MYKOLAIV orphanage Donation TRIP 

DONATION INFORMATION

December 2001

The Powells, with their family and friends, contributed $675.00 for the orphanage in Mykolaiv, Southern Ukraine. Other families, the McCowns and the Muttings, joined them, offering $150.00 and $50.00.  The total contribution funds received for the Mykolaiv orphanage were $875.00 .  International Management Services donated transportation services including the driver's fee, van, and gas.  

SRC used $75.00  for salaries and taxes associated with this project.  The total funds used for the Mykolaiv orphanage donation totaled $800.00.  

The orphanage’s maximum occupancy is 120 children.   

They are very active in registering the children for adoption in this orphanage, and in 2001, had 81 adoptions total – 20 Ukrainian adoptions, and 61 adoptions by foreign parents, as well as 12 children taken out under guardianship to Ukrainian homes. 

The children have health conditions, and the orphanage is a regional home for children diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy.

GETTING THE ORPHANAGE SUPPLIES

Our staff contacted the orphanage to find out the immediate needs that they had for this winter.  The list below is the final purchase list after several discussions about the funds and priority of needs:  

Description

Quantity

Price (USD)

1

Electric ovens "Malva"

13

197.00

2

Electric ovens "Elna"    

2

25.40

3

Saucepans (1 liter)

4

23.70

4

Saucepans (2 liter)

4

36.50

5.

Saucepans (3 liter)

4

38.80

6.

Saucepans (4 liter)

4

44.10

7.

Scoops (1 liter)

4

22.50

8.

Flannel (0.75 m x 210 meters)

1

162.00

9.

Flannel (0.90 m x 90 meters)

1

113.00

10.

Medical Cloth (0.90 m x 100 meters)

1

90.30

11.

Wool blankets

5

45.60

12.

Electric Bulbs

3

1.10

TOTAL:

$800.00

• The average exchange rate is 5.25 Ukrainian Hrivna to the US Dollar. 

• The items were self-explanatory for the most part.  

• The flannel is being used for the babies for bundling;  Ukrainians swaddle infants for the first few months of life, to keep them warm and feeling secure. 

• The medical cloth is a heavy muslin for bandaging broken or sprained limbs.

We arrived in Mykolaiv at 3:00 pm (the drive is about 650 kilometers) after a sunny drive with no snow, thankfully!  

Our team consisted of Yuri S. - office manager, and Nikolai – driver.  By the end of the unloading at the orphanage, we realized that we should include one more helper for the next trip!

We were greeted very formally by Olga Ivanovna, and she received the items with all the necessary paperwork graciously from us. 

She gave us a good deal of history about the orphanage and her position there.  The orphanage has existed there for 81 years, but the building was rebuilt 21 years ago (it’s now the “new” building).  They have a staff of 204 people (caregivers, cooks, administrative, medical & janitorial staff, etc.).  

Olga Ivanovna has worked as the orphanage director for 18 years, and was the orphanage head doctor for 2 years before that.  This is very unusual in Ukraine, as orphanage directors are often fired for suspected corruption, particularly when they do a lot of foreign adoptions.  Olga is clearly very careful to stay above suspicion and very professional in her reception of us and others who enter the orphanage.  

Olga Ivanovna, the orphanage director

Olga went through the children’s schedule with us – early breakfast, physical exercises, outdoor play, lunch, nap, snack, activities, dinner, play time, and bed.  The schedules are very regimented and do not vary much from orphanage to orphanage.  The children are taken on outings fairly often to the circus, parks, and to camps in the summer time.  Olga mentioned also that they had recently had a chicken pox outbreak, which was difficult for staff and children.  

The government allowance is 6 grivna 50 kopeks per child per day for food and supplies (about $1.25), which of course is not adequate to feed them, let alone buy toiletries, medicines, art supplies, and clothing, so they are particularly appreciative of what the adoptive families do to help the remaining children, and truly rely on this aid to keep the orphanage functioning and the children warm and fed.

The orphanage seems well managed, and we are delighted to be a part of bringing the much-needed items which we know will be used efficiently for the children’s comfort.

At the end of our visit and tour (we saw the rooms for the oldest group of children – 4 year olds as well as the main rooms for the orphanage), Olga Ivanovna sent her heartfelt thanks again to the parents who remembered the children left behind in the orphanage, and bid us a cordial farewell. 

 We had an uneventful return to Kyiv, and convey our thanks as well to the parents for allowing us to be a part of this rewarding trip.

COMMENTS

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.