NEWS AND VIEWS: Disabled and Vulnerable Orphans of Ukraine launches awareness campaign with wristbands (04/16/06)

NEWS AND VIEWS

Disabled and Vulnerable Orphans of Ukraine launches awareness campaign with wristbands

by Lillian Horodysky

The Disabled and Vulnerable Orphans of Ukraine (DVOU) non-profit foundation based in Philadelphia has launched the DVOU awareness wristband campaign. The purpose of this initiative is to promote greater awareness of impoverished conditions of Ukrainian orphanages serving special needs children with HIV/AIDS or severe physical and/or mental disabilities.

Funds raised will enable DVOU to continue to provide humanitarian aid and health care services to these orphanages, located in remote areas of Ukraine.

The lack of government funding and its proper allocation create dangerous living conditions, threatening orphans' lives. Throughout Ukraine, orphans in state care are seriously deprived of basic living necessities such as food, clothing, heating, plumbing and electricity. Death rates among orphaned children in Ukraine have increased over the past decade, as a result of undernourishment and the rapid development of childhood diseases.

Orphans with special needs are commonly not provided the physical, intellectual or emotional stimulation essential for healthy development. Causes for this include understaffing, lack of training or staff disinterest. Though some children are resilient, most develop physical, language and behavioral problems, such as the inability to sit or walk, speech delays, attachment disorders and psychological disturbances.

One of the DVOU's goals is to relieve and prevent such aftereffects by providing assistance through programs supporting personnel and adding volunteers.

Each silicone wristband bears the DVOU signature mark, embossed on a gray and red swirled design. The gray color in the wristband symbolizes children with physical and mental disabilities; the red color symbolizes HIV/AIDS awareness.

These DVOU wristbands make a very powerful statement in support of this important cause. They help build awareness to raise the necessary funds to aid orphanages for customized projects, which improve the quality of life of special needs children in Ukraine.

Readers may support the DVOU awareness wristband campaign by purchasing wristbands at $3 each at www.DVOUa.org or by writing to: 841 Highland Ave., No. 263, Jenkintown, PA 19046.

Lillian Horodysky is executive director of Disabled and Vulnerable Orphans of Ukraine, a non-profit, 501(c) (3) organization aimed at identifying and resolving critical issues and emerging areas of need in the lives of special-needs orphans suffering from HIV/AIDS, cerebral palsy, Downs Syndrome, tuberculosis and other diseases. Services offered include humanitarian aid, health care, advocacy, education and training.

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