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A holiday with tears in the eyes is a very apt description of today's day for many years. On the one hand, it is joy from the victory over fascism and, at least nominally, the end of the bloody war; on the other, sadness and regret for the millions of those who died at the front and innocent victims of the occupation regime. According to a tradition that has developed over the years, the Foundation's clients and employees in full dress gathered in the morning in the courtyard of the Hesed Besht Charity Foundation, to then take part in laying flowers at the soldiers' graves and visiting the Holocaust Memorial on Silskohospodarska Street.
The Hesed courtyard today resembled a battlefield: the construction site was built close to the site in the form of a deep pit for the future foundation of the Rehabilitation and Regional Development Center. The dangerous area was fenced off with tape and concrete blocks, but all the guests eagerly viewed the long-awaited construction project in the community, which had become the most important.
Tables were set up in the yard of Hesed. A portion of "soldier's" porridge was prepared for everyone who wanted to. Coffee, cookies and tea were available upon request. The hosts of the event, Lyudmila Shvartsman and Halyna Atamanchuk, read words about the tragedy of the war and the memory of its victims. The emphasis of the day was on soldiers' songs that supported the defenders of the territory from the invasion of foreigners. The recordings included songs that accompanied veterans from the moment of victory to this day and have become familiar to most of the Foundation's clients. The event ended with the release of three doves of peace.
After the refreshments, a column of those who were walking that day to the Eternal Flame memorial formed. Some of those present went to the Holocaust Memorial to pay their respects to the executed prisoners of the Proskuriv Ghetto. The Hesed Besht Civil Society Foundation prepared a wreath to honor the memory of the soldiers who laid down their lives, retaking the captured territory from foreign invaders. A column of employees and clients followed from the office to the Eternal Flame memorial, where everyone together took part in a city-wide rally-requiem for May 9th.
At the same time, a Kaddish prayer was held at the Holocaust Memorial for the Victims of the Nazis and their collaborators. The rally participants were transported there by the Hesed Besht Charitable Foundation.
