Social-pedagogical and charitable activity of the society ‘Protection of the orphans named after Metropolitan Andrei count Sheptytskyi’ (Galicia, 1918-1939)

Abstract

 The hard times after the wars at the beginning of the 20th century caused the increasing of crisis social-economical state of the Ukrainian society in Galicia. One of the most painful problems was the appearance of large numbers of orphans, which needed the pecuniary aid, social-pedagogical care and psychological rehabilitation. In order to solve all the mentioned tasks, Ukrainian Greek-Catholic clergy initiated and founded a special society ‘Protection of the orphans named after Metropolitan Andrei count Sheptytskyi’. Its financial base was the offerings of people, the patronage activity of the Metropolitan and a raw of commercial projects where he took part and supported financially. The activity of the society included a lot of spheres and found its expression in the guardianship and support of biological and social orphans; educational and charitable activity. It gave the support to the orphan-houses; made efforts in order to give the capable children possibility to gain a secondary and a high education, by paying for their study and giving grants as well as providing orphans with living in high schools, colleges, seminaries; looked for the possibilities and means to help those organisations which directions of activity coincided with the activity of the society. There were educational organisations, such as ‘Ukrainian zahoronka’, ‘Ruska Oselia Vakaciina’; charitable organisations, such as ‘Sodality of Our Lady’; as well as organisations of cultural-artistic directions, such as ‘Society of Art’s adherents’. The society provided the social accompaniment of the youth on the first stages of their independent grown-up life. At the cost of the society young people were buying special equipment for the opening of trade studios and also they were receiving the dowry which became a material background for the new-born families. The activity of the society was a bright example of a systematic, multidimensional, effective social-pedagogical work in favour of the Ukrainian children and youth and the whole Ukrainian society in general.