Charity, brotherly love, harmony.
The Lodge B'nai B'rith Chernivtsi, Mission and Activities
As a regional representative and part of a world-renowned international organization that brings together people of different backgrounds to strengthen Jewish communities, fight racial and religious intolerance, and help the most vulnerable groups of the population, NGO "Lodge B'nai B'rith Chernivtsi" has always paid attention to helping the vulnerable members of the regional Community and with all its capabilities has fulfilled its obligations to provide free assistance to the needy.
The Lodge B'nai B'rith Chernivtsi operates under the general auspices of the Lodge B`nai B`rith UK and B'nai B'rith International, an international organization headquartered in Washington, DC, which operates as a network of lodges or groups, each of which has its own programs of various activities tailored to the interests of the group. These may include community service, media appearances, meeting attendance, lunch groups, outings, cultural visits and musical events. Each lodge/group has a leader and an organizing committee that organizes the programs and takes care of finances. Lodge members who are employed or have other sources of income pay dues, which are used for charitable projects and distributed by the head office.
Our results
Aid to war victims and the needy
The Lodge B'nai B'rith Chernivtsi has made and continues to make distinct efforts to fulfil the declared humanitarian values immediately after the beginning of the military invasion on Ukraine from the side of the Russian Federation at February 2022. From the first days of hostilities, when an incredible number of refugees were moving to the west of the country, when overcrowded evacuation trains arrived in Chernivtsi every day, and when columns of buses and cars were travelling west through Ukraine, B'nai B'rith Chernivtsi focused on providing emergency assistance to all people affected by the sneak invasion from the east.
Coordinating its activities with associated organizations, the Lodge B'nai B'rith Chernivtsi provided cash assistance, food and hygiene products, shelter, essential linen and clothing, washing machines and detergents to more than a thousand displaced persons and refugees forced to flee their homes.
The geography of origin of the newcomers amazed the members of the Lodge - from the south, the cities of Berdyansk and Mariupol, to the east, the major centers of Kyiv and Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions. During the first year of the war, the Lodge spent directly more than seven hundred thousand hryvnias on direct financial assistance, food, medicines and medical supplies. In August 2022, the Lodge participated on uniting a holiday for dozens of children from the combat areas. A ton of clothes and underwear was provided to the resettled persons. The leadership of the Lodge, its members and volunteers understood that a huge group of newly arrived IDPs needed help due to their sudden social vulnerability, financial insecurity, difficult economic situation, and the introduction of a state of emergency.
Our results
Psychological support and humanitarian aid
In providing of humanitarian assistance, the members and volunteers of the Lodge not only adhered to the principle of humanity, but also took into account such qualities as neutrality, impartiality, voluntariness, independence, universality and unity, which are essential in such activities. In this way, the Lodge also contributed to easing the tension in the overall humanitarian situation in the country caused by the aggression of its northern neighbor. And this had an overall positive impact. The result of the Lodge's work was to ensure the survival and health of people affected by the military conflict and their return to ordinary life.
Together to victory and a bright future!
The NGO "B'nai B'rith Chernivtsi Lodge" continues its work with faith in the best. Now the tightness of the first weeks at the military conflict has been overcome, but much remains to be done to help the victims return to a life without fear for the future, without confusion and horror, without psychological stress and uncertainty, but with the conviction that all difficulties will remain in the past, just as a memory of certain events that were overcome and left behind.