EECO/Last Bell Ministries FAQ
What happens to orphans in
Ukraine? How many are there?
The
children displaced from Ukraine's broken families are placed by the
government in institutions; there they become wards of the state whose
guardians are orphanage directors. There are approximately 100,000 orphans
in Ukraine, and 4,000 of those are in the Zhytomyr region. Last
Bell Ministries works with Orphanage #4, which has about 200 orphans.
Do the orphans have any relatives?
About
90% of orphans in Ukraine are "social orphans." These have one or
more parents living who are unable to care for their children. Most
children are taken out of their homes because of extreme neglect or
physical abuse at the hands of alcoholic parents. Some parents are in
prison; it is not unusual for an orphan's parent to be imprisoned for
killing his or her spouse. Most children living in an orphanage are
never visited even by those parents who live close by. Children are
also forgotten by older siblings. They may have siblings in other orphanages
that they have no way to see, or siblings may have been adopted and
left their brothers and sisters behind. Some are able to visit relatives
on weekends, but these situations may be either positive or abusive.
What is an orphanage like?
Children toddler-age and older are organized into groups that eat, sleep, and play together, overseen by teachers and caregivers. As they grow older, their friends can become a substitute family; but this a family whose social code often mandates promiscuity, prostitution, alcoholism, doing or selling drugs, lying, and stealing. Some orphans are abused physically or sexually by their peers or by orphanage staff.
Education
in the orphanage is inferior, and often there is no one who can encourage
the students' progress, help them learn occupational skills, or give
them good advice and direction. Most destructive to the orphans is the
pain of their parents' abandonment and rejection. They develop defense
mechanisms and unhealthy behaviors to numb the emptiness and pain.
What happens when an orphan
graduates?
The Last Bell Ceremony marks the end of the school year; for graduates, it marks the end of institutionalized life. The students at Orphanage #4 graduate after ninth grade, or at about 15 years old. If they pass their exams, they will go to a two-year trade school, and the school's director will be given guardianship. The trade school dorms are older Soviet-era buildings that house as many as 400 students. Conditions are usually poor; the food is inferior, the buildings are often cold, and often there is no water or only cold water. Students easily get sick. Predators from cities and villages are waiting to exploit the orphans, who are vulnerable, easy targets. Most of them are given "leftover" trades to study.
The destructive behavior so common at the orphanage only becomes more pervasive after graduation. Relatives the graduates do visit may be a harmful influence, and orphans feel more alone than before while at the trade school. Fear of rejection and abandonment can prevent them from responding to any true love and companionship they're offered, or feelings of worthlessness can cause them to give their hearts and bodies away to anyone who will show them attention or affection.
Ukrainian society expects them to fail and views them as a nuisance. Employees are reluctant to offer them jobs because of their reputation for destructive behavior. Orphans have little hope for a good future. They usually marry young and sometimes divorce young. Often their children end up in an orphanage system, and the cycle continues.
According
to statistics, by the time the orphans are eighteen, 70% of boys are
in prison or working in crime, over half the girls are prostitutes,
and one in ten has committed suicide.
How was Last Bell Ministries
created?
Before 2005, some of Last Bell's board and staff members worked in summer camps for orphans. As they saw the children they knew in Orphanage #4 growing up and graduating, they began to understand the plight of the graduate. An apartment was purchased, and some of the graduate girls began to spend time there.
The
six founders came together in the fall of 2005 and created a non-profit
organization so they could formulate and control their own program.
At that time, a goal of the ministry was to take guardianship of graduate
minors so Last Bell could institute a residential program. In July of
2006, the ministry received a personal loan to purchase a home in the
city of Zhytomyr. The home is accessible by public transportation to
students all over the city. After meeting several challenges with the
local government, it was understood that that having guardianship would
be impossible. Last Bell's strategy for the home shifted.
What does Last Bell's ministry
look like now?
Currently, the home in Zhytomyr is a ministry center called "The Shelter" where the graduates can come when they're not in class. The Shelter is open to graduates on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. As of spring of 2008, the staff had family relationships with 30-40 graduates, and 10-15 spend the day at the Shelter when it's open. Providing a family model is a priority of the program. The staff live out their salvation before the kids, act as mentors, and disciple the believers. They teach life skills, demonstrate and teach successful relationships, require accountability, and give the kids guidance with their school work. They also invite and encourage church attendance and involvement, and promote good relationships with pastors and lay people. On Sunday, graduates who want to come to the Shelter are required to attend church.
Because of their high-risk lifestyles, graduates will often be in crisis situations. The staff counsels, provides biblical answers, prays with the graduates, and helps them through each crisis until they're out of danger. They discuss life issues with the kids: How does God see them? What is his plan for them? And they help the graduates form goals—short and long term.
Maintaining relationships with the graduates is of the utmost importance.
Graduate reunions provide activities and fellowship, and are a much-needed
connection with former classmates and relationship-building believers.
Because Last Bell wants to continue developing relationships with children
still in the orphanage, in the fall of 2007 a weekly Bible club, AWANA,
was started with the help of volunteers. Summer camps and other activities
generate interest in the Shelter and allow staff to build relationships
with graduates and students who will soon be graduating.
What happens at the Shelter?
At the Shelter, LBM house parents and staff have created a program to meet the specific needs of the orphan graduate in every aspect of life.
Through live-in Christian house parents, graduates will see God's plan for marriage–faithfulness to one's spouse—as well as a healthy family life in which parents provide for their children. House parents, staff, and volunteers present the gospel of Christ through their daily walk, Bible studies and day-to-day discussions. Local pastors visit the Shelter and talk to the graduates in an informal atmosphere where they feel free to ask questions about God and the Bible.
By providing much needed help with their trade school courses, LBM hopes to increase the likelihood of graduates going on to higher education. Computer and English classes, along with personal tutoring, are part of a plan to help students gain useful job skills. Sports activities, movie and game nights, and field trips draw the graduates away from trouble and help them build a constructive social life. Also, because the Shelter provides a safe place to "hang out," graduates can have one-on-one fellowship with each other and the staff, or spend time in a small group.
Graduates are learning the life skills necessary for independent living as they help prepare meals and clean up afterwards, shop with staff for project supplies, assist with house and car repairs, and take care of the Shelter's yard; they are getting a real taste of adult responsibility.
Most importantly, at the Shelter the graduates develop long-term, healthy relationships with believers they can trust.
