Child Care and Street Kids

Today we had our first full day of shooting footage for the LifeStart Odessa Project! First, we headed off to hear Sergei, the Executive Director of World Hope Ukraine, speak at a seminar to encourage people who work in child care. 

Sergei telling a joke during his speech at the seminar

Proof that our videographers are working hard

From the seminar, we headed to the First Step Centre (Клуб Первыи Шаг), a drop in centre for street kids. Municipal elections are under way at the moment here in Odessa, so the police have very recently "cleaned" the streets of street kids. That is, the police had combed the city, picking up as many street kids as they could, and brought them to a temporary shelter (Приют). As a result, there were not many kids hanging about the shelter. Nonetheless, we were able to meet and speak with a few kids. I hung out at the shelter, whilst Matt and Adam had the opportunity to see an apartment where two boys live with their alcoholic mother, as well as where kids sleep on the street. 

Some of the stories are quite brutal to hear. One boy I had a conversation with a boy (in my very broken Russian and his very slurred speech) who was quite obviously high. I asked one of the women at the shelter what he might be high on. She said it was most likely glue that he was sniffing, but he was a drug addict and would take whatever drugs he could get. 

Here is the cook of First Step Centre. We had lunch at the centre, which was delicious! No wonder these kids stop in! 

We also met a boy, Andre, who, through the shelter, turned his life around. We were able to interview him and hear his story. He was very open about talking, though also quite shy. He was living on the streets and was a drug addict. He would steal to feed his drug habit, but also to provide for himself. Somehow, he came to First Step Centre. For a time, he just came for what provisions they offered: a shower, food, clean clothes. But, after a time and through the relationships he made there, Andre decided to clean up and smarten up. He is now going through technical school, off drugs, receiving a government stipend, and living in the students dorm. He comes back to First Step Centre to maintain the relationships he made there and to constantly say thank you to them for helping him. I asked him what he wanted for the future. His answer was quite simple: he wanted a normal and good life. I think this is an achievable goal! :) 

Two girls who come to First Step Centre with Kostya, who works at the shelter and is also our LifeStart Project Coordinator.

We will be returning to First Step Centre tomorrow to interview the staff and hopefully a number of the kids. The more we learn about the needs of these kids, the better. Meeting and chatting with these kids of the street stood in start contrast to chatting with the energy and openness of the girls in Hope House, a few of whom had lived on the streets and most of whom have only lived in Hope House since June. The kids in the shelter were distant, reserved, and they laughed and played very little. We were also told by one of the workers at First Step Centre that these kids will give false names and they may only learn their real names after months, if ever. 

 A few kids who stopped in and grabbed a bit at First Step Centre

Yesterday, we also received some wonderful news here at Hope House. There is a girl in the community here, Kristina, (a friend of Luba, one of the girls in Hope House) who needed a bit of support. She was living off 200 grivnas (Ukrainian currency ~$30 CDN) a month, which was the stipend she was receiving from her college. However, from this 200 grivnas, she needed to pay 150gr to stay in the students dorm of this college, leaving here only 50gr to live on for the month! There are a number of problems with this situation. One, the student dorms was terrible. Everything is dirty, more than 20 students are sharing one kitchen with one stove, and there was no adult supervision over the students. Second, 50 grivnas is no where near enough to live off. Kristina, who is training to be a cook, would only be able to eat on Wednesdays at her practicum and would come stay at Hope House on the weekends and eat here. She was only able to eat 3 out of the 7 days each week! Though she and all the girls here wanted her to come live in Hope House, the house was at capacity and there was no more space for another girl. However, due to a change in the wind, Kristina was able to come live at Hope House and become a part of this wacky family. She has quickly adjusted to the routine of the house. The goal of the LifeStart Project is to encourage family-based care for at-risk youth. I think Kristina is excellent proof of the benefits of family-style and seeing how a family will come together to care for and support each other :)

And here is one of the Hope House girls, Lena, being silly after supper whilst Adam tries to repair the very out of tune guitar. These girls have so much energy and usually are full of laughter :)