It's Stewardship Season,

1 day ago

2 min read

and time to celebrate how you have been giving.

Here is what you are or (your church) is doing in Ukraine through the programs of This Child Here. There is one simple truth: WE DON'T HOPE ALONE.

Our Center for Creativities located in Izmail, Ukraine (on the Danube in the southwestern region) is open seven days a week with programs for children, youth, and mothers. We have designed what we provide so that people will have a different experience of this war than others displaced by it. We have nurtured a community of love and support. That experience is essential for effective long-term healing from trauma, for healthy childhood development, and for the emotional health of adults. At the end of this war, the families who have been a part of the work of This Child Here will move ahead with life and decisions with far more ease and self-confidence than others. They have not been alone.

In the Summer, we take mothers and children in groups of 50 to spend a week at a facility on the beaches of Black Sea in Bulgaria. In safety from the war, play, and time guided by psychologists and teachers, our families bond with each other, knowing in a profound way, we are not alone.

Placing Students in High School and University in the USA, opens up a world of opportunities for each teenager, but also affirms that Ukraine is not alone. These students represent Ukraine in America and give hope to younger students in Ukraine to maintain a high GPA, study English and aspire to an education in the States. Here they are below:
Our English Program: We currently have 50 people studying English: mothers, youth, and children. To my surprise, instead of becoming more uncomfortable, they have become more committed. We've learned: when you challenge people, they are eager to participate. They learn together. They are no alone.
Finding Hope Under the Umbrella is a new program that connects the Rev. Calvin and Lee Gittner (with degrees in Marriage and Family Therapy) with mothers in individual sessions each week, to listen and affirm they are not alone. This began following a week Calvin and Lee spent with our summer program in Bulgaria.

6. Furry Friends and First Aid extends our reach to cats and dogs who are no longer alone. We are aiding an animal shelter in Izmail. By making weekly visits, we assess the needs and provide food, medicine, and veterinary health care for cats and dogs displaced by the war.