February 2013 Newsletter

Hello family and friends,

Sveta and I enjoyed a couple of weeks of snow, but now the 35F plus weather has brought the rain. Snow may return before spring arrives, but it will not stay long here by the Black Sea. The weather changes most unpredictably. Sveta is moving my residency documents along quickly, as my Visa D will expire February 21. Life is good.

The Christmas Fundraiser has made it possible for the computer program to begin this month at the Dobromel Orphanage for special needs children. We are so pleased that we are able to offer the  children massage therapy that began last January, and computer classes this year. We look forward to hearing and seeing the progress results. We have talked with the director of the orphanage, and he is very grateful. We pass this note of thanks on to you, the sponsors.

The sewing machine for the Marganets Orphange will be delivered this month. Sveta will order through the internet, it will be delivered to a shipping company in Marganets, and our manager there, Anatoliy, will pay for it and deliver it to the orphanage. Cash on delivery is quite common in Ukraine, and gives me considerable peace of mind because I don’t have to worry about my debit card being compromised. On another front, we provided the transition home in Marganets with one washing machine. I will share the rest of the washing machine story in the March Newsletter.

I want to share a story with you about one of my special children. D. was born with Cerebral Palsy. She began to receive medical attention at the age of two, which is the old Soviet mentality. I met her when she was four years old. Palsy affected her legs and feet, but she used all the muscles in her body when she would try to walk. Her inability to balance caused her to fall to one side or the other. It would soon be time for her to begin kindergarten, and then school. To do this, she would need to be able to walk on her own, maneuvering through her day independently.

Sveta and I met with her at a massage therapy session in the fall of last year. She was eight, and is winning her battle. She attends school, is walking independently, and is very happy. Her challenges will continue until she stops growing, but she works very hard combating her muscle imbalance and spasticity. I have assembled a video of her therapy and her triumphs. Take five minutes and cheer her on as you watch how far she has come.  D's Video

Sveta has some wonderful stories to share this month. Our massage therapists keep us in-touch with the progress of the children through progress reports. In Illichevsk, at the end of sessions, they invite us to take pictures and video the children, displaying their new abilities.


Sveta’s Journey

Yesterday Mark and I visited a new child; this is our first visit to him. His name is G. and he is five months old. Two months ago, he received  his first treatment of ten massages. Now Tanya, one of our massage therapists, is giving him a second ten-day massage treatment. Immediately from the first days of treatment, Tanya and his mother noticed improvements in G. -- relaxation of tense muscles in his neck and back, now G. can turn his head to either side. Before the massage he could only turn his head to one side.

G., things are looking up!

 After the second treatment of massage, the spasticity in his right arm and leg diminished considerably. Some questionable movement in his left hand remains. We will watch as massages and special exercise may improve the operation and development of the muscles and give direction to the proper growth of the skeletal system. The problem is much easier and faster to fix in infancy than when the child is older. (I'm not talking about an extremely serious diagnosis. If a child receives massage early, the results will be greater, but if massage comes later for the child, it will take more time and more work to come close to the before mentioned results, if they will at all.)

A., is a sweet baby girl who was adopted by a lovely family. Her new parents are very caring toward their child, take good care of her, and have much patience with her. They need to work hard to help her develop properly in her body and mind. A. is one year and four months old, but she cannot walk like most children at her age. Doctors diagnosed her: mental retardation and spastic syndrome. She received her first twenty-day massage last month. These are the results that Tanya and A.’s mother saw. The girl began to crawl. 

A. says,"Ok, I'm ready!

She can stand without adult support for about one minute.Now she can get off the bed by herself and she began to speak the word "mama." When we met in the massage room, the mom enthusiastically told us what the girl is now able to do. The mother glowed with happiness. A. will have the next massage course after a month. Patience and love are winning. This is only the first step. She needs to continue to work with the muscles of her body to develop into a healthy child.

K. - Mmmm, thaaat feeels gooood!

Little K. has regularly received massage treatment from when she was eight months old; now she is two years old. Doctors and parents did not immediately find a problem in her physical development so the massage was started a little late, but even this did not interfere with the results. Before the massage, a big difference was evident; one cheek on her face was large and the other was smaller. Now, both of K.’s cheeks look the same. The muscles on the left side of her neck are shorter, causing stiff neck. Now she turns her head to either side. Tanya continues to work with K. and focuses on the left side of the body, relaxing spastic muscles of the arm and leg.

I described three children who had massages in a very short time, but received great results. All three mothers told us what their children’s problems were before the first massage, and how happy they are now, seeing such excellent results. We were also very happy with them. For me they were real miracles; whenever I see or hear about the results after the massage, my heart is filled with joy for these children and their parents. These are not the end-results; our massage therapist will continue to work with these children until our goals are met.

Living my dream,

Sveta

We are so grateful for all of your interest in our children and the love that you have for them. Your financial gifts and prayers make all of what we do here possible. Without MUCH, the children with special need, those in orphanages, and the poor wanting to attend higher eduction would be forgotten, or their needs minimized to a survival status. As you can see on the right toward the top, we have six programs that fall into three major categories. In March we will talk about the transportation scholarship program. We will give details of what is happening now and what our goals are. Until then, may God bless you and fill your lives with joy and prosperity.

Blessings of love and healing,

Mark and Sveta

January 2013 Newsletter

Hello family and friends,

Happy New Year 2013! Our Christmas fundraiser this year fell short of our total goal, but we will be able to operate the computer classes for the complete goal of one and a half years. 

Learning will be eciting for us!

 

We (picture to the right) are very excited about that! The remainder of the funds raised will go toward the massage therapy programs at Dobromel and Froonza that will continue from last year. A second part-time massage therapist for the Dobromel orphanage may be possible in the future, if we can find more monthly sponsors.

MUCH had two surprises this Christmas. After reading our November Newsletter, friends from North Carolina offered to buy a sewing machine for the orphanage-school in Marganets. When the assistant director heard this news, she was very pleased. The children will be thrilled with all of the mechanized options that they will be able to use. They will even be able to sew in script to personalize their projects!

The second surprise involves a church, a mission organization, and a new sponsor. Between the three of them, money was contributed to buy two new washing machines for the Transition Home in Marganets. The director and the washwomen were very pleased to receive these machines because they had been washing clothes and bedding for 30 children by hand.

After our two month fundraising and holiday time, Sveta and I have returned to Ukraine exhausted, but we will begin this year with a new perspective on Ukraine. Sveta's first visit to America did yield culture shock for her. For me, I saw America through her eyes, which in turn, helped me to see Ukraine with new eyes. After ten years, the cultural differences and the visual effects have become very "normal" for me. When I would visit America in the past, my world, my perspective, was only bigger. Now, seeing through Sveta's eyes, I see two different worlds.

Our time in America was constant mental activity. Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, my niece's wedding, and family visits kept us busy. Then, there were the many sponsors that we visited and the presentations that we gave. Sveta's one year of studying English proved to be very successful. She spoke in front of large groups without hesitation. Her Ukrainian perspective of MUCH gave them new understanding of our work with the children.

Additional stress visited us in the last few days of our journey. My passport was at the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington DC, waiting for a Visa D to be attached. When I called, I learned that I had sent the wrong amount of money, too much, and they couldn't accept the postal money order. Mom sent another while Sveta and I were out of town, but the adventure heightened as we tracked the return express mail envelope. After great efforts by two gracious postal workers, (unbelievable in Sveta's eyes), the envelope was available to be picked up at 7AM the morning that we were to fly back to Ukraine.

My heart sank as I opened my passport to learn that I had only 45 days on my Visa D. I later learned that this is normal under the new law. The second step is to register with the government office for a one-year Visa D in the city where I live and work. After I get this, my next step will be to apply for full time residency, not citizenship, as the spouse of Sveta, a Ukrainian national. This will be available after we are married two years, January 10, 2014.

Our next adventure met us at the JFK International Airport. Our connecting flights to Odessa included two stops in European Union countries, Germany and Austria. This was not a problem for me, carrying an American passport. On the other hand, Sveta had a Ukrainian passport; therefore, she needed a Schengen Visa to fly into more than one EU airport. The clerk at the Austrian Air desk was able to give us two options for flights that would go directly from JFK to Vienna where we could connect with our final flight. We were blessed with the first option, standby tickets for a 6PM flight that would leave in two hours, and a $316 change fee, versus a $1016 change fee for a flight the next day. As we waited patiently, we were invited to the 6PM flight. On we went.

Our focus in 2013 will be to create videos of the work that we do with the children, particularly in the massage therapy programs. These videos will be available to view by way of the internet or a number of our sites, such as Flickr, YouTube, our blog, Facebook, and Twitter. The massage therapy video that I made for the presentations on our trip opened new eyes of understanding for many people.

Sveta's Journey

Our two-month trip to America is over, we returned to Ukraine, and of course, I am very glad to see my family and friends in Ukraine. I was a little sad that I had to leave my wonderful new family and friends in America; they gave us attention, love, and support. I enjoyed socializing with people; I saw a lot of care and a desire to give us their valuable time. I was bathed in love.

After talking to people and reviewing what they saw, I learned and saw many differences in their culture and way of life. First of all, I was very impressed with the people. They were very welcoming, friendly, discreet, ready to help, and to encourage. I did not feel lonely or outcast in this new culture; I felt the love and acceptance in a great family where there is love.

Today it is considered that the experience of a new culture is a shock, because it is unexpected and can lead to negative evaluation of one's own culture. I do not appreciate my Ukrainian culture in a negative manor. I love my country, and God has put love in my heart to help Ukrainian women and men of retiring age when Mark and I retire. We will help them find hope for the future, because it is usually the time when the Post-Soviet people retire to a meaningless life. Children are grown, the grandchildren are adults, and they have no work or hobbies. There is no further purpose in life, having completed all previous goals (attending university, having a good job, a family, a baby, raising grandchildren) the people are at a loss - how to live on?

Mark and I are thinking about the time when we will retire. We want to help these people regain confidence that life can be rich and fruitful, even after the person has retired. We already have a plan to do it. While in America, I saw a perfect example of people in the retirement age having an active and productive life.

All the people we met in America were eager to know about the children in the orphanage. I know many stories because I know many of the children. Each child has their own unique story; they have experience with big blows of fate for their young age.

I finished school, now it's on to trade school

R. (to my right) is a boy from the Dobromel orphanage. He looks older than his years. Maybe it is because he was found on the street many years ago when he was a little boy. He could not say his name, age, or give any information on who his parents were. R. was given his name by the boarding school, along with some created identity where they recorded the year of his birth. Police were looking for a long time to find his family, but did not find anything. The boy is an orphan only in words. Because of the lack of true documents, he cannot have the financial help benefits of being an orphan, as there is no proof of the death of his parents, or their rejection of this child.

Please pray about my future

Last autumn, R. (to my right) finished boarding school and now attends trade school as a builder. He lives in a dorm and gets a very small $30 monthly stipend. Since the law does not considered him for an orphan pension pensioner, after he finishes all of his education, he will no longer be entitled to the stipend, much less any other government aid. The director asked us to help him. We know a Christian family that has experience working with children and helping them adapt to life after the orphanage. We think that they will help R.

Visual stimulation and massage are changing my life

K., (left) 7 years old, has cerebral palsy. He can say only one word "mama". K. has respectable parents, but they are very busy and very seldom visited the child, and of course, the boy misses them and has become very closed. When the massage therapist gave massage for him, the first few days he was very stressed and did not want to be touched. Now K. is gradually beginning to open up and blossom like a flower that was drooping for a long time without water.

Computers will help us with our language skills.

Two brothers, I. and P. (right) are special. I love them very much. When Mark and I come to the orphanage, the elder brother is always beside us; the youngest brother is shy and follows us at a distance of several meters. They cannot speak well. Their parents are alcoholics. When it is vacation time, parents take these boys home, but it is really better for them to stay at the boarding school. The boys told me they do not like their mom, and they do not like to be at home.

Every adult has a destiny that he can change. Children are dependent on their parents or other adults who are involved in their lives, whether positive or negative. Particularly dependent are the children with physical and mental limitations. These children have little ability to change their own destiny, but their parents or other adults in their lives may have big influence on their future.

Thank you very much for your financial support of the computer program that will operate for a minimum of one and a half years at the Dobromel Orphanage-Boarding School. After having more than 20 computers sit idle for more than a year, the children will now embark on a new adventure in learning. It is all because of your generous contributions that this has become a reality.

Your love, prayers, and financials support, our friends and partners, help us perform many projects to help children. Thank you very much!

Living my dream,

Sveta

As we enter 2013, we see change happening in Ukraine that will affect the children. The government is closing many of the orphanages, mainstreaming the children into regular schools. Our focus on health care, education, and clothing will remain our objective. Our ability to reach out to more children this year and next will depend upon people with hearts for the children. 

If God is nudging you to make a monthly commitment to help our children, please understand that $5 or more dollars a month will make a difference in the lives of our children.

As we work together to build a stronger Ukraine through caring for its children, we work together to build a stronger world! Thank you for taking an interest in our children who look to us for help.
 

Blessings of love and healing,

Mark and Sveta

June Newsletter 2012

Hello family and friends,

It was in the upper 50's F yesterday, but summer is right around the corner. School is almost finished here in Illichevsk, and the children will be running to the beach. Ice cream stands will be rolled out to the sidewalks, and life will appear happy for all. As I walk through the streets of Illichevsk, I am thankful that I was called to live and work in this clean city. Sveta's and my one-bedroom apartment meets our needs and is our home sweet home. We treasure it as we journey home from our fourteen-hour train and bus trips visiting the children in Dobromel, Marganets,  and Froonza.

Continuing our look at how we spend our funds, I will share two general areas: education and healthcare. Why is MUCH interested in Education? Everyone knows that education provides the building blocks for functioning in life. It shows us the road to a brighter future. Here in Ukraine, we are looking at two very specific problems: poverty and alcohol abuse. Our goal is to break the cycle of poverty. We believe that alcoholism is a direct result of poverty, although alcoholism has additional roots. We look at the family structure and see that children from poor families have little motivation and almost no encouragement to live a better life.

V. is hungry for a better life

Five years ago, we began the Transportation Scholarship Program with two high school graduates. As you saw in the January newsletter, one of the two graduated. The second dropped out of our program and disappeared. Over the years, three or four more students from very difficult homes were encouraged to go to college. Only one had the motivation to go. Currently, we know of two in college who are in need of help, and more who will graduate high school in the coming years. We have the opportunity to help Illichevsk break the cycle of poverty one child at a time. Currently, we have one student, V, who is in the nursing program at the medical college. The cost for one student to travel to Odessa and back (there is no dormitory system similar to the US) is about $42 a month, the cost of one taxi ride in some US cities. Currently, MUCH does not have the funds needed to help more than one student, but they are waiting.

J. begins vocal training.

 At the Marganets orphanage, we support in a small way the Computer and the Music and Dance classes. The administration sees big results occurring in the children because of these two programs. MUCH sees the same results, but why are we convinced that the programs are of value for our support. We understand that music is a central focus in the lives of children and teens all over the world. More importantly, we look at the effects on the brain. Music stimulates the brain and is documented in many studies to have multiple effects on the body and mind. More information about music and its benefits can be found on the internet or in libraries. 

J. is vocalist for the dance team.

Dance also has multiple values. It provides exercise, improves balance, flexibility, fluid movement, organized thought, team interaction, and more. Learning computer skills provides the obvious preparation for the work world and social media, but our focus is that it teaches the children to think using logic. Using the computer is an activity that requires the developing use of logic. We support these programs with a small contribution of $25 a month. It began as an incentive to the teachers to teach new programs. The manager recently gave us a wish list, which included $250 a year to buy material to make costumes and buy dance shoes, and $125 a year to buy new library books. Currently, MUCH does not have the funds to provide these materials.  Watch J perform in national competition

Sisters struggle together.

The second focus is healthcare. We are concentrating on two types of help. The newest type provides funds for medical treatment of children in a village transition home. This is a small contribution, $37.50 per child for a hospital or Emergency Medical Service visit. To refill their medical box with total contents costs $62.50. This facility is only large enough to house 11 children. Since we began helping these children about five months ago, we provided all of the supplies for the medical box, which was empty. We helped two children recently, one needing an appendectomy and the second in need of an EMS visit because of her heart. This is a small program, but these children are very much in need of a program that can provide funds for medical treatment. We have a Ukrainian sponsor who is giving toward this need.

 

The second type of healthcare is our medical massage program. We have been providing massage treatment for children with disabilities for eight years. One massage currently costs $2.85. We manage five massage programs in three cities and one village. Twenty-one massage treatments are provided each day, costing $59.85, less, I believe, than the cost of one medical massage in America. Each month, we spend $1,197 on our massage program. There is NO overhead! The massage rooms that we use in each program are free to MUCH. The parents bring their own sheet and towel for their child, and the masseuses provide their own massage oils, if they use them in their style of treatment.

After receiving massage for my own minor disability, we began our massage program in 2004 with enough funds to give three children massage each day for a twenty-day treatment program. Our results have been very good since the beginning, and we have grown over the years. In Illichevsk, we have two programs totaling 12 children a day. In the village of Froonza, we provide four children massage each day. At the orphanage in Dobromel, we began a program in January for (4) children a day. When Sveta and I were there in April, the director was so excited about the results that he

A. battles Downs Syndrom with massage.

and his staff were seeing

in the children, that he wants to have a second masseuse to treat an additional four children. At the orphanage in Marganets, the manager is very pleased with the results that the doctor and her nurse are seeing. We discussed having a masseuse from the city community come and work with the children. This is another opportunity for us to expand our massage program.

In all of our massage programs, we are treating a  maximum of 252 children a year. So, how many children with disabilities are within our radar? There are about 600 children in the three cities and one village who have disabilities that could benefit from massage. MUCH is limited in providing more services by a lack of funding. In the ten years that I have lived in Ukraine, MUCH has initiated new programs and caused them to grow. We want to continue to meet the needs of more children, but we want to see growth come along slowly but surely, as we have during this last decade. In order to grow, we must see new sponsorship.

Sveta's Journey

Welcome to Dobromel, Mark!

We visited the Dobromel Orphanage at the time when many of the children who have family were going home for a short holiday. As we traveled toward the  orphanage/boarding school, my heart began to sing a joyful song. After being away from my new little friends for six months, I wanted very much to see them again. Our visit with the children brought great joy to them. When we arrived, they came running to us, with hugs and kisses for us, asking, "Will you'll be giving us a massage?" I replied, "We've come to visit you, to see how you are doing." All the children were eager to receive massage. The week that we lived across from the boarding school, they asked me each day to give them a massage.

Natasha, the masseuse, is educated in Sports Medicine. She gives massage and children receive exercise training directly related to the focus of the massage. When these are combined, the results are very effective. One therapist cannot give massage to a large number of children. At this orphanage/ boarding school, virtually all children need massage.

We spoke with Lydia, the manager, and she enthusiastically talked about the great results that she saw in the children during the first four months of the program. The program of massage in this boarding school started working in January 2012, and even in such a short period, all of the teachers and educators have noticed the physical and psycho-emotional changes in children for the better. Hyperactive children were less excited and more relaxed, more attentive in class, and some even improved handwriting and posture.

The director, manager, Mark, and I are very pleased that the children have a wonderful opportunity to get a massage. The director has a vision to provide progress reports on the results of the massage program for Government authorities to obtain official permission to add a position for massage in the budget of the boarding school.

 

We brought pictures of children who were photographed in October during our past visit. They love to be photographed, so this time we took many pictures of them and they will be looking forward to our next visit when they will receive new pictures.

During this wonderful time spent with children, God gave me new eyes to see the children. My heart ached as tears fell from my eyes, such pain as if they were my own children. I do not know why God allows me to see, filled with compassion, the children's hearts. Of course, I pray for them. While we are visiting them, I can hug them and give them my love. I ask myself this question: "What more can I do for the children; I only spend time with them twice a year?" Familiarity with these children helps me to see their needs and guides me how to pray for them. They are in your hearts and mine, and I know that these children are in the heart of God.

Thanks for your help! O.

 O has a very sweet personality. You can see the smile on his face and the joy in his eyes. O has scoliosis and a deformity of his chest. Without massage and exercise treatment, his condition may become a more serious problem. In the February newsletter, you read about E, and saw the picture of his severe scoliosis and deformed chest. It is possible that without treatment, O could go in the same direction. MUCH is taking the time and making the effort to improve O's life. Please help us to guide his health in a progressive direction.

 M, a young girl, two years ago received an extensive burn on her back, abdomen, and parts of the upper arms. Together with other children, she ignited a fire to bake a potato, the fire burned low and the girl decided to pour

Massage helps me so much!

 gasoline on the fire. Splashes of gasoline fell on her sweater, and it began to burn. M was scared, but her younger brother quickly realized that it was necessary to remove her sweater and he removed the burning sweater. Then, when she was brought to the hospital, the doctor said that it was very good that they removed the sweater; if it were not so, he would have had to remove the sweater with the skin. The girl showed us her post-burn scars. All the back and stomach wounds healed solid brown. After several days of massaging the skin, it became softer and more elastic. She is also in need for corrective surgery. M really likes when she receives massage. It also has very positive emotional effect for her.

Where else may all these children receive massage and the results of restoration of mental, emotional, and physical health? My prayer to Almighty God is for healing of mind, body, and soul for these children, for God's mercy and salvation of their souls.

Many thanks to all of you that you keep praying for our MUCH children and financially supporting the work of all of our masseuses. God bless you!

Living my dream,

 

Sveta

We want to share more about the children at the Dobromel orphanage with you in the July Newsletter. Until then, please keep the children and us in your prayers. Thank you for reading! 

Blessings of love and healing,

Mark and Sveta