Humanitarian--Estonia, Red Cross Helping with Refugees

The Estonia Government is leasing the Isabelle Cruise line from the company Tallink. This Cruise line is docked in the Tallinn harbor. It is a home to 1,600 refugees from Ukraine and Russia. 

There is a nurse's station on the ship. Those who are sick and need medical attention visit the nurse. She/He will assess the situation and prescribe medicines for the patients. 

The patient then goes to the Red Cross Pharmacy on board the ship.

The nurse's office is open 5 days a week and serves about 20 patients per day.

The Estonian Red Cross then fills the prescriptions. These medicines are over the counter medication. They are given only what they need.

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has provided medicines for this pharmacy. 

The pharmacy is open 1 day a week, but hopes to open for more days.

Challenges at the start of the Ukraine/Russian crisis:

For the first 2 months after February 24, 2022 the refugees had influenza and diarrhea. All the refugees either had COVID vaccinations or received them when they entered the ships. 

Some of the refugees sought shelter in local hotels, but as the summer tourist season started, they either moved on or they are residences on "the Isabelle." 

As of July, the ship is calm. The children were able to enroll in the Public School system for their education from February to June.

The rooms are small but adequate. The refugees store their luggage in the gated shops.

There is a place by the entrance for strollers and bikes. There are several locked up stores that are housing food storage. 

There is a cafeteria.

The children have lounges and cafeteria places to go to play games, socialize, and group activities.

There is an information desk with 2 assistances for those need help. 

There are many volunteers helping in different capacities to make this transition as smooth as possible.

The government is trying to find apartments so the ship can be used for the tourist season. Apartments are hard to come by in Estonia so it makes the refugees a little uneasy with what is going to happen to them in the future. 

The people living on the ship can come and go as they like with their own special card. Outsiders have to have special permission to enter the ship. There is a security check point. There are regular busses that stop at the harbor to take the people into the city. 

The harbor is within walking distance to Old Tallinn and malls.  

The nurses are now concerned about the coming of fall and the sicknesses that follow. 

The Estonian Red Cross would like to have a good supply of medicines and vaccines available.

PHOTO: Elder and Sister Blau, Head of Pharmacy on ship, 2 representatives from Estonia RED CROSS

Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

1894–1900, when the country was part of the Russian Empire. The cathedral is Tallinn's largest orthodox church. It is dedicated to the grand prince of Kiev, and later Saint Alexander Nevsky who in 1242 won the Battle of the Ice on Lake Peipus, near the present-day border between Estonia and Russia.  The cathedral was built in the 19th century and was so disliked by the Estonians as a symbol of oppression that the Estonian authorities scheduled it to be demolished in 1924, but was never implemented because of lack of funds and because of the massive construction.

Humanitarian -- Estonia Food Bank in Tallinn LDS Charities help Ukraine and refugees

LDS Charities provided the Estonia Food Bank to purchase food for Ukraine. 

Once a month, when purchased food comes to the warehouse, located in Tallinn, the food is loaded on trucks, driven to Ukraine and dropped off at a hub in Kyiv, Ukraine.

Estonia food bank also provides for the Ukrainian refugees who have fled Ukraine and are residing in Tallinn and surrounding communities.

Estonia Food Bank helps the vulnerable population through other donations:

The Food Bank owns trucks that deliver food to other Charities such as: The Children's Shelters, Elderly Home Care facilities, and homeless shelters.

They also deliver outside of Tallinn to 15 other cities and villages. Volunteers from other cities and villages sometimes drive to Tallinn and pick up food for those who are at home and not able to leave.

The Food Bank works with the Social Workers of the city. Each day a list of recipients is provided for those who are in need of food assistance. Once a week the recipients get 2 bags of food. One bag of nonperishable items, and the other bag of fruits, vegetables, milk and meats. If the family has more than 4 people they receive 4 bags. If the family has small children, diapers, baby care items, and baby food are provided.

The food bank is open from 8:00 AM to 10:00PM. Ukrainian refugees come from 6:00PM-10:00PM.

Local food merchants drop off "day old produce" in the evening, also canned goods from Monday through Friday. The volunteers and workers go through each item to make sure it is fresh. If an item has expired then the food bank throws it out. 

The warehouse is constantly busy with workers and volunteers. The Food Bank has 5 employees and over 50 volunteers. They work in shifts.

Estonia Missionaries from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints volunteer once a week at the Food Bank. 

The Food Bank has many local donors besides the grocery stores. Food is donated by larger businesses, private individuals, and local merchants. LDS Charities has been helping Estonia for several years. The government provides the list of people to the Social Workers, and money to help fund the warehouse. 

The Food Bank just had a campaign for the Refugees and placed boxes and signs out during  the months of April and May. The campaign ended but people still come and donate to the cause. 

Because of the crisis in Eastern Europe food prices have risen significantly. It is difficult for the director to negotiate prices with organizations outside of Estonia. Food takes a while to be delivered. Sometimes their warehouse is almost empty, then a shipment comes in and they are full again. In one week over 10,000 recipients are benefiting from the Food Bank.

Humanitarian--Estonia Food Bank

The COVID 19 pandemic was causing a great stress to government and non governmental organizations who provided food relief to Estonian citizens. In Estonia, the public assistance resulting from the outbreak of COVID 19 was planned to expire in August 2021. This meant that many of those in poorer, disabled, elderly, and certain children from disadvantaged families, would be without government assistance. The reduction of government benefits resulted in an extreme need for emergency assistance for food and sanitation products for those who are unable to provide for themselves.

The government is working with those who are at greater risk and who are not already supported by existing governmental program. The information about those in need are shared with the Estonia Food Bank offices of the City of Tallinn, local food suppliers, delivery businesses, and Tallinn volunteer groups.

LDS Charities provided a truck load of food for the coming winter. Latter-day Saint missionaries started volunteering helping at the warehouse and delivering food. These missionaries are called to the Baltic Mission in Eastern Europe.