Operation Blessing Orphan Center in Ukraine Reaches Enrollment Capacity
Operation Blessing International’s (OBI) orphan training center increased its number of enrolled students to five times its initial enrollment within three months, reaching the center’s maximum capacity.
Operation Blessing International’s (OBI) orphan training center increased its number of enrolled students to five times its initial enrollment within three months, reaching the center’s maximum capacity.
The Graduated Orphans Training Center opened in September 2005 with the mission to equip newly-released orphans with practical life skills. The Center began with 50 students and has grown to its full capacity of 250 students since then.
“I am so grateful for this opportunity,” one student told OBI. “Every person has a dream and you are giving us a chance to reach that dream.”
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At the center, students can take English language and computer courses, two of the most highly-demanded skills in the Ukrainian job market. In addition, the center also teaches a comprehensive life skills curriculum including courses in cooking, financial planning, shopping and time management.
“The majority of orphans who spend their lives in institutions have no idea how the real world works,” said Nataliya Khomyak, the regional office coordinator for the center. “Here they have the opportunity to acquire these important life skills and successfully adapt into society.”
In Ukraine, orphans between the ages of 15-16 are released from state institutions to begin living as independent adults in society in spite of the fact that many young orphans are unprepared to cope with the world without support - leading many to a life of crime, drugs, prostitution and even death.
“It’s a world of wolves with the wolves’ laws,” said a youth living in the streets, according to OBI. “My dream is to grow up and get married, so that I can finally have a family and have a happy life.”
In addition to the orphan training center, OBI sponsors programs in Ukraine such as soup kitchens, family care programs, Back-to-School projects, and medical support.
“Such chances come rarely,” one student told OBI. “But through you, Operation Blessing, I have been given this chance to have a future. I want to become successful in life so that I can help children like me – those who cannot help themselves.”
Operation Blessing International Relief and Development Corporation (OBI) began in 1978 and has since touched the lives of more than 179.7 million people in 96 countries and all 50 states providing goods and services valued at more than $1.1 billion. Operation Blessing is governed by a national board of directors that includes founder M.G. “Pat” Robertson. OBI’s mission is to demonstrate God’s love by alleviating human need and suffering in the United States and around the world.
