ONE HOPE PROJECT

One Hope Project is seeking to provide a Mentor for each orphan in Ukraine.  This person  will visit a specific child on a regular basis and on weekends or holidays this child will be given the opportunity to spend time living in the family of his/her Mentor.

Project Purpose - to prepare orphans residing in boarding-schools and orphanages for independent life through mentoring.

A Mentor is the person who becomes a significant person of influence in a child’s life.  A person who is willing and able to dedicate his/her time, knowledge and strength for the betterment of the child.

Mentor’s purpose:

 • to teach children life skills

• to instill spiritual values

• to help children develop their potential

• to help children identify their life goals and find ways to achieve them

• to become child’s faithful friend and source of support

Mentors work closely with the coordinators of One Hope Project and from them receive necessary support. There is an information-resource center, hotline as well as a social and psychological support for every Mentor.

To become a Mentor

1. Fill out the application form.
2. Call: (38044) 359 08 00 and schedule an informational meeting, where you will learn more about mentoring.
3. Take an educational course for Mentors, where you will be professionally prepared to interact with children in orphanages. Also you will get acquainted with the staff workers of the One Hope Project.
4. Start communicating with a particular child (with the assistance of  Project coordinators).

Objectives:

 1. To involve and coordinate public participation in caring for orphans and children deprived of parental care, who are in boarding schools and orphanages;

2. To prepare orphans for independent life after their release from residential care facilities through training programs, tailored to their age and individual characteristics;

3. To provide a mentor for each child who will play an active role in his/her development and future life.

Many orphans in boarding schools and orphanages are not adopted for various reasons (health, age). Children older than 5 have a very low chance of ever being adopted. There are very few people who are open to adopting a teenager. This causes irreversible damage to a child's emotional and mental state. As a result, children are not prepared for independent life. This is why many of them upon exiting the orphanage turn to drugs, crime, prostitution, and many even end their lives in suicide.

According to statistics:

There are more than 100,000 orphans in Ukraine.

After exiting orphanages:

• Every second child commits a crime
• Every fifth - becomes homeless
• Every seventh - attempts to commit suicide
• Only 1% of orphans receive higher education

This happens because these youth are not ready for independent life outside the walls of the orphanage and lack basic life skills (how to cook, how to find a job, how to find a place to live).

But the biggest problem is that they remain utterly alone - there is no reliable person to whom they can turn to for help.

Back