HUMANITARIAN PROJECTS

I would like to answer a few questions people have asked me about the Humanitarian Program of the Church.

Where does the money come from?

• first the money that is used comes from members of the church worldwide who donate to the Humanitarian Fund

Who does it go to?

• the funds are used to assist organizations who help the poor and needy
• we do not provide assistance to individuals
• we have worked with; hospitals, schools, institutions for the handicapped, boarding schools, orphanages, women's groups, a veteran's group, and an organization that supports people raising large families, a blind school, a day program for "invalids", and shelters.

How do you find the organizations to help?

• sometimes we will get a letter from an organization that has had assistance from the church in the past.
• sometimes a local church member or Branch President will know of an organization that could use some assistance and they will make a referral.
• when things are slow we go looking for places that are doing great things to assist the poor and needy.
• we work with other non-governmental agencies like the International Relief Development who will recommend possible organizations to partner with.

What happens after you meet with the organization?

• we (the Humanitarian Couple) write a letter supporting their request for assistance and it has to be approved by our directors in Kieve and then they send it to the Directors in Moscow for approval
• we don't give any organizations money. LDS Charities pays the vendor directly for the items that have been requested. The whole process takes 3 or 4 months.
• when the items have been delivered we meet with the organization one last time to celebrate the arrival of their new equipment.

What happens to the Hygiene Kits, School kits, Blankets, Newborn Kits that are made in the Relief Society (church's women's organization)?

• Those items are sent to the foreign countries in large containers by ship. We have to have a partner organization like The International Relief Development (IRD) work with us to bring the containers into the country.
• In Ukraine we have partnered with IRD. They are the consignee for the container and they locate organizations who have a need of the equipment and distribute the items to those organizations. They are very good about inviting us to see the containers unloaded and attend the distribution. I have posted some of these experiences in previous post.

Can we send items directly to you to distribute?

• I appreciate your desire to help with our Humanitarian work in Ukraine however, it is not that easy. When large quantities of items are sent they have a difficult time clearing customs. There is a concern that the items will be sold. We have even had items disappear sometime in transit from America. There is also a tax or duty added to items that are brought into the country. So the church has been very clear that they do not want friends or family members sending items here.

How can I help?
Go to the blog http://www.peaceablewalkldshsp.blogspot.com/ for my post about how to help.
or you can go to the church website: www.lds.org/ldsfoundation/welfare/welcome