At the beginning of March, an office of the Nestle Company in the neighboring city of Dnipropetrovsk (Ukraine) donated 24 cartons of protein enriched Peptamen nutrition. Volunteers from Berdyansk delivered to Kalinovka a big bag of nappies for adults.
During March the Child’s Home in Kalinovka was visited by a pediatrician from the town of Tokmak. This same month, the children were also examined by a dermatologist from the Tokmak Regional Hospital. The Happy Child charity foundation intends to make such physicians’ visits regular. This project requires your financial support in paying the doctors and their associated travel expenses. This way, the little dwellers of the Chernigov Child’s Home will benefit from regular and thorough medical checkups and treatment.
We also interviewed two potential candidates interested in being a masseur. However some applicants lacked practice (it would be rather challenging to train a person from Tokmak in Zaporizhzhia), and some applicants changed their minds almost immediately. If you know any masseur who is ready to help the children and settle down in Kalinovka, please let us know!
The reconstruction of the second Happy Home building has been continuing. The ceiling panel has been already completed and in April we plan to tackle the roof.
On the 19th of March ten educators and nannies from the Chernigov Child’s Home visited Zaporizhzhia. They enjoyed a workshop carried out by a foundation psychologist at the Veliky Lug Child’s Home. Some of the working methods at the Veliky Lug Child’s Home are already actively implemented in Kalinovka. The educators and nannies from Kalinovka were delighted to be able to use this rare opportunity to escape from their daily routine. They were able to share problems, exchange ideas as well as laugh with their fellow colleagues, all in a friendly and informal atmosphere.
The highlight of the month was a visit by two young English guests – policemen Mark and Emily. They kindly donated 2,720 dollars for the reconstruction of our second adaptation group and spent two days with little orphans, communicating and playing with them.
Emily taught Sergey some animals’ names in English and Mark helped the kids in assembling some toy airplanes.
Emily and Mark brought the little and big dwellers of Kalinovka two huge suitcases filled with toys and sweets. They also promised to come back again next year. The children are already looking forward to seeing their new friends again. They asked me to send Emily and Mark their love!
Last month we started a fund-raising campaign for Artem, one of the children from Kalinovka. Artem has to undergo orthopedic surgery at the local hospital and we need around 370 US dollars to pay for the services of a carer. Currently we have raised approximately 75 US dollars. The surgery is scheduled for 23rd of April 2013.
We have also published another profile of one of the orphans from Kalinovka. Hopefully he will find his loving family one day.
Educators’ achievements:
Children from the first Happy Home in the group of Valentina K. made Happy Women’s Day greeting cards for their nannies and volunteers. Sergey P. and Sasha Z. made applique with threads. Maxim B. has started to learn to write the alphabet but is not good at it yet. He manages to draw lines instead. The children in the group of Sophia Sh. made pictures from napkins, coloured paper and rice.
The children from the group of Raisa G. are learning to draw lines and write the alphabet. The four children of this group have been making bead handicrafts for two months. Thanks to their educator and helper Larisa, the children have recently made their first birch tree.
In the bed-ridden group of children Nastia M. can now turn the toy music drum. Danil K. can now point at body parts. Sasha T. “says” hi by waving his hand.
In Natalia P's group, Bogdan Ssch. has learnt to point at children by their names.
The list of the current needs of the Chernigov Child’s Home in Kalinovka (1st of April 2013):
1. Construction materials for the Happy Home-2 social adaptation group
2. Plaster for figure modeling
3. CD's with the sounds of nature and children’s music
4. Acrylic colours
5. Checkers
6. Bead embroidery sets
7. DVD's with cartoons and fairy tales
8. Manipulative materials (pictures)
9. Sticky tapes
10. Big and middle sized puzzles
11. Flower nets
12. Flower pot stands
13. Musical toys
14. Rubber and plastic toys
15. DVD player
16. PVA adhesive
17. Canvas on beads embroidery
18. Water filter
19. Embroidery set (colourful threads, linens or linens with pictures)
20. Toy construction sets
21. Toy blocks
22. Toy pyramidions
23. Mathematics learning copy books – 8 pieces
24. Floristic tape (green, brown)
25. Cotton wool
26. Transparent files
27. Spelling ABC learning copy books – 8 pieces
28. Radio set
29. Paper A4
We’re grateful to everyone who has supported the Chernigov Child’s Home in Kalinovka and we ask you for your further kind support of the special children, who like no one else, need our care!
