SINEGORSKI CHILDRENS' ORPHANAGE Sinegorski ( Sin-yeh-gorskee), Russia is located in the Krasnodar region of Russia well south of Moscow. This region borders on the Black Sea and the international border of Russia and the country of Georgia. Sinegorski itself is a very small community in the Caucasus Mountain Range south of the city of Krasnodar, the capitol of this region. The Caucasus Mountains form the border between Georgia and Russia running roughly east and west from the Black Sea towards the Caspian Sea. I tried to locate Sinegorski on a map of Russia without success. This particular orphanage is very small. It consists of six staff members; Natalia Valerievna is the Director, and ten children from the ages of seven to nineteen years old. Russian law requires children to leave orphanages by their eighteenth birthday. The children over seventeen are allowed to stay in a rooming facility owned by the orphanage only because they have no other place to go. The main facility itself consists of a gray, one-story building with a single room for the boys and a single room for the girls. Several other rooms are for classes, staff and the kitchen. Lest there be any misunderstanding, this orphanage is not for children with Leprosy, it is for children whose parents are either affected by or have succumbed to leprosy ( though it is not exclusive of other factors leading to orphaned children ). I was rather surprised to hear about the incidence of leprosy in the world yet today, as I was under the impression that it had been largely eradicated by cleanliness standards having risen in most of the world and easy treatments available. I did a little research on Leprosy and here is what I found out in short-form. Leprosy is a bacterial infection that affects primarily peripheral nerves of the body (outside of the brain and spinal cord) resulting in loss of feeling in hands and feet primarily. It also affects skin, resulting in visible sores and mucous membranes around the eyes and nose that will lead to blindness if left untreated. There are 3 types of leprosy, one is a weak form, one is a very severe form and the third can have characteristics of either. All are relatively easily controllable or curable depending on when they are diagnosed. They are generally NOT contagious in any form. Leprosy is known to be transmitted by very long-term contact with an already severely infected individual but can also be transmitted by armadillos, bedbugs or mosquitos. In 95% of cases of exposure the immune system usually fights the bacteria off without additional help. The rest require some form of antibiotic treatment leading to full recovery and cure. Leprosy is found mostly in Asia, Africa and Latin America with few cases in the United States, all are cases of immigrants that carried the disease in with them. The most common age for the disease to start is in the twenty to thirty age-range. Seven of the children in this orphanage are at risk of infection due to exposure from their parents that eventually died from the infection. This orphanage is very poor and the regional administration is considering closing it down and moving these children to other facilities, as a result. Children from the orphanage have so little that they will go to the woods around the orphanage to collect herbs for sale and it may make them enough money to buy them each an ice cream in the village. In the spring of 2004, Needy Feet donated a small sum of money to the orphanage that was used to purchase paper, pens and pencils, as well as little games and other such items that the children do not have. In August of 2004, the children of the Harmony Baptist Church Vacation Bible School class of San Antonio, Texas had graciously donated $250.00 to this orphanage and it had been forwarded to the orphanage where it was used to buy gifts and a summer party for the orphanage children. You can read more about this party on page 3. I want to introduce you to the children of this orphanage. They are grouped in two sections, the first group is the children who are most at risk of infection and the second group is those who are at the orphanage for various other reasons. I will give as much information about each child as I have. For some of these children I have nothing more than name and age. Aleksander Kurbanov – 18. Too old to legally stay in the orphanage, the Director let’s him visit as he is well behaved and has a local job building houses. Ludmilla Kurbanova – 16. Lyuda has emotional problems. She ran away from the orphanage a while ago, she apparently found some kind of job in the city of Krasnodar where the police found her. Nobody seems to know what happened to her there, she was found beaten up by the police. Sergei Kurbanov – 14. Helen Kurbanova – 13 ( Lena ) Aleksander Novikov – 10 Sergei Novikov – 9 Helen Novikova – 7 ( Lena ) The above children have no parents. They are of the group whose parents died from exposure to leprosy. Most of the kids here are physically and emotionally behind in their development. Grigory Mikhalevi – 14 Vera Mikhalevi – 13. This brother and sister are very nice and very smart. After their parents died they were taken into their Grandmother’s apartment in the city of Samara. They ended up in the orphanage when their Grandmother recently died and they will inherit the apartment when they reach the age of 18. Tonya – 19 Tonya works in a kindergarten school in Sinegorski and lives in the orphanage. She is reportedly a nice and well-behaved girl. You may have noticed that the surnames of some of the children are similar. These names, in Russian, include an “A” at the end of the surname for the females. As you can see, most of the children have at least one sibling living in the orphanage with them. Please join me in praying for these children, their health, their physical and emotional needs and for the staff that cares for them. In the winter of 2004, it was brought to my attention that a small orphanage in Sinegorski, Russia was so strapped for cash that they had little in the way of funds for gifts for the children. Needy Feet Ministries put together a donation that would allow them to buy gifts they needed for the children. The money was sent to Vera Chumak. Vera lives in the village of Ilsky, 25 kilometers from Sinegorski, with her husband and two children. Vera volunteers her time to visit the children and spends that time ministering to them, talking to them and helping the staff where she can to make the children feel that someone cares for them. Vera purchased gifts and games and other little things that the children have never had. These gifts were well received by the children and the staff. Vera and her husband, Aleksander and two boys, Sergei, 9, and Dima, 8, live in a brick home in Ilsky. Their home is without running water, hot or cold, they must use an outhouse on the property as their bathroom. Aleksander was laid-off from his job for almost seven months in 2004, but is thankfully working again. Vera has been doing her volunteer work at the orphanage for several years and enjoys her ministry to these children. I came to know of Vera’s work through her friend, Svetlana, who used to live next to Vera in Ilsky. In the summer of 2004, the Harmony Baptist Church called me to say that the children on their Vacation Bible School wanted to make a donation to this orphanage. The teacher, Vicki, set up the donation and it was sent to Vera. In August, an outdoor picnic was held at the orphanage and gifts were given to the children. Before the party, Vera had asked the children to give her a list of things that they wanted. The older boys and girls asked for clothes and purses, the younger children asked for toys and games. Each child also received a new pair of shoes. It was astonishing to learn how much Vera was able to purchase for the kids. Vera, and her sister Luba had gone to the local stores and talked to them about what she was doing for the kids and they agreed to give her the items for a much-reduced cost. Vera was able to provide food for the party, as well. Vera also handed out booklets that Needy Feet purchased from Child Evangelism Fellowship of Russia, for the children. They are little workbooks that talk about Jesus and salvation, all in the Russian language. Pictures from the party are available. In anticipation of winter and Christmas, Needy Feet Ministries put together another, larger donation towards a Christmas party. Knowing that the children would not have much in the way of gifts, the donation was to include presents for the staff of the orphanage, the children and for Vera’s children, plus, the food that would be served to the staff and children. Again, Vera worked miracles in her purchases for the children. She bought each child a watch. The older children received a camera and a bicycle was purchased for all of the children to ride. These children had never owned such things. In addition, the children received their personal gifts that Vera had asked them to list for her. Each of the children received a gift bag containing 5 items for each child and a bag of sweets. New shoes for Grigory and his sister, a radio controlled car for Sergei and a little doll and stroller for Lena. Two of the older children received their own Sony “Walkman” stereos. Each child also received jeans, toys, boots, hats and slippers. One of the boys received a fishing pole, too. Vera, and one of the church members, Olga put together a presentation for the children of the Christmas story and of Jesus. Vera played the Angel delivering the good news to Mary and Joseph. After the presentation, games were played with the children, which was a great deal of fun for them. There were songs by the children of the church and the orphanage children as well, during the presentation. During all this activity, it was noted that some of the church children seemed almost envious of the gifts received by the orphans. Vera had asked a friend of the family, Vladimir Volokh, to drive them ( Vera’s husband had to work that day ) and the presents and food to the church for the presentation and feast. Vera and several church staff members had purchased food for the children and laid out fresh fruits, pineapple, kiwi and coconut, such fruits the children had never tasted. There were also oranges, bananas and other sweets, cookies and cakes, with juices to drink, as well as a meal for each child and the staff. The facility Director, Natalia Valerievna, told Vera later, that, “we spoil the children”. She liked hearing that because it was the whole idea of the party. During and after the presentation, presents and meal, which lasted several hours, 14 year old Sergei came to Vera several times to thank her and give her hugs for his presents. Vera conveyed to Svetlana how the children sometimes have a hard time expressing themselves to others, but they all seemed to be very happy with their gifts, she said that the children seemed to be astonished that the gifts were really for them. Vera and Needy Feet have agreed to form a partnership together, to support her efforts to minister to the children of this orphanage as long as the children are there. Vera does not know when they may close the facility, if they actually do. There are other orphanages near Vera and she is very interested in being a part of their lives as well. The Chumak family is not able to support Vera’s ministry to these children without outside help. She needs ministry seed money to operate. Needy Feet Ministries has committed to raising support for her efforts to minister to these children. Needy Feet is helping Vera to get in touch with the local Child Evangelism Fellowship Representative in her area. We believe the training and leadership provided by CEF Russia will benefit Vera’s efforts to reach out to the other facilities in her area. They also provide materials in print and video in Russian that she can use to minister to the kids. Needy Feet Ministries is looking for dedicated support for Vera through individuals and churches. Our goal is to provide her with one hundred and fifty dollars a month to cover the cost of her ministry and to help her cover the needs of her family, as well. Needy Feet Ministries does not take a percentage of donated funds for it’s own needs. Those administrative costs are completely covered. Every dollar sent for Vera will be sent to Vera for her work. Please pray about how you can help Vera reach out to these lonely boys and girls who have no parents to show them the love and care that they need in their lives. The amount required is small, but the impact of that amount is unknowable to us. The Lord will honor your efforts through Vera to reach these most vulnerable children. Please let me know how we can provide the information you need to make your decision. You can write to me at john@needyfeet.org, or call at 630 803 8312 anytime. Go to Top of the Page