The Above Photo: I am enjoying a group of children at an orphanage for handicapped and disabled children. We distributed new shoes at this location! There are over 400 special needs children living in this facility.
Today has been a draining day. Several intense actions and then visits to three facilities where different age levels live and care is offered for those classified as special needs. These are three of the facilities where a container of shoes was delivered in the fall of 2017.
The first facility was for children 4 years-18 years and then there is a special area for the “younger adults” which groups those who have graduated but not yet old enough for adult facilities. I arrived and was met by about 20 children outside enjoying the sunshine. When told that I was with those sending the new shoes a number came to thank me and show me their shoes. They were full of smiles! In this facility there is a section where the children’s physical situation is so traumatic that they will never get out of bed. I was told that there were 400 children and 156 are classified as “invalids.” In touring the facility, I was taken into a nursery area and shown children who survive only on feeding tubes as they cannot swallow. They need hospital cribs badly for these children. I walked through the facility and noticed how clean it was. The workers are very caring and the children obviously love them.
The second facility was for the elderly who have suffered strokes or are disabled in some other way. There were 108 residents in this facility and 65 are bedfast. Once again as I walked through the facility I was greeted with wonderful smiles and obvious gratitude for the shoes. One lady told me that she cherished her shoes and had not yet worn them outside because she was waiting for better weather so the shoes would not become dirty.
The third facility housed 400 adults with special needs. There are 225 who cannot get out of bed residents and most of those are veterans. Again and again I was told how thankful they are for the new shoes and that they pray for all who brought the shoes!
Visiting those three locations was an emotionally draining experience. I was shown what equipment and supplies they had and asked if we could help. There really was not anything requested that we do not have in one of our four warehouse locations. But the really draining factor is we are not shipping any more into Ukraine until the problems with the Ministry of Social Policy and particularly the TASK GROUP are resolved.
Painfully illustrating WHY we have suspended shipments into Ukraine was an event today that saw a container of new shoes shipped out of Odesa Port where it had been held hostage since September. That container is on its way to Armenia. Ever since September the Ministry of Social Policy and TASK GROUP have refused to give the approval so the container could move and be distributed to orphans as the container was done that I witnessed today! Because Ukraine held hostage the container that reached Port Odesa in September, we had to pay $15,192.00 in order to get the container released for Armenia. This is PURE EXTORTION!
This is why I have begged you to contact your US Senators and US Representatives. Ukraine’s criminal actions must be confronted and a contact from your elected Congressional people will help tremendously! Please look back on this blogsite and re-read the posts labeled “CORRUPTION!” As time allows I am comprising another post in the corruption series. We need your Congressional delegation (each one) to send a letter to the US Department of State and Ukraine’s Embassy asking why the government is permitting piracy and why it has not confronted the corruption in the Ministry of Social Policy the last two years!
Below are photos from today’s activities.
I leave Kherson early in the morning going to Zaporozhye.
Pray for our on-going efforts!
John L. Kachelman, Jr.
Kherson, Ukraine
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