The Last Bell Ceremony marks the end of the schoolyear for orphans in Ukraine. For the 15- and 16-year-old graduates of Orphanage #4 in Zhytomyr, this means the end of life in an institution. They go on to trade school for two or three years and live in large government dormitories with minimal supervision.
Many enter trade school already devastated from the rejection and abandonment they experienced growing up. At the orphanage kids often develop coping mechanisms to deaden the pain: stealing, fighting, alcohol and drug abuse, sexual promiscuity. They are not prepared for life at a trade school, let alone independence.
After leaving the institution, orphan teens are more alone than ever. The long-term emotional effects of abuse and neglect become unavoidable and sometimes unbearable. About one out of ten commit suicide in the years following graduation.
The houseparents at our two family day homes, the Shelter and the Haven, and the Support Center staff offer these traumatized teenagers the unconditional love and care they had missed for so long. Relationships are at the center: house mothers and house fathers pursue the kids through all kinds of difficult behavior and walk with them through their grief. The graduates also learn the practical skills they need to live more independently.
Most importantly, the staff introduce them to the love and grace of Jesus Christ. Healing is a process that takes time and patience, but it is happening. Through the security of their new family, orphan graduates are drawing near to the Father of the fatherless.