Living Hope

Living Hope in Odessa, Ukraine, is a non-profit organization working in the field of social inclusion of disadvantaged children, young people and families established in 1999. As a response to this negative situation Ukrainian society faces since it’s independency a couple who cared about the hopeless future faced by so many children and young people founded the NGO in a disadvantaged neighbourhood in the city of Odessa. Living Hope NGO offers young Ukrainians an alternative to a life on the streets, using drugs, living without perspective and staying uninvolved in society. To achieve this, three day care centers for children and young people from socially excluded families were established, which are visited my about 100 children and youngsters daily. Two day care centers are situated in the Suworowskie city district in Odessa, which has a population of more than 260,000. It is an area with an accumulation of social problems. Many single-parent families and dysfunctional families live in this district. Another center was opened in Petrivka (a village 60 km north - east from Odessa in a very rural and deprived area). The centers aim to prevent children and young people from dropping out of school and community life. By offering children and youth at risk a healthy, long-term environment for developing life skills, the occurrence of deviant behaviour will also be prevented. The day care centers also give assistance in emergency life circumstances, such as illness or the death of a parent. A social worker is available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. The first centre, which was opened in January 2001, is attended by up to 40 children and young people every day. Thanks to the financial support of German and Ukrainian sponsors, a second centre was opened in May 2009, and is also attended by a growing number of children and young people. The centers are open between 12.00 and 18.00 from Monday to Friday. The groups of children using the centers are constant, and the centre workers take a long-term perspective. Persistency and constant availability are key factors for successful work in this unstable environment. The program for the day care centers includes: - Assistance with homework - ‘Pedagogical dining table’ - Support with clothes, shoes, school materials and other items - A variety of leisure time activities (language and music classes, sports etc.) - The possibilities to take a shower, wash clothes, get a haircut, and assistance with medical and dental appointments. The centre often purchases prescribed medicine for the children. - Workshops and working groups - Summer camps and excursions for children, young people and poor families - Psychosocial help for young people and their families By attending summer camps, youth exchanges and excursions organized by Living Hope young people and children also have the opportunity to learn not only about their own, but about other societies and cultures despite of their disadvantaged background. Living Hope has various relationships with residential institutions for children in the region of Odessa, providing mainly humanitarian aid, but also fostering friendship between children from the centers and children in residential care. Through events organized by Living Hope they are also contributing to the intergenerational dialogue. It exists and visiting service, where young people support lonly and poor pensioners on regular basis providing food and communication. On special occasions groups of children visit a home for elderly people. As a partner organization of the International Academy of Diaconia and Social Work (www.interdiac.eu) Living Hope is engaged in informal and formal eduaction targeting young people in Middle and Eastern Europe and in the the countries of the former Soviet Union. Since 2012 Living Hope is also a member organization of the Ecumenical Diaconal Year Network (www.edyn.org) which is a worldwide network of voluntary organisations. Since 2017 Living Hope is also a