Sponsor Serhii or Slava

20 sponsors each, $30 per month

this includes initial, upstart expenses to meet the needs of these young men

Serhii - One of few guys not wheelchair bound, a great helper

Serhii may qualify as non-verbal, but that doesn't stop him from trying. Those that cared, over the years have worked with him, helping him to communicate in one or two word phrases.

I was first introduced to Serhii, by the director of the orphanage in Oleshky, not to Serhii himself, but to the crafts he was making. Serhii would get bored to tears just sitting doing nothing all day and by the end of the day, the nannies taking care of him would find some part of his clothing ripped off and missing, or a towel misplaced and gone. A day or two later when the sheets were changed, or clothes were sorted through dolls would be found. Without needle and thread, without lessons or teaching, he would make these little figures or animals like dogs with the resources he could find.

Once his creativity was discovered the nannies and staff were thrilled to supply him with any and every resource they could find for him, but this ruined it for Serhii. Many of the materials he was extremely allergic to so the one caretaker that oversaw him through the day time ended up taking every resource away from him, because of the allergic reactions he was having to materials.

As volunteers, we tried to provide a source of creativity to him through "acceptable materials" but his desire to create was soon greatly deminished. Serhii was moved out to Kiary, an institution housing 356 men. He always has a smile for us when we come to visit and though when he was first moved, his allergies and hey fever were out of control, he's finally on the right medicines and dosage to help him, so he's not miserable. His friend Slava was moved at the same time, these two guys will share space together, once again very soon in Stephen's Home.

Slava - Our one guy that has a parent, a Mom

She's a seamstress and not wealthy, so the visits out to the institution in Kiary 3 hours away are challenging for her because of the expense of public transportion and the hours she works, so she doesn't go often. But Irina is glad that her son will be living closer, in Stephen's Home.

Slava, a guy with a big heart, appreciates every effort one makes on his behalf. He'll tell you 4 or 5 times, so you won't forget. :-) Slava is autistic and wheelchair bound. This complicates life for him immensely because he is at the will of everyone around him, telling him what to do, when to do it. Though at one point he may have been very capable of making decisions for himself, they've been made so often for him, he's just learned to go with the flow. And when he gets bored or isn't involved in an activity to keep his attention, he's off in his own little world flailing his hands in the air or chewing on them. Being deprived of attention for far too long has caused these bad habits to form. We hope and pray that with time, gentleness and bit of tender loving care Slava's life will take a turn for the better, towards Jesus, his loving creator.

Slava likes to do things that involve detail, though his projects take some time and may require some help. Be it legos or another game, they thrill him to no end. Oops, we may have a problem soon, finding a place to store all the legos Slava may have and keep them from spreading all over the house, not a bad problem to have.