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Read on for in depth information and description of the situation in Odessa today...

Streetkids in Odessa

 

In January 2008, we visited the town of Odessa, Ukraine, at the request of those working there, to see if there was anything we, as students, had to offer the situation. We realised that what is really needed, more than any funding can provide, is Russian-speaking individuals committed to (wait for it... - it's a cliche, but no less true for it - and it's something so many take for granted growing up) making these children feel valued, wanted, and cared for by the world. And to giving them a real start in life - one that wont lead to more drugs, prostitution, abuse and disease.

 

As for the situation, here's what we found:

 

There are approximately 3 00 children living on the streets in Odessa, a major city on the Black Sea Coast of the Ukraine.  This large urban area was once a major free trading port, evident by the elegant continental buildings which line the wide cobbled streets.  However, the turbulence of the 20^th century-a time of foreign occupation followed by an oppressive Soviet regime took their toll, and the once fine residences are now derelict; crumbing and creaking in the bitter winters which blow in... 

It is these buildings, and the warmer refuges of subterranean holes in the dilapidated city streets, in which the children spend their nights. Accompanied only by each other and the drugs on which they become dependent, they are the products of the increasingly marginalized society which sets the Nouveau Riche against those at the bottom of a struggling economy.

       

 

The Way Home: A refuge for street kids

 

The Way Home is a Ukrainian organization which caters for the homeless population in Odessa, with a special focus on street children.  The work which they do covers several fundamental issues relating to street children, aimed at preventing children going to the streets, supporting those on the streets and rehabilitating those who move way from the streets.

 

The Way Home has a centre where, as a volunteer, you will be based. The centre fulfills a number of important functions, not only providing a residential home for 25 children from the streets or disadvantaged backgrounds, but also

 

• A daily street patrol visiting children living in various locations around the city, distributing food and medical care (above)

 

• Legal support crucial for obtaining documents needed to find employment/education

 

• Education - a levelling school, obligatory for children living at the centre and open to any street children or children from "crisis families". This works as a first step towards integrating children into public education, since many cannot attend public school until their legal documents are processed.

 

• Medical attention/advice and awareness raising among children at the centre and those on the street. Sex, drugs and HIV/Aids education and advice is provided.

 

• Committed staff dedicated both to the children they work with and raising the profile of the situation in the Ukraine nationwide (Ina, left, looks after the children 24-7. Her commitment and patience is incredible.).

 

Some of the children at The Way Home

 (On the one hand, they're like kids are anywhere - fun, inquisitive, boisterous... on the other hand, we, as foreign visitors, found them more welcoming, patient, sensitive and tactful than most adults we know - no exaggeration necessary.)

For more information, here's a few links to sites about the work of The Way Home:

http://www.streetkids.org.ua/ - A site created and maintained by the organisation, with information about its work as well as insights into the stories of individual streetkids

http://www.thischildhere.org/ - The site of This Child Here, an NGO headed by Robert Gamble, our contact in Odessa who works at The Way Home

http://www.digitaljournalist.org/issue0609/street-kids-in-odessa.html - An article by Michael Novotny, a digital journalist who joined the street patrol for a few days

What you can offer The Way Home:

 

Basic to intermediate level spoken and written English to staff and children who want to learn.

The classroom at The Way Home

 

Individual tuition to children with special needs, special interests and special talents: The children at The Way Home are there because they have come in off the streets. Many struggle at school, not having had a continuous education for most of their childhood, but they are very bright. Children tend to arrive at the centre between the ages of 11 and 16, and legally must leave at 18. This is a very short time for the organisation to try and help them achieve levels of learning that could lead to a place in further education (which is very cheap in Ukraine!), but it is hoped that with focused individual tuition this might be possible.

 

One of the children for whom individual tuition has been reccommended - a very intelligent girl who, for the majority of her life, has had no formal education.

 

What you will gain from the experience:

 

• The chance to truly make a difference to a child’s education
• Experience of Slavonic culture, of living and working in a Slavonic country
• Improvement of spoken Russian
• An insight into the lives of street children in Eastern Europe, and into what is being done to improve the lives of these children by privately funded organizations
• An insight into the workings of an NGO in an Eastern European country

You'll have plenty of opportunities to explore the beautiful city of Odessa during your stay, a diverse city famous for everything from its evocative snow-covered and imperial wintry streets, to the stunningly beautiful mysticism of russian orthodoxy, to its legendary summertime nightlife, when the city and beach are overrun with a vibrant club culture...

 

 

An Orthodox monastery

Interested? For more information contact Catherine Kemp ckemp051@gmail.com or Charlotte Payne clrp2@cam.ac.uk - two Cambridge students who visited The Way Home in January 2008, saw the need for committed, Russian speaking volunteers, and set up this site! We can put you in touch with everyone you need to be in contact with in the Ukraine, and with previous volunteers from the project. For more information from a recent volunteer who spent her summer vacation working with the kids in Odessa, please go to our Volunteer testimonies page.