Alexander Baron von Korff, Governor of the Order, recently honored employees of the University of Czernowitz with the Order of St. John's Badge of Merit. In doing so, he honored the reliable on-site cooperation with “Mission Siret”. Among those honored was the German scholar Oxana Matiychuk, from whose letter of thanks we quote here:
... I simply see it as my civic duty - to resist this barbaric war to the best of my ability and to help people who are suffering. We in Czernowitz are fortunate to be geographically far away from the front, and to ensure that we remain far away, everyone should get involved. I consider it a great honour - and of course a responsibility - to be involved in the organization and distribution of aid supplies. We try to be as transparent as possible and document all expenditure. As you know, we registered our NGO “Ukrainian-German Cultural Society Chernivtsi” in the Ministry of Social Policy's register in January so that we can continue to officially import and redistribute aid supplies. All information about this is entered into the register.
We experience literally every day how important the support from “Johanniter Mission Siret” is - in the work with the internally displaced persons on the ground, but also through our network of volunteers who bring the relief supplies to the areas close to the front. For many internally displaced people, state financial aid was discontinued in March, and we often hear from people how necessary the food parcels and hygiene products they receive as humanitarian aid are.
Our great thanks go to all the members of the Order of St. John, all the donors, all the volunteers and other people who are providing this ongoing aid. For my part, I would like to assure you that we - and I hope I can speak on behalf of my colleagues - will continue to invest our time and energy in humanitarian work.
There is an article about your visit and several photos on the university's website.
With best regards in all directions,
Oxana Matiychuk