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A gift for the one who gives everything

Doug Brendel

Updated: Sep 6, 2019

Kozovaya and child.gif

I hope you recognize this woman: We call her “The Great Kozovaya.” It’s a joke — because she’s the humblest person on earth. (But she makes things happen!) She runs our entire “Response of the Heart” operation in Belarus. She works tirelessly, and with endless cheer.

And on the last Sunday of this month, she’s going to turn 70.

She doesn’t want anything for herself. She never does.

But for the past 2 years, she’s been bugging me about the children at Molotkovichi. (Say mah-lot-KOH-vee-chee.)

Here, in the south of Belarus, almost to the Ukrainian border, is a boarding school.

177 children with mental disabilities live here, including 71 orphans.

They play, they work, they practice doing basic chores, so someday they’ll have some hope of living independently.

They need to learn to do laundry — but the boarding school is short of appliances.

They dry their clothes on the radiator, and use the top of a cabinet as an ironing board.

The director has asked Kozovaya if “Response of the Heart” could please provide irons and ironing boards, a vacuum cleaner, a small washer and dryer, and other basics.

Oh, and for the littlest children (some as young as 7), some toys.

The total need is $1,592.48.

I would love to show up at The Great Kozovaya’s 70th birthday party on February 25th and say,

“Guess what friends of New Thing got you for your birthday!

Could you please consider giving some small portion of the total needed?

Or maybe that’s too much, I don’t know.

On the other hand, maybe you could be 1 of 10 to give $159.25.

But whatever you can give today, large or small, will be a real help.

And of course, if by some miracle there’s money left over, it will still totally go into Belarus to care for people in need.

We’re 100% volunteer here in the U.S., so not one penny of your donation will be used for anything here.

Thanks in advance for helping disabled children — while we celebrate The Great Kozovaya!

Much love,

Doug Brendel

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