Press release, Monday, 7th December, 2015
THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS CHARITABLE EVENT
On 6th December, the ‘Spirit of Christmas’ Event welcomed guests at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in the heart of London. The organisers and the members of the Ukrainian community both in the UK and Ukraine have truly demonstrated a great show of unity!
Fragile Independence and British-Ukrainian Aid joined forces with the supporters from the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral, The Embassy of Ukraine to the UK, the Association of Ukrainians in Great Britain, the Cathedral Choir, the Trio of bandura players, Molodyi Theatre, professional artists, local chefs and volunteers, as well as a Ukraine-based volunteers’ organisation Nadiunyi tyl. They worked hard together without asking anything in return in order to raise money for the internally displaced Ukrainian children.
The visitors enjoyed a fun family event, where they could listen to Christmas carols performed by Ukrainian Cathedral Choir ‘Promin Nadii’ including the famous ‘Carol of the Bells’ which originated as a Ukrainian folk melody. The singing was followed by a stunning performance by the trio of bandura players ‘Zhayvіr’. The actors of ‘Molodyi Teatr London’ familiarised the guests with ‘Vertep’ Ukrainian custom which involves depicting the events of the first few hours and days after the birth of Christ, with the help of travelling actors dressed as characters representing the good and evil of the world. The audience had a chance to take part in a series of entertaining master classes: the participants were offered to observe the preparation and taste two of the traditional Christmas eve dishes, while their children were engaged in Ukrainian themed arts and crafts activities. Delicious Ukrainian dessert generously provided by Prosperity restaurant, left a smile on everyone’s face. The visitors left the event happy, many of them carrying souvenirs and Christmas gifts as well as prizes won in a Christmas raffle.
All proceeds from the event went towards helping Ukrainian children from the internally displaced families currently living in Artemivsk, Donetsk region. They had to leave their homes in the conflict zone, but could not afford to go further away than 30 kilometres from the frontline.
Currently there are up to 15,000 internally displaced people living in Artemivsk. 3,340 of them are children. British-Ukrainian Aid’s Managing Director Tetyana Vovnyanko emphasised the importance of providing continual support to IDPs: “Brirish-Ukrainian Aid would like to make a real difference to the lives of the internally displaced children who have fallen victim to the tragic events unfolding in Ukraine”.