the new fall North American Directors. But one look at their smiling faces and upon hearing his CBC bass “you must be Ben” voice, the new team came together.

It has been amazing to see how each of the newly arrived North American Directors bring unique skills that fit in so well to the needs of the Centre. The Epps will be no exception. For when Linda reported back on her meeting with the emerging cancer activists in Zaporozhye, we found out that Hilda Epp has lots of experience in home care nursing and has a passion for nursing and teaching.  Now we have someone with professional expertise who can help people transition from institutional care to home care.

Now Lorne is no slouch either. When we came back from Melitopol yesterday Linda declared that an electrical junction box was adding to the heat of the house. When she came out of the bedroom she couldn’t miss the shower of sparks and smell of burning (it wasn’t her cooking)! Wisely she ran to Larissa our neighbour who cut the power at the breaker box. Larissa then went to find an electrician down the road. However the only available electrician has a drinking problem and was already poorly wired! So when we returned home, Lorne, as any good Saskatchewan farmer-turned-minister would, declared that he would trust his own skills long before trusting the skills of a drunken electrician. A confident man with a good set of pliers meant no more sparks and good light.  We are indeed blest to have this couple with us.