The Orphans of Ukraine
About 2 weeks ago our English school teamed up with the church that many of us attend here, and we went to an orphanage. The orphanage is in Chinediyevo, which is a little over an hour away from Uzhhorod. When we arrived, the church youth group did a program for the kids involving games and songs, and the message that each of them was precious in God’s sight. After the program the kids led us around the orphanage and showed us where they slept and ate and studied. We just spent time with them, loving on them and giving them a little extra attention. I know that many hearts were touched, both in students and in the church youth group. The church wants to return there soon.
I think that what most struck me was the difference between this orphanage and the orphanage in Chaslovtsy that the C.O.I. missionaries visit every week. The orphanage that we visited with the church and students was clean and warm. The kids were clean, dressed decently, and obviously cared for by the teachers that we saw there. I have heard before that the orphanage that we visit regularly is one of the worst, but I’d never seen another orphanage with the same age kids to compare it to. Our orphanage, the one in Chaslovtsy, is sparse and in the winter very cold. The kids are usually dirty, are never supervised when we come, and run about pretty much doing whatever they want. Even at 14 or 15 years old, the kids have a hard time with simple reading and very basic math skills. Most of these kids were labled at age 3 or 4 as mentally retarded or as having behavioural problems, and that is how they’ve always been talked about and treated. It’s like those who are supposed to care for them have given up on them. Some of them are clearly very bright, but growing up in this atmosphere, how could anyone flourish?
