Ukraine
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Intercordia Placement(s)
Faith and Light Ukraine
Faith and Light International is an international Christian movement that unites people with intellectual disabilities, their parents and young people. Origins date back to 1971 during the international pilgrimage to Lourdes, France, organized by Jean Vanier and Marie-Hélène Mathieu . During this pilgrimage people with developmental disabilities from various countries took part, along with their parents and young people who wanted to show their love and support. Uniting twelve thousand people from across the world, people continued to meet collectively in parish-based communities. To date, there are over fourteen thousand “Faith and Light”communities in over eighty countries. Participants meet regularly to share their troubles and their joys, to celebrate and pray together, to support one another, to develop friendships of faith and love. Collectively they take part in summer camps, retreats and pilgrimages.
Віра і Світло (Faith and Light in Ukraine) was founded in 1992 by Canadian Zenia Kushpeta, former concert pianist and Queens University and Royal Conservatory of Music instructor. Starting with humble means and modest goals, the first “Faith and Light” community was organized in Lviv and presently gathers in 28 communities in 11 different cities in Ukraine: Lviv, Kyiv, Zhovkva, Ternopil, Zhytomyr, Uzhhorod, Khust, Tiachiv, Stryj, Truskavets and Kamyanets-Podilskyj.
In the city of Lviv there are 5 existing workshop programs for persons with intellectual disabilities. The workshops or maysterni are scattered all over Lviv – Zaliznychney, Sykhivskey, Naukovey regions. These communities have been operating for over 8 years, starting in some borrowed rooms of a daycare in the Naukovey region. Since then, these workshop communities have expanded and grown in the city. Their purpose is partly to unite people with special needs and to provide socializing opportunities which previously did not exist. The maysterni are organized around producing jewlery, candles, textiles and pottery which also offer opportunities for creating meaningful work as well as an expression of the often unrecognized gifts of people with intellectual disabilities. Intercordia students will fulfill their work placement in a maysterni in Lviv.
Type of work: work alongside people with intellectual disabilities in a sheltered workshop setting
Віра і Світло
Vul. I Svientsitskoho, 17
Lviv, Ukraine, 79011
(premises of the Lviv Theological Academy)
Partner Contact:
Telephone: 380 (0322) 760498
Email:.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
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