By helping old people, you will bring a festive mood for yourselves

This call was made by Andriy Lyubka on Facebook. He wrote:  

"Traveling in Western Europe, I often see older people at the tables of cafes and restaurants, theaters and concerts, they are well dressed, happy. They live the rest of their lives in comfort. Even in Eastern Europe, you can often see them – although it is possible that they are from tourists from the West, who have come to rest and spend money.

For example, two weeks ago, in Hungary, I went to to the thermal pools near the city of Pécs and a friend, who recommended them, said thate there would be a lot of older tourists from Austria and Germany there. And he was right. These observations are not new, and I do not claim to be original, I have brought them up here just to enhance the contrast.

Becuase elderly Ukrainians can not afford traveling abroad and discovering the world, often they are destined not to leave their own towns or villages. For they have no money for traveling, entertainment, they do not have enough even for food, not to mention expensive drugs and utilities. Old and infirm, they rarely leave their homes, and their travels are limited to trips to doctors, supermarkets, social services for documents and subsidies, and to cemeteries – to visit those relatives, who have passed away.

Ukraine pays them pensions, but we know what the situation in our country is, and the demographics is unfavorable, the nation is aging, and therefore the number of pensioners is growing, and thus pensions are meager.

How can you live for that? Just live, without the epithet "decently"?   Some are lucky and they have large families, relatives in the village, who help them with food, grateful children who take care of them. But there are some old people, who are left alone with their poverty. They have sold everything of value, rent spare rooms to students, look for part-time jobs – clean the corridors, work as concierges or keepers, and barely make ends meet.

We see them every day. In our buildings, on the streets, in stores…

Holidays are approaching and impoverished pensioners can be seen in supermarkets walking with two or three cheapest products in the basket, while everybody around fill their carts to the brim. So, what am I trying to say?

I am saying that it is not difficult to help these people. At least, once a year. If you see them in a supermarket, pay for their groceries or buy something on your own and just give it to them. If you have neighbors like that, bring them a bag of food, congratulate on the holidays. Do not forget sweets, fruits. Do you know how much old ladies love sweets?

By helping other people, you will bring a festive mood for yourselves. Let miracles happen, and let there be more happy people. Good deeds will be repaid a hundredfold. Happy holidays!