Friends, Last Bell staff members have had several opportunities in the last couple of weeks to help orphanage graduates with major medical emergencies. We’ll share those stories with you in a moment, but first…
Don’t Miss Andrey & Oksana!
They will be in the United States for part of March. The events they have scheduled so far include:
Friday, March 20th
6 PM – 9 PM open house
Location: the home of Ellen Jackson, in Broad Ripple
Address:
6386 Broadway St.
Indianapolis, IN 46220
Saturday, March 21
11 AM – 2 PM open house
Location: the home of Joan Jackson, North-Central Carmel
Address:
15237 Citation Road
Carmel, IN 46032
Feel free to call or email Ellen Jackson with any questions about Indiana events: ellenmjackson@yahoo.com / 317-590-5071.
Date: Wednesday, March 25th
Time: 7 PM
Location: Hope Baptist Church
Address:
5688 McWhinney Blvd.
Loveland, CO 80538
Vlad Loses Three Fingers at Workplace
On March 3rd, an older Last Bell son, Vlad Samkov, lost three fingers at his place of work (a factory). He regularly works with his fingers four inches from an electric wood saw. The accident happened so quickly that he didn’t even see it.
Vlad has a wife and two-year-old daughter, a brother in prison, and an older sister who lives in Berdichiv.
He went to the hospital, where the doctors performed surgery and stitched him up. At that point he called Andrey. He was worried about what the factory owner said: he wanted Vlad to write a statement saying the accident didn’t happen at the factory, but was a domestic trauma. The factory seemed to be offering Vlad his job in exchange for not saying anything.
Our legal department, Senya Shulgin and Andrey, prepared to counsel him and help him figure out what to do.
The next morning Senya, Andrey, and Vlad met with the factory director and Vlad’s immediate supervisor, plus doctors at the hospital. The director and supervisor looked very nervous when Andrey introduced himself, but he told them, “Hey, guys, relax, we’re just here to help.”
Andrey asked them to describe what happened, so they told Andrey and Senya about the accident, how everyone knew about it, and how they took him to the hospital, paid for medications, and talked to the doctors. They did everything the Last Bell staff would ordinarily do in representing him at the hospital.
Vlad’s boss is a good person. When Vlad broke his nose some time ago, his boss made sure he didn’t lose his job and offered financial support. This time, the company will give him another professional job with the same salary, plus 12,000 grivnas in compensation, and will take care of his medical needs. Also, he will be on a “sick list” while he recovers, so he will continue getting paid. Andrey felt that his and Senya’s initial concerns were unfounded and Vlad would be well cared-for.
At one point Vlad’s immediate supervisor said, “I see his hand in my dreams now, all the time,” and the director responded, “Do you think I slept for those two days?” They seem to be caring people. So Andrey and Senya decided not to make a legal complaint.
Vlad seemed to be in a good mood that day, taking it well. Thanks to everyone on our prayer circle who prayed for Vlad and our team when you first heard about this incident!
If you would like to be on the prayer circle email list, please email Emily at emily@lastbell.org.
Two Orphans in Car Accident
Sveta Davidyuk
A while ago, the Last Bell staff were invited by the director of a social dormitory to help the dorm work with some orphans who were living there. (A social dorm is public housing for people who would otherwise be homeless, and those who live there have access to social workers.) The director wanted to share her problems with Last Bell staff and introduce them to the orphanage graduates there.
At the meeting, the staff met 15-20 teenagers, most between 20 and 22 years old. Many of them were trade school graduates who were either working or had lost their jobs. A few connected with the staff and wanted to meet at the office; they could see the kids were hungry for help and attention. Those we help regularly can get used to it, but these kids were very passionate, essentially saying, “Help me, help me!”
Two of the girls, Sveta and Tanya, did come to the office. Sveta had actually attended Haven two years ago. She had been a pretty hardened kid, but behaved when she went on the Haven trip to the sea.
They talked to Senya about some legal problems. Sveta had calculated the pension she was supposed to get during the orphanage, but the director hadn’t given it to her. Someone helped her sue and they won the case. The director owed her the money for all those years. She was told that if the money didn’t arrive on her bank card in a year, she should go to another government office and ask for it.
However, it turned out she actually needed to address the problem within a year, not after a year was up. Her time had run out. So Senya and the girls discussed what to do.
Two days later, the girls were in a terrible car wreck. The story of the accident was told throughout the city. It was a head-on collision. Our two girls, plus two guys, were in one car. Two men were in the other car, including an older man who had a reputation as a kind and peaceful person, and to our great sorrow, they died on the spot.
Everyone in our girls’ car survived. The drunk driver almost died and is now in critical condition. Everyone who knew the older man who died want the drunk driver to recover and pay the full punishment.
So our girls were in the “guilty” car. But they are orphans, and as the driver’s friends, they don’t see the reality of the situation. Whenever the leaders are at the hospital, they try to help them realize what a tragedy this is, to help them feel sorry they allowed this guy to drive drunk.
Our girls are both hurt. They both have broken arms and injuries on their faces. We initially helped them with emergency items, like titanium implants for their arms, and they have been through the initial surgeries. In the process, in the yard of the hospital, we ran into Vlad who had just lost three fingers. He and the girls recognized each other and they talked for a while.
So we had many health issues this month. It’s really important that we help our kids with these medical problems, or they wouldn’t have anyone! |
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