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Humanity Adopts Homelessness
By Elina Beketova, Ukraine
Once, when Russia was the Soviet Union, there were 17 summer camps in Bucha, a small town within 18 kilometers by Kiev. There, kids played sports, forged friendships and had the chance to gain several kilograms of weight before returning to their homes. For many, summer camp was the most unforgettable and cheapest vacation they ever had.
"When I visited Bucha I was moved by the dedication of people from around the world who wanted to make a difference in the lives of Ukrainian children. Everyone had such a great wish to help when they could have easily stayed at home." -Elina Beketova
But after the collapse of the Soviet Union many summer camps closed and the places that had once brought such happiness and joy became ruined wastelands due to the lack of financing. Sadly, the ties that bound pioneers' lives together unraveled - the songs sung around the campfires became mere whispers in the wind and the oath to protect and love the motherland USSR, turned into a distant memory.
Today, only the stoned figures of communist pioneers that welcomed summer campers remain - perhaps signaling hope for a better day for Bucha's new residents - also children but these children have been rescued from the streets of Kiev.
Since 2003, Baptists from all over the world - the U.S., Switzerland, Germany, Holland and elsewhere have dedicated themselves to rescuing these children. Transforming a 16 acre summer camp facility into a Village of Hope, they have created a refuge for as many as 80 homeless children.
North Carolina resident Bill Mason helps to oversee Village of Hope. Shocked by the growing problem of homelessness in Ukraine, Mason has established roots in Bucha where he works alongside Ukrainian Baptists to provide hope for many children.
"The city of Kiev (Ukraine) is home to four million people, but several thousand of those residents are children between the ages of three and 16 who live on or under the streets of the city," Mason said. "We knew that homelessness was an issue in Ukraine, but when we visited, we saw it with our own eyes. We teamed up with Ukrainian Baptists and together we are helping to give hope for many children."
Mason coordinates summer service teams who go to Bucha from April until September. Their job - to help to build a community for these children. While finding volunteers to help build cottages, dormitories, a food service building, a chapel, a medical centre, individual cottages for families is relatively easy raising money in donations and sponsorships has been a challenge. The cost to house and care for each child is approximately $3000 a year.
Some kids luck out and get adopted by special families. Such is the case with the Maltcevys, a family of seven who live in the Light House at Village of Hope.
With two children of their own - 11 year old Dana and 16 year old Yana - Juriy and Elena Maltcevy adopted five other children - Misha, Alexander, Vlad, Sergey, and Ivan. Maltcevy, a former reserve captain and a pastor said it all started with a newspaper article he and his wife read.
"A woman had decided to celebrate the New Year with her boyfriend, and left her children alone in the house with only some water, no food or heat in the house and it was bitterly cold outside," said 38 year old Maltcevy. "The woman never returned home and she decided to sell the house where she had lived with her children, having somehow forgotten about their existence. A man that decided to buy the house came and saw the two little boys huddled together, trying to keep warm. He called the police; the boys were taken to the hospital where they were treated for exposure to the cold and dehydration."
When six-year-old Alexander and four-year old Misha became a part of the Maltcev family things changed. "Our biological children immediately started to look after their new brothers," said Maltcevy. "Dana was so captured by this idea that she began drawing posters about homelessness, and Yana became even more mature"
Noting his success, local social services asked Maltcevy if he would take seven-year old Vlad on for the Christmas holidays. His mother had put him in an orphanage when he was three years old. Vlad had almost been adopted by a couple from another country, but at the time Vlad's mother took him back to live with her new husband and their two children.
That might have been the end of Vlad's story, but it wasn't. His mother got tired of having three children and she decided to get rid of one. Once again Vlad was in the hands of social workers. But as luck would have it, a new hope was waiting for him. Vlad's prayers were answered when he moved in with the Matcevy family.
Soon thereafter, Maltsevy's family grew to include five-year-old Sergey and four -year- old Ivan. What have all these children brought to his life?
"We just became younger, and felt the energy, as if God gave us energy when we took these children," said Maltsevy. "They are all our family and we can't imagine our lives without them. I think every Christian family should adopt at least one child".
Why have I just told this story? When I visited Bucha I was moved by the dedication of people from around the world who wanted to make a difference in the lives of Ukrainian children. Everyone had such a great wish to help when they could have easily stayed at home.
I realized that my native country couldn't handle the growing problem of homeless children alone but there were people from all over the world who wanted to help. They shared a mission - helping humanity.
I held the hands of volunteers who had just built a watchtower and they said we should pray - pray for the children in Bucha and the Village of Hope. It was an incredible feeling. Yes, our own country is making progress in building orphanages, foster houses and so on but there is never enough financing to support all of these projects. But this time missions from other countries have united unselfishly to help.
