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[/] Home Contact us Director Stepan Severylov standing next to the two dumpsters we recently purchased for the Mykulychin Internat, a boarding school for 120 children. After many, many years, burying garbage is no longer necessary. Success! With the help of friends in Lviv, we were not only able to purchase a washing machine for the Morshyn Orphanage but to have it delivered and installed that same day. More problems: when it rains in Mykulychin, not only does the school’s dining center roof leak but the septic system backs up into the area designated for washing up. Although volunteers from Germany, Austria and the Netherlands attempted to secure this combination administration building and dormitory for the winter, they had to leave before completing the job. Problem Although we continue to work with the Morshyn Orphanage, we are now devoting most of our time and resources to assisting the Mykulychin boarding school for “children with special needs” (basically children of alcoholics). Not only are the problems in Mykulychin far greater and the director of the Mykulychin Internat more aggressively trying to improve the quality of his institution, but Mykulochin is also closer to where I live - making it possible for me to go and return in a single day, something that was not possible with Morshyn. Under Presidents Kravchuk and Kuchma, providing assistance to orphanages was not only at the bottom of their priority lists but financial controls were such that money intended for the maintenance and repair of such facilities was regularly misappropriated. Thus, five months ago, when Stepan Severylov took over as director, the Mykulychin orphanage was in unimaginably and unconscionably poor condition. With money made available under the Yushchenko administration, many of the facility’s windows and radiators have been since been replaced but a great deal remains to be done just to make the facility safe. Making a difference So far, Friends of the Morshyn Orphanage has purchased two dumpsters for the Mykulychin Internat, eliminating the need for them to bury any more garbage. At present, Friends is negotiating with an Ivano-Frankivsk based roofing company to re-roof the facility’s dining center. Unfortunately, completing this project will have to wait until spring. Contributions needed! If you would like to make a contribution, you should make a check payable to me: Anne Linden and mail it to 3921 Kimpalong Avenue, Nashville, TN 37205. Please mark it, “for the Mykulychin Internat.” I am in the process of applying for tax exempt status under Internal Revenue Code Section 501 C 3. In any case you should know that 100% of all contributions is applied to projects; all administrative and fund raising expenses are born by me personally. Pressing needs Upgrade the septic system, which for the facility’s 8 buildings is estimated to cost $50,000. At present, whenever it rains, the septic system overflows into a tributary of the river Prut. Even worse, when there is a hard rain, the septic system backs up into both the children’s shower room and the cleaning up section of the dining center. According to one witness, “The stench defied description as did the impact on the children’s health.” It’s been estimated that just to prepare the documents needed to upgrade the septic system will take one entire year. Re-roofing the dining center is estimated to cost $7,300 including new drains. Provide a backup generator. The orphanage’s kitchen lost power for one solid week during the summer when fortunately, the children were away. But such an outage could occur at any time. Replace the computer damaged when the administration building’s roof leaked. Bulldoze the areas formerly used to bury garbage and replace the contaminated soil. The area is sprinkled with slivers of broken glass. Replace the US Army surplus cots. The springs are worn out to the point they give many children backaches. [COMPLETED] Supply a climbing wall, mats, weights and other exercise related equipment for use especially during winter months by children suffering from problems with mobility. [COMPLETED] Provide a karaoke [COMPLETED] Donate $300 to cover the cost of transportation to and from Odessa, and bedding and food while there for one student in need of eye surgery. If possible, to upgrade the quality of the facility to the point that it could be used as an income generating summer camp during periods the children are away. Provide additional training especially for those children 14 and 15 who will soon be released. Provide an advocate/adviser for those children who are in this facility not because they meet the definition of “children with special needs” but simply because they are from the area. All children completing their training in this facility receive special certificates entitling them to attend only vocational schools for the mentally handicapped - making it extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the school’s normal children to progress. Progress at Morshyn Although we have made some progress, it has been far less and far more difficult to effect than we had hoped. According to one of the facility’s employees, the washing machine which many of you generously helped finance is being used twice a month and then only for bed linens. Once we began focusing on the needs of specific children, which we found possible in dealings with such a small facility (Unlike Mykulychin, Morshyn has only 15-20 children), our success rate increased. The difference taking violin lessons has made to Vasyl and art lessons to Terrace is visible; both have become happier and more self-confident as the result. Much of our focus recently has been directed to placing two orphaned children in a foster home. Although it’s been six months since we began this process, we still find the prospect exciting and remain optimistic that the transfer will occur shortly. There is little to be gained from recounting our failures. Suffice it to say, there have been many. Our priorities and those of the director have often been at odds. Home | Assumptions and Misunderstandings | Children at Risk | Hutsul Folk Artists | Support for Green Tourism | Contact us