Souvenirs from around the world to help refugees
The National Sports Complex Olimpiisky will host the annual charity fair, organized by the International Women’s Club of Kyiv, on December 6More than 30 embassies, cultural centers, and the Plast scout organization are preparing for the event. Participants of the fair will sell ethnic dishes, clothes, jewelry, gifts and more. The proceeds will go to help the refugees from Crimea and eastern Ukraine. “Members of the International Women’s Club of Kyiv (IWCK) will do some special things for the fair. For instance, our members are making pastries, jams, collecting clothes for the charity sale,” chairwoman of the fundraising committee Valeria Stulikova told us.
Georgian and Bulgarian dances, Argentine tango, and a Czech choir performance will be offered at the fair as well. The Children’s Corner will host a workshop for parents wishing to learn first aid techniques to help their children, while scouts will teach their customs to little kids. More than 900 people have been preparing for this large-scale event since August.
Sian Stickings of the Ambassadors’ Spouses Club described the British shop’s future activities at the charity fair as follows: “We are looking forward to seeing everyone at the British afternoon tea event. We have baked over 100 pies for the tea, as pies are traditional Christmas goodies in Britain. About 30 volunteers prepared this meal. We will be selling Christmas cookies, puddings, and Scotch whiskey as well. Our team will also offer a lot of stuff with the flag of Great Britain on it: aprons, jackets and so on. This fair will present a fantastic opportunity to travel around the world without leaving one’s place.” The geographical coverage is fantastic, as the event’s participants include embassies of France, Austria, Korea, Peru, Mexico, and Vietnam.
The IWCK Charity Fair raised nearly two million hryvnias two years ago. These funds were distributed among several charitable projects, such as building an orphanage and buying surgical equipment. Last year’s event was canceled because of the events on Maidan. “We target four groups with our help: women, children, the elderly, and persons with disabilities,” the IWCK charity committee’s chairwoman Natalia Mustafina told us. “Since we held no fair last year, we devoted our efforts to special initiatives. We helped a camp for the refugees from eastern regions.”
The fair’s organizers are serious about the allocation of funds. To get money, NGOs or charities need to apply for a grant from the club and win the competition. Only initiatives that work in Kyiv region are eligible for the funds, as the IWCK members have to be able to check how the proceeds are used. The club will treat applications from initiatives that help the refugees as priority ones this year.
