Ukrainian Orphans
Last School Bell in Ukraine has Rung
The Last Bell has been rung in Ukraine, and school is officially out for summer! That famous Alice Cooper song is not well known in the orphanage, but nonetheless, children all across the country of Ukraine, those that are now displaced in Europe and in the USA, and indeed those students who switched to online learning in the face of war, are celebrating that school is out for summer! Last week, our kids celebrated Last Bell, complete with 11th grade Graduation and our dedicated team made sure they had an audience! They brought flowers, chocolates, ice creams and most importantly themselves. I hated having to miss Last Bell and celebrating with the children and teachers. I traditionally give an end of year speech, and this year (as last year) Inna had to read my speech at the closing ceremony, in my stead. Here’s what I wrote, and here are some of the gorgeous photos taken that day…
A Merry Christmas for Our Orphans in Ukraine
Thanks to so many of you, our orphans in Ukraine had a very Merry Christmas! Remember all of those “Bags of Blessings” that you sent in? We assigned one to each child at the orphanage, packed them up and brought them to Ukraine! Meanwhile, our dedicated team was busy practicing a play which told the story of Jesus’ Birth! After the Christmas presents arrived, it was time to head out to the orphanage…
No bomb shelter? No school
This fall, it was “back to school” for our orphanage children despite the ongoing horrific war in Ukraine. Surprisingly enough, the orphanage was returned (from the government) on September 1, which means the military who were using the place as their barracks packed up and left. However, in order for the orphanage school to reopen, the Administration asked us for help. There was one condition they had to achieve in order to reopen. They needed a bomb shelter for the children.
Letters from Ukraine - Cyndee's news from Ukraine!
You probably remember, that when the war started on February 24, 2022, the orphanage was ordered to release all of the children and send them “home” to their guardians. This was due to the fact that nearby military targets had been bombed and therefore the government needed to rehouse those affected residents. They needed to use the orphanage to house displaced families, so the children were sent “home” and became scattered all around various small villages in the area. Many of the kids were sent back to the very people who caused them to be taken to an orphanage in the first place. Some went to poor relatives, who can barely afford to feed themselves, let alone additional children. Our team has continued to do everything in our power to maintain contact with the children, and to help them survive by making regular visits to check on them and to bring them food and essentials.
What makes a Grown Man Cry?
Lately, our ministry efforts have turned from evacuating orphans to providing humanitarian aid for starving civilians and giving life-saving medical help to soldiers defending Ukraine. In these stressful and emotion encounters, for sure, there are many tears. Apart from describing the horrors that most soldiers have seen on the battlefield, in the village square and in the wheat fields, do you know what really makes a grown man cry? A first aid kit.
Preparing for Easter
Tomorrow is Easter in America! What a wonderful day for us Christians to celebrate the greatest story in history – Jesus’ resurrection from death! In Ukraine and in many other countries around the world, Easter won’t be celebrated for another week, as they follow the Orthodox calendar. However, our family of 14 in Madrid is celebrating tomorrow, so today they were busy coloring eggs. This refugee family was happy to have eggs to color, even though they look much different that the kind they usually made at home in Ukraine.
This is Ukraine today – shot with our own cameras
One of the big differences of working with a huge, global NGO and a small, focused charity like Hope Now, is that we can tell you (and even show you!) where your donations end up and who they are helping. Take a few minutes and click on the video above, to see how your donations make their way across the border, into the hands of desperate Ukrainians trying to survive in the bombed-out city of Chernihiv.
“Humanitarian Aid” has a Face & a Name
We usually think of Humanitarian Aid as sort of anonymous. Who does it really come from, and who does it go to? We usually never know. However, when you give financially to Hope Now, or order something off our Amazon Wish List, YOU are providing Humanitarian Aid and we can tell you exactly who is receiving it. That’s because our own volunteers sort, pack, ship, and hand deliver it to people who need it, in Ukraine. You are being the hands and feet of Jesus to those in need in a war-ravaged land. Vitalina and Zhenya are some of the orphans who received food parcels this past week, along with others from Shpola Orphanage.
Some days are for Crying
“We cry every day.” That’s the big change in the lives of our Ukrainian volunteers, kids and moms who were evacuated to Sweden, Italy, USA, and Romania. Yes, it’s true there are other changes too – especially for those in Romania, like sharing a house with 6 other families, living in a residential home compound (a sort of orphanage), having visitors who bring candy, Coke, treats and SO MUCH FOOD day and night. Not having to go to school, trying to learn Romanian, needing to go to the dentist, doctor, or document maker. Having makeshift birthday parties with strangers, arguing over silly things, worrying about who’s in charge, trying to figure out if there is a schedule and most of all – wondering if your friends and relatives back home in Ukraine are still alive. Trying to get information about them from any slight thread. And being terrified for them, after hearing, firsthand report after report of the brutal carnage and horrifying abuse happening in Ukraine day after day, at the hands of the invaders.
Happy Birthday Nazar!
"It was the best birthday ever!" Happy news to hear from a child, but it's also bittersweet. Our wonderful Romanian hosts from Richard Wurmbrand School in Iasi knew from our registration records, that Nazar had a birthday coming up. So, they did everything in their power to make sure it was a very happy birthday indeed! Cake, juice, games, songs and funny photos make celebrating your birthday in a refugee shelter almost bearable.
Happiness is NOT imaginary!
Imagine my happiness 2 days in a row to be able to see and hug our precious kids from Ukraine! Yesterday, we brought kids across the border and today we were able to go visit a group of 15 that we brought over about 10 days ago! We drove about 3 hours from Siret to Iasi Romania, to the Richard Wurmbrand School. After having a wonderful tour of the school, and hearing about the history and exciting new plans for growth, we bundled into the vans and headed to the group home in Victoria where our kids are being hosted. Shout out to "World Central Kitchen," who is not only providing hot meals at the border, but also at shelters housing Ukrainian refugees.
Feeding an Army
Moms who have a large family often joke about having to “feed an army...” Cooking pretty much around the clock – especially if there are teenaged boys to feed. But imagine having to cook for a real army! Except you’re not a professional, you aren’t cooking in a well-equipped army kitchen, you can’t get many essential ingredients, and oh yeah – you’re in the middle of a war, complete with air sirens and missiles flying around your head. This is the reality for our little church in Khutory, where Greenfield (our Hope Now Boys Home) is located. 100 soldiers from the Ukrainian army battalion from Donetsk, recently took over the local school and turned it into their barracks, since their own was blown up by russian aggressors. Day in and day out, our ladies from the church cook homemade meals, package them up, and deliver them to the 100 soldiers who have come to rely on them.
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