Children of Hope

A relationship of love!

"Suffer not the little children ..." 

Click on the picture to enlarge.
What do you see above? Look at them from a distance; look at them close-up. Look at their clothes, the expressions on their faces, and look into their eyes. What do you see?

I see children. Each one has a story unique to him or her, as do all children. What they are at this time in their lives can be summed up in a few words. They are children. What will they become; how will they change; where will they go?

The answers to many of these questions depend upon adults. How will we touch their lives? Will we be responsible toward them; will we care; will we reach out to them? Will we help them become the next generation who will run this world?

The children pictured above live in the orphanage in Marganets, Ukraine. They are special children, not to say that every child is not special. They have special needs. Each child that you see has some type of learning disability. Each child has either a dangerous family environment from which they have been removed, has been abandoned by their parents, or their parents have died, leaving them as orphans. They will grow up in this orphanage system with children similar to themselves, totaling an average of 156.

Statistics tell a very sad reality of what happens to children after they leave the orphanage system in Ukraine. Prostitution, suicide, prison, and a life of crime wait for the majority of them. What can be done?

I don’t have many answers, but I have a few. MUCH has been gradually changing the lives of these children in small ways. Can you see the change in these pictures that span four years?

Four big needs based programs are touching the personal futures of some of the children. Massage therapy is changing the children from the inside out. The neurology of massage is habilitating them. Computer class is opening new avenues for the children, preparing them for a world of graphic art and word processing. The new music and dance opportunities will enrich the quality of the arts in their education. Finally, the drug and alcohol program is molding the children in areas of morality, self-image, and self-respect.

We have stepped up to the bat. MUCH is helping these children in these ways. We believe in them. We believe they are the future of Ukraine. What will you do? Will you help our children through MUCH? Will you help any children? What will you do to change the future of societies on this planet?