In Ukraine there are a large number of lonely elderly people living in poverty. However charitable kitchens that provide for these people are rare and the need exceeds delivery by more than a hundred times. These people are often those who do not receive support from the state, abandoned and neglected by their own relatives and often disabled. This “lost and forgotten generation” has become a victim of changing social order in a country in transition, in a period where the system does not provide any appropriate social or health insurance.
The Kitchen for Life in Ukraine delivers hot meals to elderly people with limited mobility. Social workers and volunteers help to deliver these meals as a way of improving the physical and emotional health of lonely elderly people. Since the project launched in 1990 it has delivered more than three million servings. They also help to raise awareness about the plight of forgotten elderly people as a way of changing attitudes in the community.
This project is owned by the Order of Malta Relief Organisation in Ukraine and received funding from the Global Fund for Forgotten People in its inaugural round of grants.