Saturday, June 21, 2008

Our Mariupol Staff...

We are very proud of our staff in Mariupol. Together, the four ladies provide round the clock care for over a dozen teenagers. Their tireless efforts are often unnoticed by the teens they serve and by others around them.



Tanya (left) serves as our Coordinator of Mariupol Operations. She oversees the administrative side of the ministry and attends to the educational needs of those living in the TLC.

Julia (2nd from left) works Mon-Fri from 9 to 5. She assists with the preparation of lunch each day and also with monitoring the kids chores throughout the week.

Alexandra (3rd from left) is our main House Mom. She works all week, 24 hours a day meeting the needs of the kids. Her role involves mothering, cooking, cleaning and mentoring.

Sveta (right) is our relief House Mom and works 2 seperate days each week to give Alexandra a day off.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

New Child Sponsors Needed...

With summer comes changes to the group of teens living at the Transitional Living Center in Mariupol. This month, five of our teens will be graduating and moving out of the TLC. These young adults will begin their first job in their new professions and we will continue to mentor and work with them while they get used to life on their own.

With their departure, we will be bringing new kids into the TLC and keeping some of the current kids. With the arrival of new kids, we are needing to find new "Child Sponsors" who would be willing to contribute $25, $75, or $150 a month to meet their needs.

If you would be interested in helping provide for the needs of one of these teens, please contact Andrew at akellyukraine@gmail.com .

Thursday, June 12, 2008

Meet Misha Komov...


Meet Misha Komov, a ten year old boy who was recently brought to live at the transitional living center by the local authorities. After spending a couple of months in a hospital, the Mariupol Department of Social Services asked if Jeremiah's Hope could care for Misha while they go through the lengthy process of removing him from his mothers custody.

His mother is in the process of loosing her parental rights due to heavy drinking and child neglect. Besides Misha, she has 3 other children (2 are older than Misha) and is supposedly pregnant again. Nobody knows who the father is (or fathers are) for any of these children.

The city administration has just recently issued a birth certificate for Misha. His mother has never took care of it. Misha has also never gone to school, so he cannot read or write.

The staff of the TLC in Mariupol are taking the time to teach Misha his alphabet and some basic counting skills.

Misha will remain in our care until the court decision about whether his mother is fit to be a parent or not. This process might take months and we ask that you be praying for Misha.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

TLC Kids Get Creative on Garage...

The local church leaders in Mariupol recently asked us to paint our garage which sits on the church property. The leadership had no idea how artistic our teenagers would get...