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      Children's Hope 
Charitable Fund No 25885880  (Ukraine)
Bringing the love of God to homeless, abandonned and hurting children in Ukraine

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Latest Details
Last updated 6.9.03

 

After some three years of caring for around 12 childrne in the cramped conditions of the Director's own home in Brovariiy (just outside Kyiv), in March this year, the home moved to new premises in a small village on the edge of Brovariiy.  The house is much bigger, with some grounds of its own, but - having formerly been used as a furniture warehouse! - is in need of extensive refurbishment.  Currently there are 19 children (aged from 18 months to 16 years of age) living in the home, all but one of whom were reached through our 'soup run' to kids living rough on the streets of the capital.

During the Summer holidays the older boys have been helping a team of volunteers work on the building - replacing window frames, decorating, plumbing etc. etc. and the house is beginning to look something like we would wish.  We have recently had a new well sunk to provide adequate drinking water for all the children (mains water is unclean and unreliable), and are currently needing to totally refurbish the bathrooms (providing three new showers and three more toilets) and provide a new cess pit to cope with the increased volume of sewage! We urgently need to purchase some adult sized beds for the older children, who are currently having to squeeze into children's beds left from the days when our oldest resident was a very petite 12 year old!

In addition to the building work, we have employed a teacher over the Summer holiday to help bring the children (some of whom have never previously attended school) up to a reasonable educational standard before starting at local state schools on 1st September. We are still short of the funds to provide them with proper uniforms and equipment for the school year, and, with the harsh Ukrainian winter not far off, we also need to purchase warm clothes and winter coats for all of them.

Some of the children suffer from blood deficiencies and other conditions related to the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, occasionally requiring hospital care.  We have recently received a donation of vitamin and minerals to help treat these conditions, but regular supplies of such medical goods are expensive to acquire.
 

 

    The immediate goal was to raise $40,000  (approx £30,000) to buy or build a large house, with its own plot of land, to provide a home for up to 40 children in the town of Brovariy, just outside Kiev. The current building (purchase jointly with the home's Director) goes some way towards this, but we still need to refurbish and extend the property before our goal is achievable. This will be almost entirely dependant upon overseas donations.
     If you can help, either by a personal gift, or by arranging a sponsored event, please contact us at [email protected].  Please watch this space for details of fund-raising activities to be arranged over the coming months.

To run the home as we would wish, including employing a specialised teacher to help with the education of those children needing extra support and giving a minimal salary to all full-time workers, we anticipate the following initial costs:

 

Soup Run

Since the beginning of this year, when an English couple, Pat and Len Joy, moved out to Kyiv to work with the project on a voluntary basis, we have estableished a regular feeding programme for children living rough on the streets of the city. Other church groups are involved in doing this on various days of the week - our group are committed to being there every Saturday evening.  As well as taking sandwiches etc. to the kids, Pat, a qualified nurse, is now regularly holding an impromptu clinic by the roadside, attending to minor wounds etc. It took some time to build up the children's trust - "You'll be like all the others - here for a couple of weeks then get bored" - but now they look out for our visits and bring their friends for food, help, advice and a bit of tlc.

Already a number of these children have moved into our home on a permanent basis - or at least until we can try and link up with any members of their family able and willing to care for them - while others 'drop in' from time to time.  With Wointer approaching, we are anticipating that demand on beds in the home will dramatically increase, and are hoping to have the building up to scratch in time to respond to this need.
 
 

Fundraising Events

Yorkshire Three Peaks Walk - July 2003
Photos to follow

A reduced team of two walkers completed the Three Peaks of Yorkshire (Whernside, Ingleborough and Penyghent) in just over 10 hours in the middle of one of the hottesxt spells on record!  We look to have rasied around £400 towards the building fund - which we hope will pay for the new cess pit and some of the work on the bathrooms.

We are making plans for our next sponsored event in early Summer 2004 - probably tackling the Lyke Wake Walk long distance footpath.
 

National Three Peaks Weekend Challenge - 28-30 June 2002
We did it!
See Report

    A team of five walkers and two support drivers tackled  the three highest peaks in England, Scotland and Wales within the space of 36 hours, setting out up Ben Nevis at first light on Saturday 29th June, and coming down off Snowdon in time for tea on Sunday 30th. Sponsorship for this event is still coming in, but has tooks to have raised around £1000 for the Building Fund.

    In October this year, two gallant supporters will be running in the Great North Run (half marathon) on our behalf, and it is hoped to arrange another major sponsored walk in May or June next year.  To offer your support for these eventrs, or to arrange your own sponsored event on our behalf, e-mail Anthony at [email protected]
 
 

Humanitarian Aid

   Thanks to all who donated winter clothes for the children at the end of 2001 - these arrived safely in Kiev just in time for the Orthodox Christmas on 6th January.  A further delivery, ofn clothes and toiletries was sent out in June 2002. However, we now feel that, with the Ukrainian economy beginning to become more stable, it is actually more cost effective to send money to purchase shuch items locally. And it also helps support local businesses.
 

    Children's Hope (Europe) has now finally received official registration with the Charity Commission - reg. no. 1094373 - so if you would be interested in filling out Gift Aid forms, allowing us to reclaoim tax on any donations, please contact us.  We can also now accept CAF vouchers.
 
 

    To help with smooth and efficient communication between the UK office and the team in the Ukraine, we need to call upon volunteer translators on a regular basis. Currently the bulk of this work falls on one person in Kiev, which leads to many delays.  If you are fluent in English and either Russian or Ukrainian, and could spare some time to help translate documents - from informal e-mails to training handouts etc. - please contact Anthony at [email protected]