Who is that elderly lady feeding cats on the grounds of the Svyatogorsk Lavra? Looking after tabbies—оf whom there are plenty, as in every monastery—is not the only task entrusted to 79-year-old Raisa Mikhailovna Moskaleva. She is also the primary attendant of the bedridden Lydia Vasilievna.

At one time Raisa Mikhailovna lived in Donetsk, then moved to Svyatogorsk. Since March of 2022 she has been among the refugees who found shelter at the Svyatogorsk Lavra.

Matushka (as all the wards of the Lavra’s guest quarters are affectionately called) Raisa has a whole “assortment” of ailments: she is insulin-dependent (moderately severe type II diabetes mellitus) and suffers from coronary heart disease (postinfarction and atherosclerotic cardiosclerosis), chronic cardiac insufficiency, hypertension, chronic stage III kidney disease, diabetic nephropathy and kidney stones.

In 2019 she suffered a stroke and underwent surgery to implant a pacemaker.

Raisa Mikhailovna cannot do without regular medication, some of which is costly. She needs your help!