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Orphanage

Orphanage.

After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, Felix Kaplun went to Ukraine, to revisit the place where he grew up. "I saw firsthand the misery of the children," says Felix Kaplun, "especially the ones affected by the Chernobyl Nuclear catastrophe. Right then, I decided that I would do something about it and help these unfortunate innocent children."

The Ukrainian Ministry has since built an orphanage in Kivertsi, Ukraine. This building houses up to 70 orphans. In addition, we support many orphans that live with their grandparents and relatives in many towns and cities. The needs of the children are enormous, from feeding and clothing them, to providing medical attention and much needed love.

EVERY PENNY donated goes directly to the orphans.

Ukrainian Ministry, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit corporation. All gifts may be tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.

Thank you in advance for your support!

Orphanage
The orphanage children enjoy a warm meal in the cafeteria.

History of the Orphanage.

"I couldn't watch the children begging on the streets and do nothing," said Felix Kaplun deeply concerned. A child stood with his hand stretched for bread; hungry and needy. One could see this picture very often in Ukraine.

But how can we help?

"What can I personally do for them? Simply putting one coin into an outstretched hand is just not enough! Would it ever be possible to create a shelter for these orphans?," asked Felix Kaplun.

How can I give them warmth, love, education, and share the gospel so that they may embrace the Good Word? Felix shared his thoughts and ideas with the chief of the Volyn Evangelical Christian Association because he felt that God called him to help the poor and suffering. Brother Volodymyr Chaika said that there was a wonderful place for the construction of an orphanage right near a church building in the town of Kivertsi. They went the place to find out whether it was possible to make their dreams come true. We prayerfully sought God's blessing on our plan too start this important and wonderful project.

Orphanage
A few of the children read before going to bed.

First, we needed to purchase the land for the construction, but there were no funds available. "When I was on the plane returning home," continued Felix Kaplun, "I couldn't stop praying about it. A couple of minutes after coming back home from my trip to Ukraine, the phone rang. It was a Christian woman named Shelly. She said that she would love to offer some money for the poor children of Ukraine and she wanted to know more about the needy children in Ukraine. It was the Holy Spirit who started to work in the hearts of His children. We praised the Lord for giving an answer to our prayers so quickly!"

In 2000, the money to purchase the land for the orphanage came from the woman named Shelly along with Felix Kaplun. This confirmed that this work began according to God's will.

After the property was purchased, Felix took on the task of raising funds to build the building, as well as to furnish it. May God bless all who offered money for the construction of the Orphanage. We gratefully acknowledge Felix and Galina Kaplun and the Sardachuk family (Edmund, his wife Miriam and three of his sons) who donated the majority of funds for the construction of the Orphanage.

Orphanage
School children work diligently on their Math assignment.

During the time of construction it was decided that two Christian families would take care of 40-50 orphan children of different ages. They would live with them, raise and teach them. In addition to the Orphanage, a school was planned to be a part of the construction complex that could receive 130-150 students (children from Christian families and orphans). The schooling would be conducted according to the state school program. The children would study computer science, foreign languages and would have Bible classes. It is our hope that some of them (we believe many of them) will be sharing the Gospel of Salvation with the world and would become missionaries.

The engineer of the construction project, Igor Paciuk, tells us of the construction process. "In the beginning of May 2000 we started to bring in the materials and start the work. The foundation of the Orphanage is 36x12 meters. The foundation was grouted on July 8, 2000. The floor timbers over the cellar were laid on September 29, 2000. 10 people were working on the construction. These people knew that they carried the responsibility for the quality of the work not only before other people but also before God. That's why they worked diligently. The work on the construction turned out to be the beginning of a new life for some of the workers. They started to come to church and received Christ as their personal Savior. We could see that God was with us. You might ask where the construction materials came from. In the Volyn region there were many abandoned construction sites. There were buildings that were not finished and were started during the rule of the Soviet Union and abandoned because of lack of funding. It was a period of economical crisis. These building owners were selling everything that they could for a very low price. We used this opportunity to purchase many things that we needed: stone, brick, panels, etc. We got sand from the local railway train station for free. They knew that we were constructing an orphanage building. Some things we did ourselves. So the price for the lintel for windows that we produced cost less than the same ones that were available in the store. Again and again, God gave us the opportunity to purchase materials for less money. We didn't do any work during the wintertime. We used those three months to plan and purchase all the needed materials to complete the work."

The Orphanage was completed in 2004. Today there are 16 staff members and there are 35 orphans living at the Orphanage. The facility is able to support another 30 orphans, however more donations are needed to support additional orphans. In 2008, A brand new gymnasium was added to the complex which completes the facility.

Orphanage
School children present flowers to their teachers on the first day of school.

The Opening.

176 children from the town of Kivertsi will remember September 2004 as the month when they became the first students of the Children's Orphanage-School. Everyone in the town came out to celebrate the opening.

The head of the Volyn Evangelical Christian Baptist Union Volodymyr Chaika proclaimed, "This is the day which the LORD has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it. (Ps. 118:24)

In the opening prayer people thanked the Lord for taking care of everything that was needed for the Orphanage. They asked God to bless the people who were involved in the construction of the Complex and those who supported this project, namely the families of Felix Kaplun and Edmund Sardachuk.

The regional authority of Volyn, Volodymyr Doroshenko, expressed hope that religious educational institutions would be appearing in many other parts of the Volyn region.

Orphanage
One of the orphanage staff prepare a box of food to go to a needy family.

After the cutting of the ribbon ceremony the children and teachers entered the classrooms, and the parents and guests had a chance to see everything inside.

The three-story building houses the Orphanage where 50 orphan children can live and the School where the students study in 12 classrooms of which one of them is equipped with Personal Computers. It is comfortable and cozy in the classrooms and roomy in the spacious dining hall.

"The curriculum of the school is the same as the state secondary school," says the principal of the School, Svitlana Svynovey. "With the agreement of the parents, we teach Christian Ethics classes and every day before classes begin, the students have a Bible reading and prayer time. We are telling children about Christ and allowing them to make the decision to follow Him as their personal Savior. I believe that the time will come that many of the children will make the greatest decision of their lives; they will find Christ for themselves, the very One who has given us this wonderful opportunity to take care of orphans and other children in the town of Kivertsi."