Thank you to Mrs. Purcell's AM and PM Kindergarten Classes (Phoenixville, PA) for collecting crayons and colored pencils during the month of October and over 120 pairs of socks during the month of November for the orphans in Ukraine.
To learn about these unsponsored students visit our webpage or send an email to rachaeld@anorphansmiles.org
The children have gone to the beach, the zoo, a professional soccer game, bowling, Boeing's museum of flight and other Seattle attractions. They have learned to wash dishes in a dishwasher, clothes in a washing machine, to have a family meal around the table, and how it feels to have someone tuck them in at night.
We took the children to Chuck E. Cheese's and celebrated each child's birthday. The children got their own cake with candle to blow out and individual presents. They were so surprised and very grateful!
The Fourth of July was celebrated with the individual families as the more the children are here, the more the families want to do one on one activities with them rather than group things - a natural part of the family hosting process.
Already people are talking about whether or not we can do this next summer, make it longer and involve more families. Each host family has friends, family and neighbors that have met the children and are interested in helping the orphans in some way.
We are excited for the possibilities of more supporters and volunteers, but saddened at the reality of the children returning to the orphanage, the older ones graduating to an institution for the rest of their lives.
Bogdan wrote to let us know that he and the Tsurupinsk director and children arrived safely back in Ukraine after their amazing visit to the US. Special Thanks to Debbie and Jerry and the whole Walker family for organizing the in-country portion of the trip. They and the host families were amazing. Also special thanks to Xavier University Orphan Smiles club and to Artful Giver whose fundraising also helped make this trip possible. And of course Bogdan had to do so much paperwork in Ukraine to get the necessary approvals.
We are so happy that our Class of 2010 is almost completely sponsored. One year into vocational school, 29 students have that special person in their lives who offers financial and emotional support. But five of them still haven't found a sponsor! Our goal for May Focus Week is to change that.
This month, we invite you to take a look at some of the 2010 Mykolaivka grads (all boys) who are still waiting for their very own sponsor. Could it be you?
As a GAP sponsor, you will send $30 a month to support your student. More importantly, you will exchange letters and photos with your student. You are not required to send packages, though they are always welcome.
This month’s focus week is for GAP Myko students. We have seven graduates who are looking for sponsors for a year at which time they will graduate from trade school.
Today we are featuring Ivan. This soccer playing fishing fanatic has no family to help him along while he is in trade school. He is studying plumbing at Kramatosk and his happy nature is a big hit with his roommates.
If you are interested in helping Ivan, we would love to hear from you. Additionally, all available students that we will be featuring can be found here.
Vasia is a graduate of Tsurupinsk Orphanage and a gifted painter. He paints with his mouth since he does not have arms. Vasia specializes in landscape and nature scenes, but he also paints wildlife and portraits.
When he aged out of the orphanage as a teenager he was able to attend vocational training for two years. After he graduated the officials in the region where he lived simply put him on the train to Kiev, basically transferring all their responsibility to another area. Vasia had nothing in Kiev.
We are very grateful that Bogdan was able to step in and help. Without Bogdan's assistance, perseverance and many hours of work Vasia would be living on the streets in Kiev.
An Orphan Smiles is so proud of Vasia and his determined spirit for wanting to live independently despite his disabilities. There are many obstacles in Ukrainian society for a person like Vasia. People with special needs are not given opportunities to live independently and are often institutionalized. They face many challenges in a very unaccepting society.
Vasia is painting to support himself. If you are interested in Vasia’s artwork, please see here for more details.
An Orphan Smiles JANUARY 2011 Focus Week was a TO GIVE project to raise funds for the Tsurupinsk Library. We raised over $600 and purchased 176 books for the School Library. This represents a wonderful collection of fairy tales, science fiction, children's detective stories, illustrated encyclopedias, learning materials, needlework, and architecture of Ukraine. All the books are new and from Ukrainian publishers. 
Bogdan recently forwarded to us a translated letter and photo that the children from Orphanage 12 received in response to a card they sent to "Santa Claus" or more than likely in their case "Father Frost". The response letter to the children was written by a Russian journalist in Moscow:
An Orphan Smiles sponsored a trip for ten orphans to visit Kiev, the Capital city of Ukraine for the Holidays. These children live in a rural city and rarely leave the orphanage grounds.
