Orphan's promise - Ukraine
Am I the Center of the Universe?
- Youth and volunteers at camp
- Sasha playing camp game
- Youth playing camp game
- Fun games at the sea
- Youth at evening camp game
- Youth taking English lessons
- Team presents group flag
- Katya prepares for a game
CBN.com – UKRAINE - The fate of orphanage graduates in Ukraine is often grim. With little education and resources, these youth turn to crime and prostitution and become vulnerable to human trafficking. For these reasons, CBN’s Orphan’s Promise helped sponsor a camp this summer to help reach these at-risk youth before it is too late.
For ten days in August 2009, 55 youth from various trade schools and technical colleges in Ukraine gathered to take part in a one-of-a-kind Orphan’s Promise sponsored camp on the Sea of Azov. Though these youth came from various parts of Ukraine, there was one thing they all had in common; they had all grown up in orphanages and are now navigating through life without families to guide them.
Sasha was abandoned at age 12 by her alcoholic mother and taken to an orphanage. Now at 17, Sasha is studying to work on trains in a local technical college. Adding to the burden of her studies, Sasha is trying to cope with the recent news of her grandmother’s death, at the hand of her own mother.
Sasha was given a new chance at life when Lena, a Christian woman who had befriended her in the orphanage, invited her to attend the summer camp for graduated orphans. At the camp, Sasha heard about how she could have a relationship with Jesus and saw how her life could change by making him her Savior.
“I have never been at a camp like this,” Sasha shared, “I now have Jesus in my life, someone I can turn to with my worries.”
The theme of the camp was “Am I the center of the Universe?” During the ten day program, the staff members were able to discuss different characteristics of God and challenge the youth to think about the purpose God has for their lives.
Orphan’s Promise provided each of the youth with Bibles, and for some of them it was the first time they had held one in their hands. Anton, one of the volunteers, was surprised at their reactions when they received the Bibles.
“I was amazed to see how excited these 19-year-olds were to hold a Bible! Each night I would go into their rooms and see different people reading different parts, always ready to ask questions when they didn’t understand something. The word of God was truly speaking to their hearts and it was a privilege to be a part of that,” he said.
Each summer, CBN’s Orphan’s Promise sponsors summer camps across Ukraine that reach out to vulnerable orphans of all ages and teach them valuable life skills. Most importantly, the youth are learning that God loves them and what it means to have a relationship with Jesus. Please join CBN and be part of God’s outstretched hand to orphans throughout the world and many other evangelical and humanitarian efforts.
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