N&S DOMa

Saturday, November 19, 2016

NOVEMBER 16th

My friend and coworker out at the orphanage, Phyllis, took a trip with me to visit and learn from others who are also working with children and young adults who are disabled here in Ukraine. It was such a beautiful and encouraging trip that filled me with joy as God showed us how he is at work through others fighting for the dignity and hearts of those without a voice, the disabled orphans we work with.

The first stop was in Zhitomir where a family is working in an orphanage just like the one Phyllis and I work in here in Tsurupinsk and by God's planning, they are refurbishing a home they purchased for their family of 7 they will open to 2 young disabled men.

This will be a starting point for them

looking out the upper story window

They have lots for land behind the house to work with and other plots

nearby that are available for sale.

a currier and ives kind of image

pretty panorama

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About

Loving on disable children in a small town, state run orphanage.

THEIR FUTURE

Most kids in Ukraine have to leave the orphanage at 18 years of age. A normal, healthy orphan has a rather bleak future if they don't have the encouragement of others. Most have few life skills and a poor education, and they are left to fend for themselves.

But for handicapped orphans, those labeled mentally disabled, their future is miserable. At 18 they are uprooted from the only home they have ever known, the orphanage, and sent to live in a psychological "internat" (government run institute) or an old-age home for the rest of their lives. They have no rights… no formal education and no understanding of life outside the orphanage. Desperate for freedom and longing to be loved, they are isolated from society.

Throughout their life in Ukraine, nothing for these disabled children comes easily. The world here is not handicap accessible. The stigma and cultural perspective remains in many people’s minds that these kids are not kids and need to be shut away. That is what has been done, having been placed in institutes they are not allowed to leave. The mentality of some who work in the homes is that the children don’t have feelings because they cannot respond or interact as a typical child. The children are not expected to live. That changes the whole outlook on care, feeding, nurturing, health, and every aspect of life.

But what about their hearts?

Necessities are covered by a small stipend from the local government for families who keep their disabled children in their homes. Many homes are single moms, and if she is at home with her disabled child, she cannot work to put food on the table or provide a roof over her family’s head. The government’s stipend does not begin to cover these needs. In many ways, out of a pure lack of resources, it is easier for the family to allow the government to provide, which means giving up their parental rights and letting someone else take care of their children.

The government will step in and remove a disabled child from the home if there is alcohol abuse, drug, and/or physical abuse. These addictions often result in the child having epilepsy. This is one of the biggest problems in the orphanage.

For all the children, no matter if their disability is physical, mental, or both, between 18 and 19 years of age, they will be moved to an asylum referred to as a psycho-neurological “internat” for adults or to a facility comparable in nature to an old folk’s homes.

This is the future for these young adults.

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Saturday, November 19, 2016

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