NEWS AND VIEWS: Children Are Hope Inc. seeks to address critical needs in Ukraine (08/12/01)

NEWS AND VIEWS

Children Are Hope Inc. seeks to address critical needs in Ukraine

by Cami Huk

The infant mortality rate in Ukraine is seven or eight times that of the United States. Much of it is due to the lack of folic acid in the mother's diet during pregnancy, which results in spontaneous abortions, underweight children and malnourished infants, as well as in complications in the mother's health, such as excessive bleeding. These can be prevented.

Today, Ukraine's hospitals do not have the tools or the facilities needed to adequately care for children or mothers. While it can be argued that, according to statistics, there is a caregiver for every two children, they don't have stethoscopes, odescopes, opthalomalscopes or pediatric blood pressure cuffs - instruments readily available in U.S. hospitals.

Furthermore, nurses are not trained to use the stethoscope, which is an essential aid to facilitate newborn care, for example. Thus, a nurse can only evaluate a precious little patient based on visual clues, reading what she can actually see for herself: breathing, color of the child's lips and dilation of its pupils. Ukrainian nurses are dedicated and good, but limited by this lack of equipment.

There are a lot of tools doctors can use in determining how to assist a child in developmental distress. Items such as modern incubators, neo-natal monitoring systems and accurate measuring systems for temperature and pulse should be available. These tools would emphatically improve a child's survival rate following a premature and underweight entrance into this world.

Children Are Hope, a not-for-profit ministry, has reached an agreement with the principal hospital in Ternopil that will provide space to set up a modern well-equipped center for pregnant women, mothers and newborn children to receive care from conception through early juvenile development. The intent is to address the critical situation mothers and infants face as a result of a poor diet and inadequate medical care.

Children Are Hope has announced that Dr. Charles Shaffer, an experienced family physician, has agreed to lead an effort to organize North American physicians to address these and other issues. He is looking for people willing to teach and treat mothers and children in Ternopil and to acquire donations of valid essential medical supplies and modern equipment.

In addition to the need for professional assistance, financial support is essential. Children Are Hope welcomes North American doctors to join in the effort of training and sharing concepts of care with the medical staff in Ternopil.

Children Are Hope was developed by Darrell Clark, a person dedicated to caring for these special children in Ukraine, following his work with Operation Blessing, a subsidiary of the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN). In May 1997, Mr. Clark and two others began an assessment of the needs of orphanages outside of Kyiv. In June of that year he led the first of many teams traveling to Ukraine. Since then he has helped more than 150 people travel to Ukraine to specifically assist children living in orphanages across the country.

Children Are Hope relies solely on volunteer assistance. More than 260 volunteers in North America and another 100 in Ukraine currently provide aid to 32 orphanages in six oblasts. Over 35 containers (an estimated 1,000 tons) have reached the children in need during the past four years.

Members of its board of directors include: Darrell L. Clark, president; George Davidiuk, chairman of the board; William A. (Andy) Rushing, Jane Tanner, RN; Andrey P. Swystun, Cami Huk and John Stockhausen.

Donations

Children Are Hope Inc. is a registered not-for-profit ministry, and, as such, donations of materials or financial resources are tax-deductible in accordance with U.S. federal tax law. Volunteers staff the organization, and all members of teams traveling to Ukraine pay their own way. Monetary donations are used for the children and the absolute minimum of administrative expenses.

Financial donations (in the form of a check or money order) may be mailed to: Children Are Hope Inc., P.O. Box 866, Portsmouth, VA 23705-0866.

You may contact Children Are Hope by: e-mail, darrell@children-are-hope.org, fax, (757) 483-8141; telephone, 1-800-570-5062 or (757) 483-8140.

Donations of clothing, shoes, medical supplies, corporate inventory and other physical property should be coordinated prior to shipment.

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