JEREMIAH HOUSE RECEIVED A NEW DAUGHTER TODAY

LtoR:  Anna, Cholpon, Gulnara (mom), Vika, and Olga (LAMb Residential Director)

VIKA
JOINED THE JEREMIAH HOUSE FAMILY TODAY
JEREMIAH HOUSE NOW HAS SEVEN RESIDENTS

GRADUATION IS OVER AT THE ORPHANAGES in KYRGYZSTAN AND UKRAINE

SO WHAT IS NEXT?

Each year the orphanage graduate youth who are left asking this question, "What is next?"  Many are guided into state run technical schools, others make their way back to families and yet others just drift off never to be heard from again.  The state run schools provide a dorm - but so many of them are extremely limited in facilities, are co-ed and offer little to no support or supervision.  Pregnancies are common among dorm residents.

Often their choice of career was determined a staff member and directed by the openings in the technical schools as opposed to the students own choice of a career.  The state is doing the best they can - but with limited resources and hundreds of graduating orphans each year, the service they offer is seldom sufficient to entice a student to complete their studies.

The future is dim for most all of the graduates:

• 1/3 of the graduates actually are successful, learning to live interdependently, getting a job and making a life for themselves.
• 2/3 of the graduates - the results are not as positive
• traffickers are waiting to move youth into the sex trade
• drug and alcohol become all to available for the youth - leading to dependency and addiction
• crime is rampant and prison a sure end for many
• suicide rates are very high with graduating orphans
• homelessness is common

Jeremiah Project offers a home and hope for youth - a pilot project to help the local authorities see success in another alternative.  Our pilot project is a demonstration of this hope.  The model is extensive, three parts and each part focused on helping the youth in a specific way.  

Part 1:  Jeremiah Drop-in-Center - now serving youth who are either graduating or preparing to gradate soon.  Even graduates who need help can come and get help, referrals, emergency food or even shelter on occasion.  

This part offers assessment, training of Life Skills and much more.

Part 2:  Jeremiah House - a residential home for youth - learning critical life skills.  Here they will live as a family with a house mother who teaches them daily.  They will go to school, work and learn to become interdependent enough to someday move into their own apartment.

Part 3:  Jeremiah Steps - an opportunity for youth to live interdependently in an apartment where they will be matched with a mentor who is checking on them daily or a minimum of thee time a week.  Working, going to school the youth will learn to keep their own home here.  We found our first steps apartment, secured the funds and the owner backed out of the sale.  However, we have new prospects in sight and we have the funds to purchase the first apartment.  We are very eager to get this part of the project opened.  We have potential candidates for steps we are now working with.

This is a very brief description of the project.  We envision it to be a model where others can replicate and begin to make a difference in the lives of the graduating orphans.

SOME RECENT SUCCESS FROM JEREMIAH HOUSE:

1.  One boy working this summer full time picking up apricots.

2.  One girl working this summer full time helping teach Life Skills to the little girls at Dayspring.

3.  One girl working part time at the local telephone company call center.

4.  All students grades have improved while living at Jeremiah House.

5.  Youth are attending cell groups, church and other positive influence gatherings.

6.  A cell group is conducted now at Jeremiah House.

7.  AND the chickens are laying eggs finally!!!!!

EVERY FAMILY - EVERY CHILD - EVERY CHURCH - EVERY PERSON - BY BUILDING THE TEAMS!

WORK WITH ONE?

 OR WORK WITH THOSE WHO WORKS WITH MANY?

TRAINERS WORK WITH MANY

PASTORS WORK WITH MANY

SOCIAL WORKERS WORK WITH MANY

LEADERS WORK WITH MANY

INFLUENCE BY WORKING WITH THOSE 

WHO WORK WITH MANY

Video just over 2 minutes!

TRAINING AS A CATALYST TO CHANGE

BECAUSE 
WE BELIEVE

IN A WORLD WITHOUT ORPHANS!

DISCOVERY PROJECT IS MOVING FORWARD - VERY EXCITING

MOVING FORWARD WITH

DISCOVERY PROJECT

DIRECTOR OF SOCIAL SERVICES AND STAFF

LEADERS AT WORKSHOP SHARED THEIR NEEDS AND IDEAS

OLGA PRESENTED A FULL WORKSHOP ON INCLUSION OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES INTO SOCIETY

HELEN - FROM UKRAINE - LEADS AN INITIATIVE IN THE SCHOOLS IN UKRAINE AND GAVE HER EXPERIENCE HERE TO THE PARTICIPANTS

Our Discovery Project if off to a great start.  Let us update you on some of the initial activities:

    1.   Larisa and Tanya went to Alaska for training to bring skills and knowledge back to use in the work they are doing working at Iskra and other places.  They will be teaching workers at Iskra and will be visited the Alaska team to view their progress on implementation of the work they are doing.

    2.   We have another person who has applied to go to Hope Alaska – and we have been asked to help in the selection of additional persons to be chosen for their training.  The new applicant was interviewed by our Residential Director – Olga and we will be bringing this person into our programs to work as a volunteer before and after she goes to Alaska.  It was decided she is a good candidate for the experience.  She is an older university student – attending the International University of Central Asia.

    3.   Olga brought together moms who have children who have cerebral palsy – with a certified trainer who teaches therapeutic massage.  This training was done at Dayspring.

    4.   Olga and Costa have had several meetings with different individuals who are working with persons with disabilities and we have a contact where we can offer both computer classes and exercise equipment for use of those with disabilities.

    5.   Olga won a scholarship to go to Budapest for training on Inclusion of the Disabled into Society.

BREAKING NEW DEVELOPMENT

YESTERDAY, JUNE 18, 2013

Our residential director, Olga did a workshop in Mayor's office yesterday for 25 social workers and staff from the child's police department.  She presented issues about inclusion of persons with disabilities into community life.  She discussed what could be done by government and NGO’s working together creating models and pilots that bring ideas and hope to others who can make a difference as well.

Olga shared her experience of learning that she received when she was in Budapest last month. She shared what laws she learned about, how things were done in other countries and gave some suggestions and ideas for consideration.

Olga’s mother is in Kyrgyzstan at this time.  She also shared at this meeting about her work in Ukraine.  She is leading a project in the schools called "THE RIVER OF LOVE" about inclusion of children with disabilities into the area of education.

Olga said that it was interesting that at the end all came to conclusion that our first and most important task is to change the paradigm of thinking, and start teaching younger generation the right things.

Many social workers went to Olga after, thanking her for the workshop.  Many of them work with particular schools, and they told her that it would be good to do such a workshops for the teachers and then for children in the schools as well. 

Discovery Project is moving forward and most  importantly – using the locals to become engaged in changing the present realities to future possibilities!

We are so thankful for Hope Alaska and Eileen Lally for "kickstarting" this very important project!  We are so thankful for this wonderful opportunity to serve those who are often forgotten in the countries in which we serve.

REUNIFICATION - GOAL ATTAINED - ANYA GOES HOME

REUNIFICATION - HOME FOR ANYA

We are pleased to announce this news.  Anya has been reunified.  The road is likely to be difficult for the family and we are not abandoning them as they have their daughter and sons now home.  Anya lived at Dayspring and her brothers were at a local orphanage.  Today - they are home with mom and dad.  

We have delivered bunk beds to help out - giving them more places for the children, we have installed water into the home, helped with some furniture needs and will continue to be a support to the family helping them learn and adjust to having their children back home.

GOOD BYE TO ANYA

6 OF OUR LITTLE GIRLS POSING FOR A GOOD BYE PHOTO

FAMILY RECEIVING ANYA AND BOYS HOME!!!

OLGA WILL STAY INVOLVED WITH FAMILY
WE ARE THERE TO BE A SUPPORT
AND HELP
FOR
SUCCESS

Here is the report from Olga and Costa!  GREAT NEWS...

"15 MONTHS ago Anya Sokolova has entered our Dayspring family. She went to the first grade in school. During the past year ILDC staff and us as parents tried our best to reunite the family, encouraging her mom and dad to not give up and work hard to make it possible for their children to live at home.

Praise God it is finally finished. Social service, mayor’s office and ILDC brought parents and children together. It is such a happy moment. Thank you everyone for investing your prayers, minds and hearts and finances into this little girl and her three brothers who lived outside of their family and now are back home with mama and papa. We believe children must grow in families and we do everything we can to see this happened.

ILDC staff and Konstantin and Olga as Dayspring mom and dad will continue to work closely with Sokolovs family to help them creating and sustaining stability and safety in their home that will prevent negative experience of withdrawing children from their family."

DISCOVERY PROJECT GETS A BOOST....OLGA COMPLETES TRAINING

OLGA COMPLETED TRAINING IN HUNGARY

SHE IS READY TO IMPLEMENT THE NEW LEARNING INTO OUR WORK WITH THE 

DISCOVERY PROJECT 

IN KYRGYZSTAN.

HERE IS THE REPORT FROM OLGA - WHAT AN HONOR FOR HER TO RECEIVE THIS SCHOLARSHIP.....AND A WONDERFUL BOOST TO LAMb PROGRAMS IN KYRGYZSTAN...

I am back home safely and full of ideas.  The study session was very good and informative. So there were 21 participants chosen out of more then 200 applications from different countries.

Our group had people from these countries: Armenia, Georgia, Greece, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Russia, Latvia, Moldova, Kosovo, Estonia, Belgium, and I was the only representative of Kyrgyzstan.

Our group was mixed we had people without disabilities and people with disabilities, but amazingly we were so opened to each other that never felt any difference between us. There was a great respect to facilitators cause for people with disabilities there were all conditions in the European Youth Centre in Budapest.

The topic of the study session was “Social inclusion for active Youth participation”, so mainly about how can we help young people with disabilities to become an active part of the society, how can we as organizations work on mixed abilities approach.

As a trainer I’ve learnt a lot.

I already am thinking about training activities for youth and graduates on Human rights. I also think about visiting the IUCA and talk to the students of social department to see if they can be involved somehow.

I will also try to come up with a plan for Discovery Project, and how can I apply all the knowledge I got in inclusive education.

So I have the certificate from European Youth Centre and Participation for our organization, about taking part in this session. And I think this participation will implement our organizational work a lot.

CONGRATULATIONS OLGA - WE ARE VERY PROUD OF YOU!!!

The rest of the LAMb Team....