The Campaign “THE CORK OF LIFE”
       The campaigns on collecting corks from plastic bottles are getting wider popularity nowadays. Such companies have been helding in Europe for more than five years. On the one hand they help to clean the environment of the most widespread trash – the plastic, on the other hand – to receive income from companies involved in disposing of such products. Last year, the residents of Turkey were the champions of Europe, having collected nearly four tons of plastic trash.

       This year Ukraine has taken over the baton, namely in Lviv in early spring there was launched a project called “The Cork of Life”. It was initiated by the department of the city social work and Charitable Foundation of “Sister Dslila.” On the Eve of a Rare Disease Day that is celebrated on February 29th worldwide, in front of Lviv City Hall there took place the first flash mob, which signaled the beginning of the collection of corks. After that the campaign started spreading all over the city.

       The day of rare diseases was chosen not by chance. All funds that will be withdrawn for plastic will be used to help patients suffering from pulmonary hypertension, an incurable disease that has the status of a rare, but every year the number of patients with this diagnosis increases. Oksana Rubai, the head of Lviv City Center of Social Services for Family, Children and Youth says that it is easy to draw public`s attention to the problems of people suffering in large numbers. For example, when it comes to tuberculosis or AIDS, they all realize that risks to be infected with this disease are to a large numbers of people, and then the state uses resources to overcome such problems. What concerns the people who suffer from rare diseases, the public`s reaction is the following: “Whether to help the individuals who are not a lot, and their treatment requires very large amounts of money? It is best to use these funds to save a bigger number of patients. But this opinion is erroneous, because behind the history of every disease there is a particular person who is the dearest for someone and this is not for us to decide whether it has the right for life.
       The school children were the first who took the challenge to collect corks for the sake of human life. Therefore we decided that the main places to collect plastic will be schools. In the summer holidays period, urban social centers set additional containers in the entertainment and shopping institutions of the city.

       Join the campaign and you, because as the director of Lviv City Charitable Foundation of “Sister Dalila” Kulish Oksana said: “A Cork to a Cork Gather you and I – Together will shall Save Lives!”