JPG: Stories: Photo Essay: Forgotten Children of Ukraine

Forgotten Children of Ukraine

By Marcy Dyer

4 Sep 2007

As I descended down the ladder to the sewer tunnel the odors of the feces and urine rose up to meet me. The urge to run back up the ladder rose up in my throat.

Victor, our guide stood on the hot water pipes. He explained in the winter, hot water flowed through the pipes to the heating systems in the apartment buildings. The water, hot enough to melt rubber shoe soles, warms the tunnels. The children place wooden pallets and flattened cardboard boxes on top of the pipes.

He pointed out the glue tubes on the ground of the tunnel. "They sniff glue down here." Thoughts of life in a sewer tunnel brought about the realization any one of us could turn to drugs to escape life on the streets.

We later were given the opportunity to talk to some of the children and some of the workers at House of Hope. The stories they told tied my stomach in knots.

Dasha, a beautiful young girl who lives in a tiny one room government dormitory with her parents and two brothers, told us how her father beats her when he comes home drunk. She told us through tears how she frequently spends the night on the streets to avoid the beatings.

Natasha, one of the workers, took a team to a house with several boys. She told the team the mother sells the oldest child to neighbors and family members for sex. Natasha said they found out when the child came to the Drop-In Center and had problems with incontinence. She said they questioned the child and he finally told them what his mother was doing. Unfortunately, in Ukraine, the government does not intervene in these situations and his mother is allowed to continue to abuse him until he runs away.

Estimates place the number of street children in Ukraine at 800,000. The forgotten children live in sewer tunnels and beg or steal food. Hope, however is not lost. A group of tireless, selfless people strive to make a difference in the lives of the forgotten children.

House of Hope in Kherson, Ukraine provides food, clothing, education and unconditional love to the street children of that region. Andrey Revtov, the director, said, "Our goal is to build a shelter so the street children have a place to stay while we help them obtain the necessary paperwork to be able to go into orphanages."

While juggling the government requirements and fund raising efforts for the shelter, the staff provides daily care for the children who frequent the Drop-In Center. At the center, the children receive two hot meals per day and they have the opportunity to shower and change clothes. They also have the opportunity to learn computer skills, English, hygiene, and Bible stories.

One young lady, Alisa, started going to the Drop-In Center when she was ten. As the years passed, she quit going to the Drop-In Center and got involved in prostitution. She finally returned to the Drop-In Center and they helped her turn her life around. She is now an employee at House of Hope, helping other street children.

While the plight of the forgotten children of Ukraine is heart breaking, a group of hard working, loving, individuals work tirelessly to make a difference in the lives of children who no one seems to care about.