Earlier this year, Larisa Kopach, a volunteer with Toronto-based Help Us Help the Children, wrote this E-mail to Ruslana Wrzesnewskyj, the organization’s project coordinator. Larisa describes the squalor she witnessed while visiting orphanages in Ukraine. She also paints a picture of hope, demonstrated in the resilience of children and young adults living in conditions that are impossible to imagine.

Larisa Kopach

Finally left Kyiv for the first time since I arrived here in February for a 5-day trek across most of southern Ukraine to visit orphanages and distribute humanitarian aid. It was GREAT to get away from this city and then ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC to get back to it. Toilets, hot water and food OTHER than potatoes have never been so relished before! Ive realized that Kyiv is not at all representative of Ukraine in the slightest. Most of what I saw outside of Kyiv reminds me a LOT of what Ive seen in rural Africa, India and Nepal. Horses and buggies rather than cars in most villages. Filth and garbage in most of the larger towns or cities. Dirty mutts, cows, cats running around in the streets. One town we passed through had huge potholes all over the place. Its because the manholes were covered with copper a valuable commodity on the black market so naturally theyve all been stolen, leaving huge gaps in the streets through which trees have started growing, not to mention the children and animals that have falling into them. Its appalling and disgusting and goes to show how far behind this place is in comparison to the rest of the civilized world. Fat chance Ukraine has of joining the EU [European Union - Ed.] in 2011.

I traveled with 7 people all volunteers with HELP US HELP THE CHILDREN to 17 orphanages in total all in the course of 5 days. (Im exhausted!) I think its safe to say that it was one of the most heartbreaking things Ive ever done. Definitely the most physically, emotionally, and mentally draining. Wed travel huge distances to visit 3-5 orphanages a day some of which were absolute hellholes places that most western prisons dont compare to, and others that were great and healthy and clean and generally places that felt comfortable.

Orphanages here are categorized in terms of age groups: 0-3 years old; 3-8 years old; and 8-17 years old. The younger age groups are reasonably well off, since there appears to be more of a budget for little kids than for older ones. I think there are also more aid organizations who donate to infant places rather than to teenage places. I DREADED visiting the ones for the older kids. Whenever Id look at my itinerary and would see an orphanage for 8-17-year-olds, my stomach would turn. They were filthy. Kids with black teeth, torn clothes, shoes 3-4 sizes too big for them, smells of urine and stale air in the bedrooms, mattresses that were over 30 years old with stains and tears, broken windows, locked doors everywhere that required the assistance of some large gold-toothed woman with her ring of massive keys. It was disgusting and horrible and filthy and if I wasnt so tired writing this E-mail Im sure I could think of more descriptive words for it all.

As soon as our mini-van would pull up, followed by our 18-wheeler truck of boxes with clothes, toys, diapers, medicine, shoes, underwearthese kids with gaping mouths and dirty faces and hollow eyes would crowd around and just stare. Often enough they were too shy to make eye contact or would run away when we tried to greet them. They all loved photos though! I must have 3 or 4 rolls of kids, which I will E-mail sometime soon.

We slept in an orphanage one night...cant remember if it was on Wednesday or Thursday last week, but the mattress was so terrible I felt I was in a hammock. (Theresa thanks SO much for leaving me your Lysol disinfectant spray!). The toilets in most of these places were just holes in the muddy ground and toilet paper a luxury not even the directors could afford. Lack of light bulbs, no heating, no water. (I showered in the dark at one place, where there was no light bulb and was certain that mice or cockroaches or other nasty critters were crawling around the shower room). There is a huge need for tampons and pads for young girls. I honestly dont know how these kids do it. Sending a kid from an orphanage where they are well looked after and loved from ages 0-7 to the places we visited is like sending a kid to hell with not much of a chance that theyll make it out. Its as if you are breaking a child or taking away their childhood by sending them to these places. Things have a tendency to hit me later on, once Ive had some time to digest them and the things Ive seen are hitting home quite hard as Im writing this.

As for the baby orphanages...Id look at these kids, or hold some of them, or watch them sleep and all I could think was how could anyone give you up?. I swear that parents should take some sort of exam before they have a child. Most kids are in orphanages because their parents are alcoholics, drug addicts, prostitutes, criminals, or completely selfish human beings. Some give their children away for a year or two and then just never come back. How do you forget about your child? Maybe its because I come from a fabulous family where our ties are very strong and we were surrounded by good people and strong family values but reallywhat must your life be like to give away a child?

The worst orphanage I visited was unfortunately the last oneso it doesnt leave a great impression. It was in Tsyropinsk by the Black Sea. There are 270 kids there, aged 3-17. They are all handicapped in some form or another. Most dont have limbs, or the limbs they do have are deformed in one way or another. I visited their classrooms and was astonished to find that most kids write while holding a pen in their mouths since they have no hands. But they all seem so bright and grateful and giving. Some kids are tiny. I visited some who were 16-17 years old who were still in diapers and lying in cribs. I dont know what the medical term is for the way they are but they just dont grow, or else their bodies are twisted messes that dont allow them to develop properly.

The director of this orphanage explained that the state has no more funding for children once theyve turned 18...and they have to go somewhere...so the solution is to send them to an old age home. She told us of one little boy who mentally had nothing wrong with himhe just had no limbs so was unable to feed or clothe himself. He was transferred to an old age home a few months ago, since there was nobody who would take care of him. He wrote a letter to the Director saying that he would end his life if someone didnt come to pick him up. He explained that he is still a young man who needs to communicate and have some form of physical contact with people, but at an old age home he is surrounded by mentally detached people who are unable to communicate. He is fed 3 times a day, changed 4 times a day and thats about the extent of his daily activities.

The system they have here is horrific. I dont know how long its been going on for, but cant imagine it going on for much longer. Its just unreal. There MUST be some sort of HUMAN RIGHTS organization that deals with these sort of things. Of course all the red tape and corruption in Ukraine doesnt help either. Its a mess. But Im positive that the work that these charities and humanitarian aid organizations at least gets through to some kids. What makes me happiest is hearing about the kids who made their way through university or joined the army and made something of themselves. Because really to make it through 17 years of your life in the places Ive seen...I think its accomplishing more than any of us could ever deal with.

Rightso that wasnt exactly the cheeriest of E-mails. Apologies for that. Just a bit of an eye-opener pour-moi and I wanted to share. Let me know how you are doing. Hoping that you are healthy, happy, and well!

3 cheers for springtime!!! :)

Help Us Help The Children is a volunteer organization affiliated with the Children of Chornobyl Canadian Fund. For more information visit www.chornobyl.ca