A group of volunteers headed to a village in the Tula Region to visit an elderly lady who they heard needed wood to burn in her stove or in other words were in trouble. Entering her home, they found her sitting next to the stove with tears in her eyes. It was very cold and it smelled like dampness.
She said that she was praying for help all last night. She had almost no food left, it was very cold and water in pipes got frozen. On the table, they saw her lunch, an old cup with pottage of water, flour and bread. The lady smiled when she saw that the volunteers had brought some firewood and a hope appeared in her eyes.
The babushka was so thankful to the volunteers that she offered them pretty much everything she had in her house, potatoes, tea, her old fur coat and hat. They politely refused.
The 82-year old has been living in this house alone for over 27 years and she was going to die here. A possibility of moving to a nursing home was alien to her. She said she did not need a lot and moreover her fellow villagers would sometimes help her with clothes, blankets, books and other useful things. However, there was no floor in her kinchen…
The woman mentioned that she used to work in the police and travel around the Soviet Union a lot. Now she was alone but was still very happy that the volunteers brought some food to her and heated the stove. It became warmer in the house and she was going to do the laundry and take a shower some time later.
She has managed to preserve a positive attitude and still believes in God. Her home is full of icons. She is always happy to see other people because she has nobody to talk too. Her family died long ago.
How is that possible that in the 21st century, in the country busy constructing sports facilities for the Olympic Games, in the era of the Internet and space satellites, an 82-year old lady is freezing in her home? Who knows how she felt after the volunteers left. What if she fell and cannot stand up… She ceased waiting for help and attention from people passing her home by a long time ago.
Location: The Tula Region
via gua_nyin
A great example of human endurance.
I wish her all the best, and sincerely hope she gets to live the rest of her life in peace.
She survived the Great Patriotic War, she survived the fourty years of the Cold War, she survived the 1990′s, she lives in deplorable conditions. And yet she’s content with her life. Amazing.
I can’t describe how touched I am.
You are right there ayaa! I just hope these volunteers continue to help her!
Me too. I’m usually someone who doesn’t like urbanisation and all that, but this is the sort of the thing that comes along with living a rural life.
There will be “ forgotten people ” in every city in every country.
We should all look after each other. Doing something for another person is the basis of our own happiness anyway. To do something worthwhile makes you feel worthwhile.
Tis very sad. I’m a woman in a similar position and 2 years ago we had terrible floods in my country. Every bit of land was covered! There wasn’t even a ditch to walk on. All the cattle had to be taken off!
I suspect she has no running water and is too weak to bring it in in buckets. It would be nice if the people could help her on regular basis.
Yes and no… article says her water pipes got frozen.
Ah, I did not notice that. But I guess this is not for the first time. The plumbing is very probably useless and I doubt it works in summer. The filth on the walls is very probably soot. A good chimney swiping and a normal stove (possibly free from a scrapyard) should fix this.
I just can`t understand russians. How this is possible?
Just, look around near where you live, you will see how its possible.
Cant see it ?………..look closer.
None so blind as those who refuse to see…
RUSSIANS!? This is happening right in your own town, wherever you live.
In my family’s village there was a strong 90 year old lady she was running the whole place and she had 3 generations of children of which half were drunks and half had immigrated to the UK
The reward for outliving your contemporaries is…
Outliving your own children must be worse. I´ve just remembered “The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada”.
I would bet coin that she is very contended. Of course she needs a little help, The lady is in her 80′s. I am sure that some one will see to it that she has heat and water and what ever else she may need. The thing is that you could find persons like that any where, even in America. They out live all of there family and friends and guess what you end up alone. You put her in a nursing home and she would die sooner than latter. The ideal thing is to find a young family that she could be the adoptive Grandmother to.
Wish her all the best and if I live close by I would bring her some food.
Here in the UK If you are poor you have the choice of starving and keeping warm, or eating but freezing, Not just the elderly either. Families and comunities used to support each other, not any more.
Contentment is one of the keys to happiness, but you need to eat too. Im glad she finaly got help,
But she is also tough, can you imagine the celebrity generation surviving that long?
I disagree mike. Speaking as a scotsman I remember cycling to my old granny and taking supplies on my backpack. I have many fond memories of helping her out with various tasks that I was better equipped for, and at the end of the day, sharing an odd sherry or two, before going back home.
Babushka 82 years old Lady: living in the house for 27 years alone, it is very bad, but human beings always suffer during life, some of them suffer more than others. What could going down her mind during the times when need somebody to help her. I know she do not want move to another place: and not her fault, its human nature to get used to the way have had living. What real bother me the most it is suffering: But in Portugal and many countries are the same now: the old ones do not have support from the family, like used to be. She was real luck having some support from compassion people, which not much, but still some people care about it. Where are the families that could a support: and just mind own business by staying away, and what the eye do not see, they could forget her. She may be Ok during the summer: just the winter the cold she got to suffer. That is the time when thoughts could come so fast: and could go also fast too. A.Oscar
where is that granny, how we can colaborate or help with those people?? telephone? adress some organization for work for free there?
We can expect this in America if the Republicans ever succeed in eliminating Social Security.
We in America live in a land without national health care. Our laughable Medicare is our government’s bad joke on senior citizens. We were able to afford a decade long illegal war which killed 4500 of our kids and 300,000 innocent civilians in the soverign nation that we saw fit to invade. Over a trillion dollars down the drain thanks to an out of control Republican administration led by a chimpanzee! Our behavior in Iraq was shameful to say the least.
There are old people here in America who must choose between food and medicine or heat. Both of our nations have squandered their futures and I think we’re eventually going to have to work together toward making the people a first priority. Decline and social revolution are the consequences of failure!
Please contact, the people that took these bitter sweet photos, and let them know that some others around the globe would like to help this wonderful woman… If anyone knows more info, please contact me. I live in Michigan, USA. My email is speer073@gmail.com
Thanks
they should have bought her a laptop and 3g internet, that should make the rest of her days happier
And y’all think it doesn’t happen in the West.
Get real, open your eyes.
social security. oh wait…
You did a good thing here, well done for helping her. I found these photo’s very moving and wish there was somehting i could do myself to help.
It is a sad truth though that this does happen everywhere. Perhaps ‘Sorrow’ from above should be more keen to seek out people closer to home; this happens everywhere.
Who knows what pic is (a woman and a child) on the wall. I often found the same pic at other Russian’s home. who are they?