Finally done: after two years fighting for the well-being of the severely disabled children was at the 31. July 2018 celebrated the opening of the project.
We thank H. Stepic CEE Charity for taking over the project costs and Caritas Spes Ukraine, in particular Stanislav Szyrokoradiuk, Bishop of Kharkiv-Zaporizhia, for the project supervision and Olena Noah, as well as Dr. Olexander Scherba, Ambassador of Ukraine in Austria for his support.
In January 2015, during my stay in Kharkiv, Ukraine, I visited a state institution for severely disabled children. 120 children and young adults, of which 90% are girls, live permanently in the facility. This first visit was an emotional shock for me and our photographer Matt Pantling. The rooms were in a shabby condition, the ceiling covered with mold, the beds and mattresses dilapidated. Our dismay was enormous when we visited the rooms with the children, who for physical reasons are unable to leave their bed. These children suffer the most from the catastrophic state of construction in the home.
We were deeply affected and I decided to do everything I could to give these children a little consolation.
The orphanage of Bohodukhiv for severely disabled children in eastern Ukraine urgently needs our help
Unfortunately, I can not change the social system in Ukraine, but I can help children in urgent need. Some will say that I support an inhuman system by helping these state institutions, but the urgency is now and only now I can help the children, these kids needed us.
In the year 2015 presented kleine herzen all the professional equipment for the no longer functioning laundry room: washing machines, dryers and ironing wheels.
Thanks to the organization Stepic CEE Charity, a close partner of kleine herzen, the renovation work could be included in the fall 2016. Our trusted partner in the Ukraine, the organization Caritas-Spes, took over the project monitoring. But this project, which should be completed in the summer of 2017, has been postponed several times for official bureaucratic reasons.
Despite all the difficulties, the project was completed and an opening ceremony was organized on July 31, 2018. Everyone involved in the success of the project was present: Sanin Merdzan, Director Global Export Finance at Raiffeisenbank International AG, and representatives from Stepic CEE Charity, Bishop of Kharkiv-Zaporizhia, Stanislav Szyrokoradiuk, Olena Noah Caritas-Spes Ukraine and me.
Andriy Reva, Minister of Social Affairs and Yuliya Svitlychna, Governor of the Kharkiv region participated in the ceremony. The director did not greet us when we arrived, but we expected that. The most important thing for us was the success of this project. We were warmly welcomed by the staff of the facility and the children.
I will never forget her smile, her joy and her gratitude.
I thank Dr. Olexander Scherba, Ambassador of Ukraine in Austria, for his invaluable support.
