Mission Statement
Our mission statement is to provide material and spiritual help to orphans, children with disabilities, the elderly, and others in need; to reach these people for Christ; and to rehabilitate the street children and give them a Christian foundation for their lives.
Overview of Ministry Activity
After the disintegration the Soviet Union in 1991, Ukraine became an independent and sovereign country. But the transition from socialism to capitalism has been very difficult, and the economy has failed. The children have especially suffered. There are 12 thousand homeless children still in Ukraine. In 1999, 150 homeless children were registered in Kiev, increasing to 200 children in the year 2000. But in reality, informal data in Kiev estimates 2,000 homeless children. More than 1,500 children froze to death in Ukraine last winter.
Many children have turned to crime. Many are prostitutes, beggars or street criminals. Last year 1,362 crimes were committed by children and, already this year, the number of criminal offenses by children is 368. Many children live in hospitals after their birth. In state boarding schools, 40% of children who live there have no parents, while others\' parents are drunkards, drug addicts, or sick with AIDS. In these boarding schools live from 100 to 200 children. One boarding school here is for children from 0 - 4 years old, where 50% have no parents and the other 50% are disabled. They live in this facility.
Homeless children cannot attend school. 16,000 children in Ukraine never attended school. Our work is directed toward improving the quality of their lives and giving them а chance, not only to adapt to society, but also to feel that they are a necessary part of it. We also visit private boarding schools for children with disabilities. They do not receive any material help from anywhere and must fend for themselves. Such people are very close to accepting Christ. They cannot attend any church, therefore they have a need for the message of Christ to be brought to them.
In Ukraine there are also many elderly people who have worked their entire lives, but do not have the means to support and take care of themselves. The average pension allows a pensioner to exist only as a beggar. We try to care for them by going to their homes and helping them.
Today in Ukraine, it is possible to preach the Word of God freely. After giving material help to people in need it is often possible to reach them for Christ, and we do that successfully. It appears that we will not achieve economic and social improvement soon; therefore we must do what we can to help others. We would like to do more things, but we are lacking real support.
Our ministry has the following programs:
- The Health program which is designed to promote the health and well-being of people in need in our society.
- The Education program which seeks to raise the level of education. It focuses on giving children the understanding and abilities they need with which to live in our increasingly complex society.
- The Culture program which aims to find the creative talents of children and assure that our nation\'s cultural resources are properly sustained, thus contributing to the health of our society.
- The Spiritual program which teaches Biblical truths for practical spiritual life; sharing the Gospel.
Plans and Goals
- Finding sponsors to help with the purchase a vehicle and the purchase of a sanatorium for children
- Starting the following charitable programs
- visiting orphanages and boarding schools
- conducting a seminar with a Bible study for parents of autistic children (at a boarding school)
- creating "Savior\'s home" – a shelter for homeless children
- beginning a Christian newspaper and TV program
- rehabilitating children with disabilities
