It’s been a busy start to the year, with quite a lot happening at the orphanages in Ukraine. There have been a couple of events that we’ve organised for the kids, as well as some new faces and improvements at the orphanages.
We’ve also assisting with a project to bring some war-affected children to Edinburgh for a short break, so be sure to read the details below…maybe you can help out?
War Children Coming To Scotland
Are you a family, or a couple, that is able to host Ukrainian children for a week in June?
Dnipro Kids, along with the Ukrainian Club of Edinburgh, has initiated a project to provide a holiday in Scotland for some of the children directly affected by the war in Eastern Ukraine.
As part of this project we hope to link up with other charities and volunteers to arrange recreational trips for the children during their stay.
The project is being organised in cooperation between Dnipro Kids, the Ukrainian Consulate in Edinburgh, the War Child Charity and volunteers connected with Ukraine.
We now need to recruit families that would like to volunteer to become host families for the children in Edinburgh.
This will be a wonderful opportunity for a family to support Ukrainian children directly affected by the war, share another culture and make new friends, both from Ukraine and Scotland.
If you would like to volunteer or require more information, please contact us on e-mail: ukrchild@outlook.com
DEADLINE DATE FOR HOST FAMILIES TO REGISTER IS MARCH 15th
New Girls At Sobolyev Orphanage
We were informed at the start of this month that the Sobolyev orphanage was going to be taking in two new girls, Katya and Yulia Repchenko.
The girls had been taken in by their grandmother after their own mother had died but, unfortunately, the grandmother was unable to cope. It was an easy decision for orphanage parents Svetlana and Sergei to make as they had already taken in the girls’ brother, Maxim (the older boy in photo below), when the girls went to stay with their grandmother.
Svetlana and Sergei had already organised and decorated a room for the girls but asked for Dnipro Kids’ assistance with some furniture for Katya and Yulia, and we were happy to help out.
Dnipro Kids purchased new beds, writing tables and chairs. The girls loved their new beds, but were perhaps not quite as excited about having somewhere to do their homework.
The girls have both settled in well, with help form their brother, and have even been involved in one of our organised Dnipro Kids events (see below).
Roller Skating Trip
We had originally planned to take the kids to a ski centre in Dnipropetrovsk, but some of the orphanage parents were worried about poor weather conditions and the chances of colds and flu.
After discussions about alternatives we decided to try something completely new – an indoor roller skating rink!
We’ve previously arranged many trips to the two ice-rinks in Dnipro, but never a roller skating rink.
The trip was organised for February 14th, Valentines Day, so the kids were pretty excited about it. Everyone arrived nice and early, a bit too early for some of the younger kids…”are we on yet?”, “when are we getting on??”…and watching the other kids skating around during the current session just got them more agitated and impatient to get on!
Eventually their time came and they were all down at the changing area, each pestering the rink staff to get their skates on them first.
Our colleague in Dnipro, Natalie, tells us that the staff at the rink were superb. Very helpful, very patient and very good at coaching the children on how to skate safely.
The kids really enjoyed this event. They had so much fun that Natalie tells us they were “screaming” with excitement.
Those who mastered the skating quickly could even tackle some of the “obstacles” the rink could provide.
Even some of the orphanage parents got involved!! And, afterwards, everyone was taken to the cafe for something to eat and drink.
Some of the orphanage kids had been asking Natalie for months about football tops. It’s something that the kids love and we’ve tried to provide them whenever we can. Luckily, Natalie had some left over form a previous trip and was able to hand them out.
One of the girls, Natasha Lebedyeva, asked Natalie if she could pass on to Dnipro Kids a letter she had written about the event…
“On Saturday I had THE BEST weekend with my ‘family’. It was unforgettable! We came to the rink early, we sat on soft couches, we watched other kids finish their lesson. We watched them getting taught moves and couldn’t wait to get on and try them as well. We had so much energy for skating! None of us could skate, but soon we were like professionals! We thank the coaches who played games with us and made sure we never got hurt. I think roller skating is easier than ice skating, and we quickly mastered the technique! It was nice that our parents joined in and we all had so much fun. Everyone was in such a good mood and so full of energy. Thank you!”
Igren Orphanage Improvements
Yana and Slava, the parents at the Igren orphanage, are taking in five more children in March. They will provide a home for three boys and two girls. They already have a room available for the boys (aged 18 months, five and 10) but they had to convert a store room for the older girls (aged 11 and 13).
They had asked for assistance to finish off the conversion and Dnipro Kids was, of course, happy to help out with the purchase of a radiator, plumbing, laminate flooring, wallpaper and paint. We will give a further update on the renovations, as well as the new kids that arrive, in the March/April Update.
Videos On Website
We have uploaded two videos to the Dnipro Kids website, use the links below to view them.
Video tribute to Ira Polyashova….
Please Support Our Work
If you don’t make a monthly donation but would still like to contribute towards our fundraising efforts, you can find all the details abut how to donate on our website.
Many thanks,
Steven Carr
Dnipro Kids Chairman
