KHERSON orphanage Donation TRIP 

January 2002

SRC parents raised $1000.00 for the orphanage in Kherson, Southern Ukraine.  International Management Services donated transportation services including the driver's fee, van, and gas. SRC donated $80.00  for salaries and taxes associated with this project.  The total funds used for the Kharkiv orphanage donation totaled $1000.00.  

We are also struck by the need of the workers as well as the children – they are also in need of vitamins in particular, as their salaries don’t allow them the money to buy adequate food for one person, much less a family (about $15-25 per month is typical, and some months the government can’t afford to pay them).

Description

Quantity

Price (USD)

1

Electro heater (oil) "Saturn"

1

72.06

2

Electro heater (oil) "Terniya" 

2

82.29

3

Electro heater (oil) "Ifesa"

1

55.99

4

Children’s footed playsuits (flannel - indoor)

402

308.74

5.

12

33.91

6.

Nutrition "Nutrilon Soy"     

40

138.62

7.

Child's cream "Antoshka"

1

0.22

8.

Vitamins "Multi-tabs"  (for children under 12 mo.)

24 packs

72.55

9.

Vitamins "Multi-tabs" (for children 12 - 48 mo.)

36 packs

108.48

10.

Vitamins "Pikavit"

100 packs

126.62

11.

Electric Bulbs

4

0.59

TOTAL:

$1,000.07

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

• The heaters are to supplement the sporadic government heat in the baby rooms.  Since they are electric, when the gas heat is off, they will still function.  Government buildings in the winter are often 40-50 degrees Fahrenheit indoors due to lack of fuel at the city level.  

• As you can see, the children are in great need of vitamins, as their diets are not nutritious, leading to many of the health problems from which the children suffer. 

We agreed to deliver the items on January 12, and once again had fairly good weather for the drive.  We loaded up our van with the items, and this time had 3 in our delivery crew; Yuri  S.– office manager , Nikolai, our van driver, and Maxim, an interpreter who works with our staff on projects throughout the year.

 We left at 6:00 am, and arrived in Kherson about noon, after a 550 kilometer drive.  One humorous event along the way – the militia stopped our van at the Kherson regional border station, and decided that our crew were high-level officials, and saluted us as we drove away, then again on our return trip!

  We made good time and arrived a little earlier than expected, and the orphanage was having their inspection by the health department when we arrived (a tense time as you might imagine!).  The director & head doctor greeted us warmly, however, and sat us down for coffee & tea while we waited for the inspection to conclude (about 2 hours).

The director, Svetlana Petrovna, and the orphanage doctor gave us a little background on themselves – Svetlana was transferred from a medical hospital 3 years earlier.  She is originally from the Crimea region on the Black Sea, and the doctor is from Donetsk region, on the Eastern border of Ukraine near Russia.  

Svetlana is in her 30s, and strikes us with her energy and enthusiasm in trying to make a better life for “her” children.  She has approached several local corporations to try to get sponsorship for various projects.  She was successful in getting one company to pay the orphanage electric bill when the power had been shut off, but unsuccessful in getting just $25 to pay for 2 children to be transferred to a hospital in Odessa where they could receive much needed medical treatment.

vetlana tells us that she has developed a deep faith in her years in the orphanage.  She has seen many miracles of provision for the orphans just in the time of need.  She tells us that one boy in the orphanage used the last of his soy formula yesterday, and they needed more today for him.

This particular orphanage building is in much worse shape than others we’ve visited.  It was originally a kindergarten, and doesn’t have the space or amenities of the usual orphanages – it is about ½ as large as it should be for the number of children.  

The greatest need here is to either build additions to the building or move to a new location.  

The first addition Svetlana would make is a Dryer room – with dryers and lines for the laundry, and local builders have estimated the cost at $12,000.  She hopes for local corporate sponsorship, but has not found anyone so far.

The children’s schedule is typical of the other orphanages we’ve visited – breakfast, physical training, outdoor play, lunch, nap, activities (maybe outdoors again), dinner, quiet activities, bedtime.  

Their food is also typical – hot cereal with hot, sweet tea in the morning, watery soup (almost broth) with bread for lunch, a snack of cookies and kefir (sort of buttermilk), then potatoes or buckwheat and more soup with bread for dinner.  

The lack of milk, other dairy products, meat and vegetables lead to serious growth delays and tooth decay in the children.  

Lack of funds for clothing makes it hard to keep them clothed for warmth and with shoes for outdoor play, but with all the hardships, the children do receive attention and love from the caregivers around them.

We ask about adoptions, and she is reluctant to give statistics, but says that they have about 3-4 times more international adoptions per year than Ukrainian adoptions.  The children are in groups of 20-25, 4 groups, and she receives 5 grivna, 80 kopeks per child – a little over a dollar per child per day for all their needs.

 We also discover that Svetlana works Saturdays and Sundays, without a day off, and is very strict with her staff.  She is known for firing them if she catches them being lazy in their duties, and she expects the staff to work as hard as she does.  

We come away from our day in Kherson with a deep respect for her and for the work she and her staff do for the children, and with prayers that God will continue to provide for the needs of these children in remarkable ways, particularly for the needed building additions.