Orphanages

 
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To view a video of House of Joy click the play button. You will see images of how underground street kids live, alternating images of the building before and after the renovation, and the beautiful HOJ Children. There are many more children in need of rescue from horrible circumstances.

Masha and her siblings.

House of Joy in Kahovka, Ukraine


In the fall of 2004 officials from the city of Kahovka, Ukraine contacted us requesting help establishing an orphanage in their city. None existed. After prayer we felt we were to take this project on. House of Joy in Kahovka opened September 2005. What a wonderful experience it is proving to be!


The photos reveal the building we renovated. The government has asked that this orphanage be a regional orphanage serving an entire oblast (state), not just one city. The head of the Kahovka Department of Education, Lubov Terentievna, has resigned her position and is our director. This project has opened doors of opportunity in Kahovka and the surrounding area. If you would like to donate toward this project you may do so at the online donation page.



Did You Know


  1. •Over 100,000 children are orphaned in Ukraine.

  2. •The older an orphan gets, the chances of his/her adoption drastically decrease.

  3. •According to surveys, 75% of children living in orphanages would like to live in families.

  4. •Historically, orphans have left the orphanages lacking basic life skills such as cooking and shopping, and most of these youth have no one to turn to for help.

  5. •In Soviet times, about 10% will commit suicide after leaving the orphanage, before their eighteenth birthday.

  6. •In Soviet times 60% of the girls end up in prostitution, and 70% of the boys in crime. Only 27% of these youth will find work.


House of Joy exists to give these children hope and a bright future. (Jer. 29:11)


House of Hope in Kiev, Ukraine


For many years we have been involved with House of Hope orphanage in Kiev. House of Hope is operated on a daily basis by Christian Hope Church, pastored by our friend, Valeriy Reshetinskiy.


House of Hope was started by taking 40 children from the most desperate situations, most living alone in the streets of Kiev. It is estimated there are 150,000 children living in Ukraine's streets and underground basements. At first the Ukrainian government discouraged taking these children, writing them off as hopeless. After having them for one year the children were taken for required government evaluation. The orphanage staff was accused of bringing the wrong children as there had been such a dramatic improvement. The children’s documents had to be presented to prove they were the correct ones. The dramatic change was the result of providing shelter, clothing, food, and education in an atmosphere filled with God’s love.


House of Hope staff found Masha at age eleven and her five younger siblings living alone in the streets. They had no father and their prostitute mother had abandoned them over one year earlier. The children quickly became filled with hope for a bright future.