Two family-type children's homes were built in Kremenets, Ternopil Oblast. The area of each is more than 280 square meters. Each house is designed for 10 children and their parents. Halyna Melnyk, head of the Kremenets Service for Children, told about this.
According to her, a family with two children has already been settled in one of the houses. Here they are ready to take 8 more children for education.
The house in which a family with children was settled.
Solomiya and Mykola Kosolapov play with their children in the yard of their new house. It was built as a family-type house for ten children. The family moved from Rivne to Kremenets to become foster parents for orphans or children deprived of parental care.
Solomiya Kosolapova, a candidate for a mother-educator with a family.
"My parents already raised 8 children, and I was not only such an observer, but also took an active part in it. It is impossible to surprise me with anything. I saw children who could not eat enough for several days, hiding food and bread under their pillows. This meant, that they were starving. I saw grateful ones, I saw ungrateful ones."
Game room in a family-type children's home.
Solomia says that she has been married for ten years. At first, she and her husband hesitated whether they were ready to become foster parents.
"It was a difficult decision, other people saw potential in us. We were offered to work with orphans for a long time, even in other regions. But we hesitated. Then I was ready, then he wasn't ready, then he became ready, then I wasn't ready . We came to this long before the war. The way I feel now is the perfect time to start doing it. Many children during the war were left without parental care and love, without parents. It's very sad.".
Bedroom for children.
Before becoming foster parents, Solomiya and Mykola Kosolapov have to undergo a training course at the Center for Social Services, said the head of the Kremenets Children's Service, Halyna Melnyk.
Halyna Melnyk, head of the Kremenets Service for Children.
"They will finish their studies, come to our service and we will begin to place children from our community. We have more than 80 orphans and children deprived of parental care. All our children are currently placed in family forms of education. We do not have children in residential institutions. That is, there are foster families. We have another family-type house in the village of Zholoba. Our children are also placed under care and education. Currently, we have a case in the Kremenets District Court regarding the removal of two children from their father. It is these children who are currently in a foster family temporarily. After receiving the court's decision, we will be able to place these children in our home for the upbringing of Solomiya and Mykola with full rights."
Bathroom in a newly built house.
The two-story house with an area of 288 square meters is designed for 12 people. There are bedrooms, a play area for children, six bathrooms and a kitchen. The initiators of the construction are benefactors from Germany who cooperate with the All-Ukrainian Union of Evangelical Christian Baptist Churches, said the senior bishop of these churches, Viktor Pugach. According to him, the construction of two family-type children's homes in Kremenets began in September 2021.
Viktor Pugach, senior bishop of Evangelical Christian-Baptist churches.
"It is impossible for somebody to start this project. There is greater cooperation with the churches. The church submits an application. It is considered by the "Bridge to Life" fund. There, they look at how much need there is in communities. When the application is approved, the next stage is the allocation of a plot of land. we buy either with our own funds, or in cooperation with the state, we allocate a plot of land. The funds have not been fully counted. One house was 5 million. But now the prices have been recalculated. It is more expensive, because all the equipment was purchased later. Therefore, I cannot give an exact figure."
Kitchen in a family-type children's home.
According to Viktor Pugach, there are 112 family-type children's homes in Ukraine, which were built with the assistance of a German charitable foundation. Two of them are in Kremenets.
