PRILUKY orphanage Donation TRIP 

June 2002

The Bohonowicz family along with their friends made a donation earmarked for the orphanage where they adopted their daughter.  The director of this orphanage, located in Priluky, when asked to give a list of needs, came up with many items to help the children develop small and large motor skills.  We enjoyed shopping for the many craft items and toys on their lists, and getting to see the children’s faces when they received the items.  We scheduled the delivery as soon after Children’s Day in Ukraine, so that their new toys would arrive as part of the celebration of their special day.

On Tuesday, June 3^rd, we left early in the morning to make the 4 hour drive to the Pryluki orphanage called “Sonetchko”(Sunny). Unfortunately, the director was not able to be present, so instead we were greeted by the director’s assistant and the doctor, who gave us a lot of medical information about the children.

The orphanage is supposed to hold 150 children ages 4-7 years. However, today there are only 84 children there. 100% of the children have some speech or learning delays. 25 % of the children have a diagnosis of oligothrenia.  Every third child has anemia of some kind

On the day we were at Sonetchka, an American couple was also there to look at a girl they wanted to adopt, but they decided not to do so.  She is 5 years old, with severe burns on her hips, legs, and other parts of her body.   In total, 40% of her body is covered with burns. It is our hope that maybe someone would like to help this girl.

The percentage of adoption has been very high during the last 3 years. Last year 30 children were adopted by international couples.  One interesting note the staff shared with us was of a case years ago when one of the children was adopted by an orphanage worker.   A mother and her daughter both worked at the orphanage, and the daughter adopted one of the children under her care.

The daily ration per child is estimated 4.50 Gryvna, which is lower than many orphanages, so they have need for food for the children as well as other items.  Specifically they mentioned ongoing needs for pasta/macarroni/noodles, cereals, and canned food. Second-hand clothes stores help the orphanage with clothes, but they still need fabric for linen pillow cases, sheets, and quilts.

The doctor also described their great need for medicine. They can never purchase enough medical supplies with what they get from their budget. So they need medicine for worms, thrush, iron supplements, antibiotics, and an ultra-violet light unit.

The children are taught well. They know Ukrainian history, and even have a specialized computer class, as well as a lot of special events they participate in.  The orphanage also has a program with Italian families who host children in their homes, and this summer 29 of the children will go to Italy for a vacation.

After our time with the children, and our tour of the grounds, we headed back to Kyiv, arriving back home the same evening, hoping to be of further help to the many children we met in this needy orphanage.

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.

    << Previous Donation Trip      Trip Index      Next Donation Trip >>