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    YWAM Kyiv
    PO Box 120
    Kyiv-1
    01001
    UKRAINE

    Phone / Fax Number: 290 02 43
    Int'l Phone / Fax Number: +38 290 02 04

    Email: info@ywamkyiv.org
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Key of Hope

What is an orphan?

In Ukraine today, a lot of orphans are “social orphans”, which means that they have living parents.  Abandonment at birth and children being taken away, by the state, from alcoholic/ abusive parents are two of the main reasons these kids are placed in orphanages.

They “graduate” (or age out of) the orphanage at the end of grade 9, even though they have not yet completed their schooling. At this point, they are unprepared to function in the real world. The orphanage system does not prepare children with life skills, such as basic hygiene or cooking, needed to live independently. Also, they have had no family model on which to base their future relationships. 

73% will not find work

70% of boys will be involved in crime

60% of girls become prostitutes

10% commit suicide before their 18th birthday 

This is what YWAM Kyiv is doing to help an overwhelming and under-funded problem in Ukraine.

Vassilkov

 Twice a week we visit a school called Vasilkov, a trade school for children that have graduated (or aged out of) the orphanage.  At the school, we have remodeled one of the rooms into a coffee house.  Here, our main objective is to build meaningful relationships with the young people.  We hang out, talk, play games, and serve coffee and tea. 

Chaslivsi

 Outreaches to Western Ukraine have a strong influence among the children in Chaslivsi, an orphanage in Uzhgorod, Ukraine.  Among other events, we host an annual summer camp for the orphanage and bring gifts for the children during the Christmas season. 

Seminars

 Nearly every month, Key of Hope hosts weekend seminars for orphans from Vasilkov.  During these 2-3 day mini-courses, we teach anything from practical skills like cooking, finance, or how to prepare for a job interview, to creative skills such as art or photography.  We may also introduce career building skills, such as computers, during these sessions.  This gives us an opportunity to “go deep” with a few kids, as well as offer some practical ways for students to develop skills to improve their lives.