Affiliates in Eastern Europe and Central Asia
HelpAge Network Affiliates in eastern Europe and central Asia are based in the following countries:
Armenia
Mission Armenia
Mission Armenia was founded in 1993 by a group of volunteers. It aims to provide community-based social and healthcare services to vulnerable groups, including older people.
Mission Armenia collaborates closely with the Government of Armenia, local groups, USAID, UNHCR, HelpAge International and a number of other international organisations. It has branches in Australia and the United States. Mission Armenia is the founder of International Union of Black Sea NGOs, a network of 50 NGOs from 12 states of the Black Sea region. The union's headquarters are based in Armenia.
Mission Armenia works in seven provinces in Armenia where they provide a number of services including social, legal and healthcare; nutrition services; and vocational trainings to make older people competitive on the labour market and to empower them to claim their rights.
Recently, Mission Armenia has supported more than 5,500 extremely vulnerable local refugees who were affected by consequences of the global crisis and lack of appropriate social protection mechanisms. The refugees included extremely vulnerable older people.
Mission Armenia became a member of the HelpAge International network in 1999 and an Affiliate in 2004.
Contact:
Email: org@ngo.mission.am
Website: www.mission.am
Kyrgyzstan
Resource Center for Elderly
Established in 1991, Umut-Balykchy was one of the first Kyrgyz NGOs. In 2003, it changed its name into Resource Center for Elderly (RCE).
They work on issues that affect older people, including: social protection, financial and legal advice and education. RCE also disseminates information on issues concerning older people and builds networks to strengthen their voice.
RCE offers a variety of services to older people. These include legal advice, humanitarian support, education on nutrition, self-help groups, medical help and micro financing.
RCE is a member of other networks such as AgeNet International. Indeed, they are an important part of advocacy work to improve older people's quality of life in Kyrgyzstan. They also lobby to improve older people's access to basic social services.
RCE became a partner of HelpAge International in 2003 and an Affiliate in 2005.
Contact:
Email: kyrgyzstan.rce@gmail.com
Website: www.rce.kg
Moldova
Second Breath
Established in 1998, Second Breath, or the Gerontological Association of Moldova, was set up to improve the quality of life of older people in the country.
Second Breath focuses on caring for and training carers for older and terminally ill people. Their aim is to create and develop community services in Moldova by offering medical and social rehabilitation and reintegrating older people into society. They also publish and disseminate educational materials concerning these vulnerable groups.
Second Breath works with similar NGOs to develop and improve palliative care services and training programmes, as well as disseminate relevant information. They also work with other international organisations such as UNICEF and the European Union
In 2000, Second Breath joined the HelpAge International network as a partner and became an Affiliate in 2004. The two organisations have collaborated on a number of occasions, such as the Age Demands Action campaign.
Contact:
Email: balti@respi.org
Website: www.respi.org
Russia
Dobroe Delo
Dobroe Delo ("kind deed") was established in Moscow in 2000. It is a non-profit organisation that aims to improve older people's quality of life and supports the development of other gerontological non-profit organisations.
Dobroe Delo's home-based medical and social care programme provides medicine, clothing, hygiene kits, food products, legal assistance and social rehabilitation to older people. They founded a network of gerontological organisations in Russia to advocate for better social protection for older people. They also carry out research on gerontology in order to create a resource centre for the network.
Dobroe Delo offers postgraduate education to doctors in collaboration with the Department of Gerontology and Geriatrics of the Russian Academy. They also offer internships to students from the Moscow Higher School of Social and Economic Sciences.
Dobroe Delo became an Affiliate of HelpAge International in 2009.
Contact:
Email: edkar77@gmail.com
Serbia
Lastavica
Established in 2000, Lastavica is an independent NGO. It was set up to offer support, training and resources to empower women refugees and other marginalised groups in Serbia.
Lastavica now targets the needs of the wider refugee population. The organisation is working to secure incomes by establishing chicken farms, producing winter salads, offering catering services and organising weaving workshop. They also offer classes in English and IT skills, sowing and weaving courses and psychosocial support.
The organisation runs two care homes in municipalities near Belgrade, which house eighteen older women.
Lastavica works with a number of international organisations on issues concerning older people. The organisations include: Oxfam, Care International, Fund for Open Society, Delphi Star, Austrian Trade Mission, International Community Charity Board, Mercatus, UNHCR, USAID, Australian Embassy, IOCC, ECHO, CAFOD, Canadian Embassy.
Contact:
Email: lastavic@EUnet.rs
Website: www.lastavica.org.rs
Ukraine
Turbota pro Litnix v Ukraini
Turbota pro Litnih v Ukraini (TLU) or Age Concern Ukraine has an impressive track record of defending the rights of the most vulnerable older people in Ukraine.
TLU have branches in ten cities and six rural locations in Ukraine, from which they deliver services to 20,000 older people every year through a network of 2,000 volunteers. They are also a partner organisation of the Ministry of Social Policy and serve as the voice of older people at national and local levels.
In 2008, TLU became a partner of EVZ ("Remembrance, Responsibility, Future") German Federal Fund.
They are highly valued by the Ukrainian government, with Aleksander Kurban, Senior Counsellor at the Ministry of Social Policy, stating: "40,000 NGOs are registered in Ukraine. If they were all like TLU, Ukraine would already be in the EU."
TLU has worked with HelpAge International and Age UK since 1999 and in March 2012 became an Affiliate of the HelpAge network.
Contact:
Email: turbotaprolitnih@i.ua
Website: www.tlu.org.ua