Kremenchuk, visit and new project
During last April trip, we spent one complete day at Baby House of Kremenchuk (KreBH) in company of OBS representative Stacey and here daughter Emily (adopted in Ukraine), whom we met in Kiev. It was the first “official” meeting between LAdS and OBS and it occurred in Ukraine!
Following the request of the director (relayed by us), OBS collected big money to locally purchase shoes, educational toys and dresses intended for spectacles organized for and with children at the time of Ukrainian holidays celebrations. On top of that, Stacey took along in her luggage 50 pairs of new sports shoes bought in USA.
We thus spent most of the day shopping in various stores of the city in company of director Lydia Vasylievna. Even though we had let her “white card” to choose what she wanted, she took much time and cares to choose each and every item she really needed. She didn’t want to jump on the first item she liked; she rather wanted to compare prices and quality (in particular for shoes) and asked us for our opinion each time.
And we brought back all we could find that matched specific needs of director and her team.
After returning to the orphanage, director proposed to us to join her to the children to carry out some fittings. It is with great pleasure that we accepted since it was the first time that she accepted that we take pictures of the children (with the condition however to avoid seeing their faces!).
One more time, we have to notice that it’s much more efficient to buy locally based on demands and needs of orphanages and school internat (boarding school). Even if we fully understand that some families love to collect and ship toys, clothes and shoes, it rarely fulfil needs of the moment. Not even talking about shipping costs to Ukraine and usual customs hassles. Adding to that that nowadays everything can be purchased locally at even cheaper prices than in Europe or US, it really makes much more sense to donate money and have trustworthy people spending it locally.
We also took quite a bit of time in director’s office where Stacey and Vika presented and translated news (pictures and letters) form American families who adopted in Kremenchuk Baby House.
Some more inside pictures are to be found here.
We will keep you informed of project progress!
