7-18-2023 4:48am

Summer Brings No Relief for Boyertown's Sister City, Bohodukhiv

Lesley Misko Editor

Retired Boyertown Area School District teacher, Linda Weinberger, who has been spearheading the effort to help Boyertown's Sister City, shares a summer update.

Summer Greetings, Friends. . .

"As we approach July 4, I noticed a new pop-up tent in the parking lot of our local supermarket selling fireworks. How ironic that we celebrate this holiday with loud bangs, bombs, and displays of fire power.

Vita, Boyertown's teacher friend in Bohodukhiv, tells me that a few nights ago her daughter Lera woke her up with fear in her eyes as they heard sounds overhead that became louder and louder. They were all scared and hid in their bomb shelter. The sounds were the drones from Iran that Russia purchases. The UKR army took them down when they were over nearby Kharkiv. It was yet another terrifying night.

School is over and teachers breathed a sigh of relief. They celebrated in a bomb shelter that they decorated with national colors. Some of the pens we all sent last year were shared with teachers as a little gift."

Recent donations that Weinberger has sent on to Vita have gone to the group of women who continue to make food for the soldiers. Weinberger notes, "It's work that has gone on for as long as the war. It's a marathon, not a sprint."

Weinberger continues, "Sometimes when I hear the news of the barbaric acts, I know that I can't really imagine the human toll, and I tend to put it on the back burner of my consciousness because it's just too much to take in. The dam that the Russians blew up, resulting in massive loss of life and land, is no longer useable for agriculture. Those areas of Kherson and Zaporizhia are the regions which grow fruits and vegetables. Food prices are predicted to escalate even more than before.

But it's summertime in UKR and Vita's family, like most others, are working in their kitchen gardens to grow as many potatoes and other foods as they can for the grueling months ahead. I recall that when Pam Ferraro and I were in Bohodukhiv and speaking to high school classes, the students asked if our US students worked in their kitchen gardens after school. As we suppressed smiles, we knew that most of our kids had never even heard of a 'kitchen garden.'

I asked Vita what an average family of four might spend on food in a week. She estimated $80-$100. I was stunned because I know that the average teacher makes $250-$300 a month.
Some of the funds which we've sent over the past few months have been distributed directly to families in need. Vita sent this photo of some flour which one family bought to make bread and other baked items."

Reiterating her plea for people to contribute if they are able, Weinberger says, "So I'm just going to come right out and ask you to consider a bit of financial support to keep people in Bohodukhiv eating.

You can send checks made out directly to me or Venmo at @Linda-Weinberger-1. Please mark on Venmo "UKR." As I have mentioned before, I have set up a separate checking account at PSECU just for donations, and I'm always happy to open up the books, so to speak, if anyone wants to see what comes in and what goes out. It's pretty simple: I get the funds, I send them to Vita via Western Union, and she receives them almost immediately. No transfer fees. I trust Vita implicitly to get the funds where they need to go.

As we get ready to celebrate our independence, let's hold those who are fighting for theirs in our hearts!"

To help, contact Linda Weinberger at:

lmweinberger@gmail.com