The Lost Boys of Romaniv

Back in the soviet times, those who were 'mentally defective' were hidden from view. We traveled to one such orphanage, a Level 4 in Romaniv. After traveling down a single lane road for miles, we came to a stop in front of cement walls. Behind those walls were 80 boys ages 6 on up who were deemed untrainable. 13 Years ago the boys were dying at the rate of 12+ per year. They had no oil for heat, or hot water. The buildings were dark and stank. A new director took over, Nickolaychuk Vasily who knew he had to first create a safe and healthy environment for the boys in order for them to live. He built a state of the art sanitation facility for bathing and laundry. He created a new kitchen where they make their own bread and noodles, and a dining hall for the boys to eat at tables. Now he is creating a large day center and hopes to add an indoor gym with exercise equipment and an activity center. Meanwhile, the boys spend all the time outdoor, in a large fenced in basketball court with a few balls and staff to keep them safe. He is not proud of this but has no other options at this time. The director  invited us to Romaniv through Oksana Shulyak from a Mission to Ukraine after checking up on our credibilty  and speaking with Pastor Sasha from Almaz Church. Oksana had attended our conference in January and was anxious to have us consult there. How could we not??! The pictures in my Montage will speak for itself. These boys have had no education and the director would like our assistance setting up a sensory room and an 'intervention program'. These boys need so much more too. Our team is planning on returning and bringing playground and gym equipment, a dental team, and, I will be doing staff training and helping to set up an educational program. We are looking for people to join us! No experience is necessary but some educational experince would be a bonus! Please contact me on Facebook at Sandie Flannery for more information or go to ALmazGO.com for more ways to help. Our Mission needs your prayers and is in need of finacial assistance. WOULD YOU PLEASE CONSIDER HELPING? To start, 5 of the boys are in need of helmets to help prevent injury from self abuse.. I will include a list of more supplies in a later blog.