Inflation, the dropping dollar and finances

This may be a somewhat long one so if you're in a hurry feel free to scroll to the bottom for the gist and then reread the text later.

I debated posting on this subject lest it might be viewed as a criticism of Global Action but I finally decided that my readers are smart enough to read this post correctly and understand the spirit in which it is intended.  The entire stateside staff is dedicated to getting the word out, contacted potentially interested partners and just flat out busting their butts to keep vital programs going all over the world.  They are constantly fighting against the external factors discussed below that none of us can affect.

Since we have been here, finances have been alternately tight and downright dire.  There are many reasons for that which I won't really address (the financial issues in the US from whence the majority of our funding comes is a major one), but I thought it might be instructive to elaborate a little on the factors on our side of the world.  It can really be boiled down to inflation and currency exchange.

I'll do the latter first since it's the easiest.  When we first got here (and last summer when I came for camp) the exchange rate hovered right around 5.05 hrivna to the dollar.  This was pretty stable and didn't fluctuate very much.  Now it can float between 4.55 and 4.75 depending on the day and the bank.  That is a decrease in value of around 7-10%.  Think about how that affects an institution that is primarily funded in US dollars.  Without any change in the donation patterns of our very generous partners, we have in essence lost 7-10% of our funding.  I wish I could say that this was the more difficult of the 2....

Inflation.  Last year at this time gas was between 3 and 4 hrivna per liter (about 13 hrivna to the gallon) and right now it runs around 7 hrivna/liter (about 26.50 hrivna/gallon).  Tanya told us that a year ago bread was 1.20 hrivna/loaf and now its around 2.60.  Last year to schedule a marshrutka (Russian for minibus... learn the term people!)  from Kerch to Simferopol and back was around 600 hrivna and as of last week the price had skyrocketed to 1800 minimum.  The same price jump is true of in-town routes as well.  All of these represent annual inflation rates of around 100%.  We had similar increases in food, electricity and property taxes.    Obviously it isn't this pronounced across the market but it does represent staple items for daily life.

Here is where this gets brutal.  For us, both components combine to create some serious funding problems. If you take the example items above and mesh the two changes you get this:

Bread (in USD); bought in massive amounts during summer camps.

2007 - $0.24/loaf

2008 - $0.56/loaf

Gasoline

2007 - $2.57/gallon

2008 - $5.70/gallon

Public transport

Kerch-Simferopol-Kerch, full marshrutka

2007 - $120

2008 - $390

In-town routes, per person

2007 - $0.30

2008 - $0.65

Sadly, these don't just affect the HopeCenter and our project budget.  As we lose funding through a dropping exchange rate, we can't afford to give the necessary cost of living wage increases to our staff who must deal with the astronomical inflation.

Please pray for our folks here as some of the staff are looking at having to choose between the ministry they love and providing for their families.  

Also, I have resisted using this blog as a platform to raise funds but if we do not develop a larger base of dedicated donors (of any amount), our programs and staff will be seriously threatened.  At the top of the right hand column there is a link to the Global Action online donation page for those who are interested.

Family Pics

Our buddy Tommy surprised us in the last week of his stay here when he busted out the big gun camera.  Previously I had only seen his pocket-sized digital, but he apparently also brought a "sniper camera" somewhere in his 2 checked bags and one reasonably-sized carry on.  As a very thoughtful going away gift he donated his services as a photographer/ photo editor to the Gaw clan for some family photos.

The first is the photo Tammi has been waiting for.  She sent these shirts out with the last team; just in time for the new European kickball season.  Since the size doesn't allow you read the clever shirts (courtesy of Who Are Ya Designs) I'll read them for you.

Sarah and I are sporting the Fernando Torres "El Nino" and "of the glory of the fields of Anfield Road" Liverpool shirts, respectively.  Cam is kicking Sarah's "Magic Spray wishes you a speedy recovery" shirt.

This is my favorite "marrying up" photo from the day.  Amazing...
Pretty much the cutest kid I've ever seen...
Doing what he does best.
...and the requisite "George Washington crossing the Delaware in Tevas, cammie shorts and Tommy's metro shirt."  Oh wait.... you don't have a photo like that?

Bring on the footy

Despite Sarry's insistence that red and orange don't match (come on... they're on the same side of the color wheel, right?) I am jacked for the upcoming football season.

For the uninitiated, these means competitions on 3 fronts: 

1. England - Obviously the league games are the primary draw but there are also the FA Cup and Carling Cup.  Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez is notorious for sitting top players during these domestic competitions.  The Reds just busted up Scottish giant Rangers FC this week with some of their newest signings showing some good stuff.

2.  Ukraine - Shaktar Donetsk will be playing Tavria Simferopol (the nearest 1st division club to Kerch) on November 8th and I am very eager to make that game.  Ukraine's most successful club, Dynamo Kiev, will be there 2 weeks earlier and I may try to make the double.

3.  Champions League - Liverpool goes directly to the 3rd round of qualifying by way of their 4th place PL finish.  Shaktar will also show up in this round based on their Ukrainian PL title last year.  Theoretically my 2 chosen teams could meet in this competition but I will have no problem cheering for Liverpool over Shaktar.

They're still here....

Good morning gentlemen....

Thanks for waiting by my front door all night.  I must say I prefer that to getting into the attic and making noise all night like your obnoxious friend did.

Great political satire

I caught this on LGF a few days ago and it was so clever I had to steal it.  This is a Gerard Baker piece and where ever you stand on the upcoming presidential election, you have to admit the our friend Barack has gotten some pretty powder-puff coverage thus far.  I recommend reading the whole thing but here's the first few paragraphs to get you started: 

And it came to pass, in the eighth year of the reign of the evil Bush the Younger (The Ignorant), when the whole land from the Arabian desert to the shores of the Great Lakes had been laid barren, that a Child appeared in the wilderness.

The Child was blessed in looks and intellect. Scion of a simple family, offspring of a miraculous union, grandson of a typical white person and an African peasant. And yea, as he grew, the Child walked in the path of righteousness, with only the occasional detour into the odd weed and a little blow.

When he was twelve years old, they found him in the temple in the City of Chicago, arguing the finer points of community organisation with the Prophet Jeremiah and the Elders. And the Elders were astonished at what they heard and said among themselves: “Verily, who is this Child that he opens our hearts and minds to the audacity of hope?”

In the great Battles of Caucus and Primary he smote the conniving Hillary, wife of the deposed King Bill the Priapic and their barbarian hordes of Working Class Whites.