1999-2000 Report

In 1997, Bethany Christian Services opened an office in city of Kiev in the Ukraine. The primary mission is to provide social service support and permanent homes for children.

The ministry directly supports children by helping to improve conditions in orphanages and by providing emergency relief. Staff also work with older children who are at high risk of failing to make a successful transition from institutional life to independent life once they turn eighteen years old.

In addition, Bethany supports the development of in-country social services by offering seminars on child development and welfare. Staff also helped to support the first association of social workers.

Volunteer Program
Bethany’s efforts to incorporate volunteers into community focused programs have spread outside of Kiev. Representatives from the Teaching University in Vinnitsa have approached Bethany, seeking advice on beginning a volunteer project with their students. A collaborative effort has been established with the private university—Inter-regional Academy of Personnel Management—in Vinnitsa. Ten students are preparing to volunteer in Bethany programs. In the past, college students participated in the following projects:


    Personal Growth projects for the children
    Special Friends project
    Fund-Raising
    Dobre Serse (Kind Heart)


Orphanage Personal Growth Program
This project involves 54 children in grades 1-3, living in a Kiev orphanage and emphasizes the development of the children’s intellectual, emotional, and creative skills. Most activities are organized outside of the orphanage, providing the opportunity to introduce the children to their community and the community to the children. Activities include the celebration of national and religious holidays as well as trips to cultural events, community businesses, and local factories.

Special Friends Project
The Special Friends project has been a very successful for the volunteers and children involved. Orphanage staff noticed a significant change in the children who spend individual time with their special friends. As a result of this project, these children are "more thoughtful, perform better in school, and have better communication skills."

Fund-Raising
Bethany-Ukraine continues to strive to reduce dependency on Bethany-National Office. Bethany’s goal is to apply for more grants to help offset this dependency.

Dobre Serse (Kind Heart)
The involvement of the National University of Kiev - Mohyla Academy in supporting the fund-raising initiatives organized by Bethany volunteers in Kiev has been rewarding. In 2001, 14 volunteers organized the "Dobre Serse" (Kind Heart) campaign which encouraged over 400 students and teachers to contribute clothing and financial donations on behalf of children living in Kiev orphanages. Donations allowed Bethany staff to purchase educational videos as well as books and other school supplies.

Family Assistance/Reunification
This project is fully funded through Bethany’s International Child Sponsorship program. Through this assistance, five children at risk of being placed in orphanages have remained with their families.

Sponsorship
The first year of this program (2000) was very successful. Children from Tulchyn, Vinnitsa, and Gnivan were matched with American sponsors. Money goes directly to providing for their daily and long-term needs.

Open Doors: Community Involvement
Bethany is committed to bringing awareness to the community regarding child-welfare issues. Community members have responded favorably to this campaign by donating services and supplies to meet the needs of orphanages. Community businesses such as baby food stores, cafes, pharmacies, audio/video stores, general supply stores, factories, and entertainment centers have donated supplies for the children. Local churches and other charitable organizations have also become involved in collecting much needed supplies.

Institutional Support
Bethany-Ukraine received its first container of supplies from the U.S. in 2000. Supplies were distributed to multiple orphanages in and around Kiev, orphanages in Tulchyn and Vinnitsa, and to families from Gnivan enrolled in Bethany’s Sponsorship program. Supplies donated from companies in Ukraine were collected and distributed to non-profit organizations working with street children and children with special placement needs.

Education
Bethany employees continue to increase their professionalism and skills by participating in multiple training courses. In addition to increasing personal skills, Bethany employees are committed to sharing their knowledge with the next generation of social workers. Multiple employees are involved in teaching bachelor’s- and/or master’s-level students at the National University of Kiev-Mohyla Academy as well as a modular course for part-time students.

Over the years, Bethany has maintained a professional relationship with the National University of Kiev-Mohyla Academy. As a result of this relationship, Bethany is now providing internship opportunities for social work students.

Bethany also leads a modular course in Ukraine. This course is designed to train and educate professionals working within the social service sector but who may or may not have formal training in the line of work. The course is designed to run for six months. A portion of this time is spent in the classroom and another portion is spent in the student's daily work setting. This allows the instructors to supervise the implementation of what was learned in the lectures. Bethany staff and staff from Kiev Mahylo University make up the majority of the teachers within this program.

After one year of providing this modular course, the demand for enrollment has doubled. The link below will take you to an evaluation done by a student—it attests to the quality of training and services Bethany staff is providing.
New Programs
Bethany-Ukraine is committed to finding permanent homes for children. We are also committed to providing a safe and nurturing environment for children as they wait for their "forever" family. In 2002, we initiated two new programs that we believe will help move us towards meeting the needs of children in Ukraine:

Foster Care - This program for Bethany-Ukraine is focused on children living in the Vinnitsa region. For most of 2000, Bethany staff worked fervently with local administration and the Vinnitsa orphanage director to establish guidelines and training programs for families interested in participating in this pilot project. A multidisciplinary team was created within the orphanage to provide proper services for the children and foster families. This team includes the orphanage director, a psychologist, a doctor, a Bethany social worker, and a family training specialist. Recruitment for families was accomplished through the local newspapers and television.

Four families attended the initial information meeting. Two families decided to pursue further involvement. Children have been matched with these families and are enjoying holidays and weekends with them.

The team has observed improvements in the children’s behavior as a result of this program. Communication skills, health, and emotional well being of the children have all improved.

Life Skills Training - This project is designed to assist institutionalized children in their transition into independent living. Primary goals consist of:

    Creating a training model aimed at improving the level of communication and independent living skills of graduates (14 to 17-year-olds) from three boarding schools.
    Create an Advocacy System for graduates with the Kiev region

Within the project, Bethany staff developed a series of training sessions covering topics such as the development of communication skills and independent living skills, and the prevention of drug and alcohol abuse. Training sessions were held by professional psychologists, doctors, and social workers. The response from the children was very positive. Many children expressed fears that began while living with their families, such as becoming alcoholics if their parents were; fear of communicating with people they did not know; and fear that no one would want to talk to or befriend them because they came from an orphanage. Bethany staff has worked with these children and is helping them develop skills to cope with some of their fears.

The second portion of this project is dedicated to educating the community leaders and child welfare officials. Bethany is creating a training manual outlining methodological recommendations and training models with hopes of encouraging others to recognize the needs of these children. This manual will be distributed and discussed with institutional directors, district, city, and country representatives, and non-governmental organization staff.