Remembering the Great Kozovaya

With great love, and great sadness, we remember today the beautiful, devout, humble woman I affectionately called "The Great Kozovaya," who slipped away from us 5 years ago today, April 22, 2020, in the first wave of the Covid pandemic.

Liudmila Kozovaya headed our "Response of the Heart" team from the beginning. Her great heart for people in need, and her great wisdom in how to handle all manner of complicated people and situations, advanced the compassionate work of New Thing immeasurably.

(If we took kites to children in a shelter, we needed a windy day, so Kozovaya would get on two phones at once — one to the president, the other to God — and we would have wind. At least that's the rumor I started.)

She was a joy.

We have hundreds, perhaps thousands, of photos of Kozovaya, mostly taken by our longtime photographer Oleg. But Oleg had already shot a great number of photos that day in January 2020, at the children's shelter in Zhdonivichi, so he was down on the floor playing with the kids, when I saw Kozovaya talking with a little girl named Liza. I just raised my iPhone and started snapping.

These are my last photos of Kozovaya. And so appropriate: moments of affection and care for a child living through hard times.

Every day that New Thing serves the people of Belarus, we honor the memory of "The Great Kozovaya." Her legacy is worth sustaining.