The main activity of Oselya is organization of life and work of the Community of former homeless people. By living and working together companions learn to solve their problems and help other people in need. During 2018 there were 29 companions living in the Community. In Oselya, companions are provided with psychological support, they receive new professional and social skills, participate in cultural events and solidarity actions. Companions can be sent for medical treatment if needed, they receive pocket money and get help with renewing their documents. Newcomers have 3 months social training that include addiction therapy, personal development training and history of Emmaus movement.

In 2018, with the support of the Lviv City Council, we ran the project “Find Your Home” which aimed to help homeless people recover their lives through community living, occupational therapy, social training and psychological assistance. We conducted a series of training: a course on “Sober Lifestyle Skills”, group psycho-corrective lessons, individual consultations with a psychologist, “Emmaus Ideas: Life and Work in the Community” course, “Personal Development” training, “Fundamentals of Financial literacy” training, “Professional orientation education” and others.

In order to generate funds for everyday needs of the community and solidarity actions, Oselya runs social enterprise.
The main activity of this enterprise is collecting goods from citizens which they no longer need, but that can still be used by others (furniture, clothing, household items, toys etc). We pick up goods in the city with two trucks responding to the citizens’ calls. We also collect goods from containers located near churches and OKKO gas stations.

By the end of 2018 we have 23 clothing containers all over Lviv city. We still have a problem with people who steal and damage our containers.

Ecological component of this activity is very important. Companions and volunteers sort and repair collected goods and sell them in the charity stores or distribute among poor and homeless people, refugees from Eastern Ukraine. In 2018 we provided 2 268 poor people with clothing and other goods. Some were distributed to other nonprofits like Charitable Foundation “Myloserdya Starosambirshchyny”, Lviv Yuriy Lypa regional hospital for disables people, Sambir regional organization for disabled people, shelter for homeless animals “Myloserdya”, Community of mutual aid “Nasha khata”, charity foundation “To orphans, poor and disabled”in Horodok city. 1015 persons who use service of Kofoed’s social support center, received clothing during the year whenever they needed.

We dispatch clothing that can’t be reused for recycling. This year we again faced the problem with selling that clothing as many recycling companies stopped their business. In order to recycle at least something we started to sort more precisely and were able to sell cotton and jeans separately.

We represent our community as ecological organization. In 2018 we participated and organized several ecological events. During the year we had many volunteers who helped us with sorting goods and learned about our work.
Oselya’s experience in collecting goods is spreading throughout Ukraine. Now the clothing containers are in all major cities. A significant part of them are financed by company “Concern Halnaftogaz” and located at OKKO gas stations. The project of this company received an honorary award as the best case for implementing the Global Development Goal, “Reducing inequalities within the country”, according to an international jury. The project started with cooperation with Oselya, and our containers were the first containers for clothing at OKKO gas stations.

Charity shops bring the main income to community and help us fund solidarity actions. This year we continued the project called “Shop on the wheels”. We sell collected cloth in the villages not far from Lviv. That helps us to involve more customers and generate more income for social projects.

Our charity store is also kind of cultural center where we organize different workshops and other events for our customers. This year we had several workshops on decorating plates run by former companion Hennadiy Bohush. Before Easter we had workshop on making Easter egg – pysanka. In February we hold a meeting with friends and partners to present the outcomes of our work in 2017 and share our plans for future. The literature meetings that are organized by writer Halyna Vdovychenko welcomed writers Hryhoriy Semenchuk and Oksana Dumanska.

This year we reopened our furniture workshop. Four companions learned to repair furniture and to do upholstery and provided services to customers from Lviv and Vynnyky.

In 2018 we continued to run Kofoed’s Social Support Center. During the year we provided services to 1015 people, 50-60 people every day. The expenses of the Center were covered by the community income, financial support of Lviv City Administration and by Ukrainian diaspora of Chicago. Thanks to Charity foundation “Foodbank” we gave out drinking water, clothing and stationery.
This year we had much more people of Roma nationality applying for services.

In 2018 we had 15 adults and 4 kids who lived in the social hostel. 12 of those residents are former companions of Oselya. Workshop of good deeds “Emmaus-Oselya” is a charity shop on the first floor of the social hostel. The citizens can bring their goods there and purchase something as well. This year we did some reconstruction works in the shop. There is also workshop in the basement where resident of the social hostel runs his workshop of designed backpacks.

Every Thursday our community cooks meal and distribute it to homeless people in downtown. During the distribution we invite people to Kofoed’s social support center to use service there. In 2018 we did more than 52 distributions. During the extreme cold weather we went out to reach homeless people in the streets for the 27 times. We brought them hot tea and clothing. For the Saint Nickolas holiday we gave out 150 small presents during the food distribution.
In 2018 we traditionally organized Christmas and Easter for about 500 homeless and poor people. Small performance and traditional food help those people have holidays in the warm and friendly atmosphere. As usually local enterprises and people contribute to this action. Metropolitan Ihor Voznyak and Bishop Volodymyr, Lviv city mayor Andriy Sadovy and Vynnyky city mayor Volodymyr Kvurt joined those solidarity actions. Singer Mykhaylo Myrka, NGO “Vynnyky golden youth” and choir “Zgarda” performed at the solidarity actions.

This year we had five special sales in the charity store in Vynnyky. On May 1st we hold “Fashion travel”. Image theatre “Pani Kurazh” made many interesting perfomances. The writer Halyna Vdovychenko and other volunteers helped a lot as well. Another sales was devoted to 15th anniversary of “Oselya”, Flag Day and Independence Day, Retro style sale and Black Thursday sale. At all these sales we generated 48 925 UAH for our social projects.

In 2018 our team worked on improvement of our work. The member of organization and professional businesses trainer Natalya Harina hold strategy session for our team. We received many useful advice and worked out interesting cases. And most importantly we feel that together we can do more and more good deeds. After 4 days of training we finished first stage of this work and now we have:
-clear organizational structure;
-determined duties;
-highlighted five priority development directions;
-aims for 2019;
-and most important – belief on ourselves, motivation and willingness to reach our goals!

In September 2017 the publishing house “Astrolyabiya” published book “Emmaus movement. The history of solidarity” written by Andriy Kurkov together with Nataliya Sanotska and Maryana Sokha. This book was financed by Emmaus Europe. That is the first book about Abbe Pierre in Ukrainian. The book also tells the story of Oselya and its founder Olesya Sanotska.
The Ukrainian presentation tour organized by Bookstore “Ye” that started in November 2017 continued in 2018 and the book was presented in Khmelnytsky, Kyiv, Vinnytsya and Verkhovyna. During the year Lviv city administration financed the advertisement of the book on the billboards in the city.

Since its very beginning Oselya has been developing partnership with Emmaus movement. In 2010 Oselya became a member of the movement. We participate in Ukraine – Poland Collective meetings and Regional Councils of Emmaus Europe. In April 2018 we hosted our friends from Emmaus Lublin, Poland and Emmaus Frederiksdal, Sweden. They shared with us their experience, gave us some valuable advices and participated in Easter breakfast for homeless people. We discussed our further cooperation.

In September our friends from Emmaus Norge in Dijon, France organized big sale to generate funds for solidarity projects around the world and also for our community. National delegate from Emmaus Ukraine Hryhoriy Semenchuk was invited to make opening speech together with Emmaus Europe and Emmaus International.
In October Emmaus Europe Regional Council took place in Turin. Our community was presented by National delegate Hryhoriy Semenchuk. The delegates discussed the current situations where Emmaus operates, accepting new members, solidarity economy, migration policy, elections in EU, and outcomes of solidarity sales.
In November the representatives of Oseya Natalya Sanotska, Hryhoriy Semenchuk and Oksana Buchkovska participated in Poland-Ukraine Collective meeting. They presented our work for the last half a year.

We always remember and honor the founder and the leader of Oselya Olesya Sanotska. This year we came together on her birthday to share our memories about her. She will be always in our hearts.

Companions, workers and volunteers of Oselya actively participate in various events, spread the Emmaus idea and enrich their own experience. This year, the companions went on holiday to the Carpathians, to the Emmaus book presentation to Kyiv, and celebrated the 15th anniversary of Oselya.
In January 2018 companions and employess appeared in TV show “Good ZIK” – “To lose, so you can have”, that was about our former companion Inna Arsenych Berezovska. We participated in the fashion show by famous designer Kateryna Karol.

Oselya continued active cooperation with Ukrainian and foreign organizations. Many guests visited us in 2018 and our activity was highlighted in numerous mass media.
The students of Ukrainian Catholic University had practice in Oselya. They helped in the kitchen, at food distribution, at sorting goods and charity shop. Lviv Educational Foundation visited us four times with the guests from Eastern Ukraine. The Deputy Chairman of “Oselya” Natalya Sanotska participated in public board meeting at Lviv City Administration. In March 2018 we had a meeting with a team of Innocode IT Company who helped us to generate some ideas on social enterprise development.
In July responsible for the community Oksana Buchkovska participated in the conference on new models of social enterprise. In August we presentrd our work at the picnic for local nonprofit in the park in downtown.
We welcomed Tese piligrims youth at the Workshop of good deeds and told them about our activity.
The photo exhibition “Oselyata” was held in Utrecht, the Netherlands. The photographer Robyn Alysha Clemes ans writer Lisa Weeda visited our community for several times and stayed for a while to share our life and work. They took a lot of photos and spoke much with companions. In December the opening of the exhibition was held in Utrecht municipality and benefit evening took place in Emmaus Overvecht later that month. Some donations were generated for Oselya there. In 2018 Media project Ukrainer filmed video about “Oselya” to be presented in 2019. A group of social enterprise students BIZ EAST visited us to learn about our activities. In December former companions and now residents of the social hostel Sasha Horondi and Taras Yakubiv were invited by Ukrainian diaspora in Czech Republic to Prague to present Oselya and Horondi brand. In December in «Malevich» club in Lviv there was charity event where some funds were generated for Oselya Chistmas Eve. And finally on the last day of the year scouts paid visit to our community and brought Bethlehem fire. It was the nice end of the year and hope for better 2019.

INCOMES OF “EMMAUS – OSELYA” IN 2018 3755886,72 UAH

EXPENDITURES OF “EMMAUS – OSELYA” IN 2018 3804815,68 UAH

DONORS OF “EMMAUS – OSELYA” IN 2018

“!Fest” Holding of emotions, Karlsberg Ukraine Brewery, Lviv professional school of restaurant service and tourism, Emmaus Frederiksdal, Parish of Saint Joseph Ukrainian Catholic Church, Saint Nickolas Cathedral School in Chicago, Valery Nikiforets, and participants of “Miss Lviv” and “Queen of Lviv”, RIA Magazine, Ltd. “Shuvar”, Comel Ltd., Ltd. “Vynnychanka”, FOP Gileta G.M., SieFTI Ltd., Mihalyna Andriy and Oksana, Medvyana Rosa, Ltd Lvivholod, “Rayduha” LLC, Ltd “Shvydky svit”, PJSC Concern Khlibprom, Yar-step Ltd, Ltd “Oliyar” (“Mayola”), Parish of St. John’s Lavra Student’s Statute, Parish of the Holy Martyr Paraskeva in Ivanivka village, Parish of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin in Lviv, Parish of Exaltation of the Honest and Life-giving Cross in Lviv, Parish of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Lviv, Parish of the Cathedral of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Pykulovychi village, Parish of the Beheading of the Head of John the Baptist in Kamyanopil village, Parish of St. Archangel Mychail in Stavchany village, Parish of the Blessed Eucharist in Lviv, Parish of St. Nicholas in Dubanevychi village, Parish of the Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Tuchne village, Public Council “Saint Yur”, Bohdan Holiyan, Hnatyak Khrystyna, Andreyko Oksana and many others.

PARTNERS OF “EMMAUS – OSELYA” IN 2018

Emmaus International; Lviv city council; Lviv City Employment Center; Vynnyky City Council; NGO “Vynnyky Golden Youth”; Lviv Educational Foundation; Concern “Halnaftogas”, Department of Pedagogy UCU; Lviv Region State Administration;Vynnyky boarding school; Image-theater “Pani Kurazh”; Lviv Art Palace; “!FEST” Holding of emotions; Social Initiative “Khtos ne zrobyt!”; Patriarchal Commission on Youth Affairs of the UGCC; Lviv Regional Library for Children; Center of registration and night stay of homeless people; City Center for Social Services for the Family of Children and Youth; Drohobych city public organization “Nasha khata”, “Food Bank”, Lviv Kurbas Academic Theater, Ltd. “Ave Lviv”, Ltd “Sankom – Lviv”, Ltd “Hrinera Ukraine”, Funny Vynnyky Musicians, designer Ivaskiv Nadiya, Yavna Khrystyna, Dyak Andriana.