Let’s Provide a Dignified Old Age to Witnesses of World War II
The History Workshop has become a place for regular meetings of former prisoners of concentration camps and ghettos, forced laborers, the Righteous among the nations. A generation of older people who survived the war, sorrow, deprivation and changes in priorities is the bearer of morality, prudence and mercy. These remarkable people have something to tell us, to tell the whole truth of those distant years. Their personal life stories and unique experience should not be forgotten.
However, except wisdom, life experience, sober-mindedness and calmness, old age brings to life of older people illness, poverty, and loneliness. For these reasons, many of them need daily care and depend on the support of other people.
The first social project of IBB Minsk «Let’s provide the dignified old age to witnesses of the war» is a model of care for older people. The project focuses on improvement of the life-quality of older people, creation of conditions for a dignified life. Since April 2007 prisoners of ghetto and concentration camps, as well as forced laborers from the East the Righteous among the nations of the world meet regularly in the History Workshop. Here special interest clubs are working for older people to do crafts, play chess, and learn German. The Museum of history of the Belarusian cinema gathers them for joint views of retro-films. The project also includes organization of various excursions in places of memory related to the history of our country.
Every month the older people get together in IBB Minsk at the «Cafe of Meetings and Memories» to have a talk over a supper, cooked by the restaurant «Westfalia».
Together with our grandparents, who participate in the project, we celebrate their birthdays and especially rejoice to their jubilee. Our volunteers, who participate actively in the project realization, always prepare a congratulatory program. Volunteers are young people, friends, relatives, and neighbors of former forced laborers, prisoners of ghettos and concentration camps, who voluntarily participate in the activities of the project.
Voluntary participation of young people, their assistance in events organizing plays a major role in the project. Student volunteers meet with witnesses of war events and write stories of their lives, as well as help the elderly cope with their everyday difficulties.
The project «Let’s provide a dignified old age to the witnesses of the war» is supported by the German Federal Foundation «Remembrance, Responsibility, Future», the Evangelical Churches of Westfalia, of Hessen and Nassau, and International Association for Education and Exchange Dortmund.

Contact person: Alesia Belanovich, Project Manager
Contact person: Julia Lushchick, assistant
Historical Workshop
Str. Suchaja, 25
220004 Minsk
Tel. / fax: +375 17 200 76 26
E-mail: belanovich@ibb.by

lushchick@ibb.by