DONATION INFORMATION
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June 2001
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- The Russo family and
their supporters have donated $2,598.01. They requested the
funds to be directed to the orphanage "Malyutka" in
Donetsk, Ukraine. SRC added $101.99 toward this contribution and
paid salaries and taxes associated with this project. The total
contribution funds received were $2,700.00
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- International Management Services
donated transportation services including driver fee, van, and gas.
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- Slavik Zadoyanchuk donated his
time for interpreting.
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SRC thanks every donor and participant of this project for helping
Ukrainian orphans. It is our hope that this program will make it
possible for many families and individuals to improve the lives of the
children left in orphanages in Ukraine, and to show them God's love
through this care.
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DONETSK
ORPHANAGE "MALYUTKA"
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The
Malyutka Orphanage in Donetsk is one of the best in the country. It
is home to around 200 children at any one time, and over the 37
years of its existence, has seen almost 4000 children pass through
its doors.
The
dedicated staff of over 300 includes doctors, nurses, caregivers,
masseurs, cooks, grounds men, and others, all dedicated to giving
the children a good start in life that will prepare them for their
life ahead – this could be being returned to their families of
origin, national or international adoption, or progressing to the
next orphanage in the system.
The
orphanage is also involved in gathering professional children’s
workers from all around the region and country to share ideas and
try to solve common problems they have come across.
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ORPHANAGE NEEDS
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Our secretary
called the orphanage director to inform him of the donated funds,
and to discover if there were any specific needs that the children in his
orphanage had. He came back with two alternatives – A Minivan, or some
Pampers! Explaining that we didn’t have enough for a Minivan and that we
would be able to buy an awful lot of Pampers with the money available, we
continued to ask what would really benefit the lives of the children
there.
Finally, we
worked out the list of the orphanage needs that would benefit the lives of
the children living there. The proposed items were:
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- Cloth
diapers and baby clothes
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- Nestle
Baby Formula Milk (a month’s supply of 300 packets would feed the
60 children less than 12 months old)
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- Shoes (sandals for
summer, boots for the winter, and shoes for spring/fall for the 140
children aged 1-4 years old)
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- Kasha
– a hot grain cereal & a staple in the Ukrainian diet
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Having
received the final list, it was left to our secretary to try to procure
the best possible quotes for these items.
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GETTING THE ORPHANAGE
SUPPLIES
Tanya,
our secretary calling factories
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Our plan
was to call factories, enquire about their surplus stock and try to
negotiate a discounted price. However, unlike the West, where you
can pick up a phone and dial direct to the stock room, where someone
could check on a computer screen what was pre-ordered, what was
available etc, the Ukrainian system is a little more basic. Phoning
a factory, you could get anyone, from the director to the cleaner on
the factory floor, and invariably that person would not be able to
give you any of the information you require. Also, Ukrainian
factories do not carry much surplus stock, with the shops taking
pretty much everything the factory produces.
However,
having found a supplier of good quality shoes and boots, our
secretary went to see their excess stock, negotiated a price, and
asked them to hold the goods for her until the quote was approved.
Tanya is very artistic, and ensured that the items purchased were of
a good quality, and also very bright and cheerful colors.
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The sandals were
bought from a local shop, since the factory for them was situated in
another part of Ukraine.
The baby clothes were bought from a factory in Kiev. The milk and Kasha
were acquired directly from the warehouse, and a discount was negotiated
with the pharmacy for a bulk order of multivitamins.
The quotes approved, Tanya purchased the goods, and slowly the office
began to fill with boxes.
Here is the
final and complete list of items purchased for this project. The receipt
copies are filed with SRC and available upon request.
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Item
- Children’s
shoes (fall/winter) - 100 pairs
- Children’s
shoes (summer sandals) - 50 pairs
- Nestle
- 15 boxes
- Kasha
- 13 boxes
- Baby
things including:
- Cloth
Diapers – 90
- Cotton
Baby Tops – 60
- Bonnets
– 70
- Shirts
– 120
- Sleepers
– 107
- Cardigans
– 38
- Vitamins
- 140 packets
- Children’s
Tea – 7 cartons
Total: |
Amount in UAH
5,023.80
1,129.30
3,495.60
1,116.96
1,775.60
2,093.00
71.12
14,705.38 |
Amount in US$
$923
$207
$642
$205
$326
$385
$12
$2,700
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Note:
The average exchange rate is 5.44 Ukrainian Hrivna to the US
Dollar.
PLANNING THE HUMANITARIAN
TRIP
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The trip
was planned for the last week in June. Donetsk is almost 800 km from
Kiev, and the driver, Nicholai, estimated that it would take about
10 hours to do each part of the journey.
We planned
to leave at midnight Tuesday 26 June, arriving in Donetsk at 10am
the following morning (Wednesday).
Slavik
Zadoyanchuk came with us as a translator. Slavik is an experienced
interpreter who has been doing humanitarian trips like this for more
than 5 years.
At 11pm the
van was loaded up, and by midnight we were on the road.
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DONETSK ORPHANAGE
HUMANITARIAN PROJECT
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We
arrived at 10am on Wednesday morning, and were shown to the Director’s
office. Having explained who we were, we showed him the letter and
photographs from the Russo Family, and the list of items we had
brought.
The
Director, Mykola Yegorovych Levada, slowly read over the letter,
before nodding and turning to us.
“Yes,”
he said, “This child is in a good home, a very good home. It’s
important to recognize the care and nurture given here. We don’t
just look after the children, we want to encourage them and prepare
them for life beyond our gates. These parents…” He tapped the
letter thoughtfully. “These parents recognize that. That’s a
sign of great wisdom. Yes, this little girl is very blessed.”
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Joy, the Orphanage Director and
His Assistant |
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He
moved on to the list, and continued his thoughtful nodding. “We
are very grateful for these things,” he said after a short pause.
“All of us working here are here because we want these children to
be happy and provided for. These things will make the children
happy, therefore we are happy and very grateful to this family, very
grateful.”
In one swift movement, he picked up the handset of the phone on his
desk, and barked some names, before hanging up and returning to
looking at the family photographs.
We came
back to the van to oversee the unpacking of the goods. |
| After
a short wait, women in white coats came hurrying out of the
building, each clasping receipt notes, and asking for the specific
item allocated to them on this list.
The chief
nurse took the vitamins. Another woman came for the baby things. She
picked up the bags and carried them towards the house, but getting
halfway across the car park, she couldn’t resist any longer, and
quickly opened the bag and let out a little gasp of joy as she
looked at the brightly colored clothing within.
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Chief
nurse, director and our driver supervising unloading
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| After
a short wait, women in white coats came hurrying out of the
building, each clasping receipt notes, and asking for the specific
item allocated to them on this list.
The chief
nurse took the vitamins. Another woman came for the baby things. She
picked up the bags and carried them towards the house, but getting
halfway across the car park, she couldn’t resist any longer, and
quickly opened the bag and let out a little gasp of joy as she
looked at the brightly colored clothing within.
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Chief
nurse, director and Nicholia supervising unloading |
An
orphanage worker unpacking shoes boxes
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Another
woman arrived at the car. “The shoes are mine,” she said,
hopping up and down like a child.
As I
watched these excited women, I knew that this was a place of much
laughter and love. If these women could get so excited over these
gifts for the children, they must truly love and nurture the little
ones in their care.
The woman
collecting the shoes began to undo the bags straight away, eager to
see the brand new shoes. Instantly there was a buzz from the
surrounding ladies, as they ‘Oohh’ed and ‘Arhh’ed over the
tiny shoes in a way which is universal to women.
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Then the
kitchen staff came to collect their milk and kasha. As they picked
up the boxes and carried them into the kitchen, they loitered for a
moment, watching as a couple of pairs of tiny sandals were unpacked
and inspected.
Everywhere I looked were huge smiles, people offering thanks and
asking that we pass on their gratitude to the family who had given
so generously.
When all
the goods had been unpacked and the paperwork completed, the
director gave us a tour of the orphanage, before leaving us with the
assistant doctor, who took us to see the unit that Katie had been
taken from.
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The
first floor rooms were filled with laughter as we arrived. For the
10 or so children there, there were 4 caregivers, ensuring that each
child received quality time and attention.
My eyes
were instantly drawn to the oldest girl in the room. She was stood
in a cot, with her legs in casts, watching me with all the intense
concentration of a 3 or 4 year old.
While the
women in the room gathered round the letter and photographs,
declaring how beautiful Katie was and how miraculous the change was
in her, I wandered over to the little girl in the cot. “Hello,”
I whispered. “What’s your name?” “Vita,” (Victoria) came
the whispered response, and the little girl held my hand and gave me
a tender, shy smile.
It touched my heart to realize that this sweet child would receive
the shoes, food and other items to make her life a little more
comfortable. |
| The visit
was all but over, and we had to prepare ourselves for the journey
back to Kyiv. The women begged that we pass on their thanks. As we
pulled away in the van, I whispered a prayer of thanks for these
women. To see their dedication to the children, proven by the smiles
and laughter of children, was so precious. It had been such a joy to
watch their excitement at receiving the gifts, so many ‘thank you’s’.
But the most precious ‘thank you’ came as we were about to
leave. The woman in charge of the unit Katie had lived in looked at
me, with tears in her eyes and a smile on her face. She hugged me
tightly, unable to speak, overcome with emotion – after all, how
do you convey such heart-felt gratitude. |
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COMMENTS
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"It’s such a blessing that this project exists,
and that we can be God’s hands reaching out to the children of Ukraine.
Personally, I was very pleased to be
involved."
Tanya
– Involved in procurement of the goods
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“It was a
good time, and I was glad to be a part of it.
Actually, I would like to mention, that out of all couples who promise to
be back in touch with the orphanage with pictures and the info about a
child they adopted (as is highly appreciated by most of the
orphanages) so few do that. But I would like to commend the Russo
Family for doing so and for providing some support for the orphanage - it
is just great!
"
Slavik
– Translator for the trip
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"The giving of this money was a miracle for the
children. It’s wonderful the way that people care for these poor
children who have no parents. It shows what rich, good hearts this family
has, to have compassion on these children. I went with Tanya as she bought
the things, and it was an honor to watch her carefully choose them, with
the children in mind. As we went to
Donetsk, the feeling was like soaring on the wind – seeing people giving
away so unselfishly! Then to meet the director and the people who care for
the children, they are such good people, with such loving hearts towards
the children in their care. It was
the best day of my
year!!"
Nicholai
– The driver
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COMMENTS
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If you want
to be a part of our charity programs and share your heart with Ukrainian
orphans, please check with us at our_kids@earthlink.net
to find out about upcoming humanitarian trips and how you can make a
difference in the world.
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