Major Projects
“Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.” James 1:27 (NLT)
Orphanage Programs
Over 20 years ago we began learning programs in 2 Ukraine government facilities for orphaned and wards who have mental and physical disabilities. The facilities originally were for children aged 4 years and up. Currently most of the residents are adults; the 4-year-olds have grown up!
We helped the orphanage to hire local ladies to address the mental and physical needs of the special residents. These women act as teachers, physical therapists, and extra caregivers based on the needs of our wards. We train, vet, and support these women using your donations.
Alongside these programs, we are able to meet extra needs as they arose. Diesel has been needed for generators during wartime, medicines for special needs and unforeseen illnesses, food supplies for cooking activities, and a variety of other types of support from Catalyst for Kids has been instrumental in keeping these facilities able to provide a high level of care.
Funding for our learning programs comes directly from donations we receive, as the Ukrainian government cannot fund the schooling for these children.
The Team of Volunteers
Our team of volunteers is made up of children we visited in orphanages who are now grown young adults. We connect them with other young adults and older mature Christians who help provide mentoring relationships. Together we hold monthly activities, find job opportunities when needed, give guidance in life’s troubles, and most importantly, help them find self-worth through opportunities to be involved in ministries helping others even less fortunate than themselves.
Our team has become a great group of volunteers who make many of our other projects successful.
They are super shoppers and proficient packers when it comes to assembling food parcels, our annual “seeds of hope” project, Christmas time gifts for children, medical/hygiene bags for distribution to needy families, and many other needs which require many helping hands.
They also cook and serve in our soup kitchen as well as deliver to homeless and shut-ins. Because of their experience, they were the first to help with shopping, cooking, serving, cleaning and comforting the thousands who fled through the Vinnytsia area when the wars began, both in 2014 and since the full war in 2022. They are also part of the teams who visit numerous orphanages, nursing homes and rehabilitation centers. On these trip they are welcome and sympathetic guests as they can relate to the children and residents better than anyone else, having grown up in similar situations.
Sunday Soup Kitchen
Catalyst For Kid’s Soup Kitchen is open each Sunday. Our volunteer team provides a welcoming atmosphere for lonely widows, war displaced families, and anyone who needs a hot meal and place to “fit in”.
But this ministry is more than just a soup kitchen! There is singing, prayer for each other, a devotion, bible quizzes, a chance to share about special needs (usually medical needs), a time to sign up for showers during the week, and then a hot bowl of soup and bagged meal to take home for later. After serving those who come, our volunteers take to the streets where they deliver a meal and encouragement to other homeless folks and local shut-ins.
We provide much of the funding and sometimes coordinate food deliveries for this ministry.
Partners in Medical Outreach and Development
PMOD is a ministry developed by one of our board members, Dr. Dave McLaughlin. Dr. Dave has spent many years living and working in Sub-Sarahan Africa and continues to take trips to maintain relations and support local doctors.
Dr. Dave has summarized PMOP’s goals and practices below:
1. Continuity of Care. We try to go to the same villages each year and establish local contacts that we involve in the delivery of that care, involving the local church as much as possible, buying our medicines at the same pharmacy, and using the same translators every year.
2. Development of Essential Resources. The development of a clean, dependable water source, adequate protein, and available medicines is good medical care; short-term medical teams are an ideal starting point for the development of these resources.
3. Health Maintenance and Education. This incorporates things that we take for granted such as the use of soap and clean water for skin care, wound care, clean bandages, and vitamins. We have to teach the ‘how’s and whys’ of good wound care as well as make supplies available that are affordable.
4. Development of a Referral Base. We have developed a relationship with a private hospital where we can take patients who absolutely need inpatient care.
5. Slow, Controlled Expansion. With God’s guidance and wisdom we hope to continue to expand to the furthest and most inaccessible villages without it consuming every resource.
6. Everything We Do is Gospel Focused and Saturated with the Love of Christ. What we do for the people in need and in pain – how we listen, the compassion we show, and even how we touch them – gives testimony to our relationship to Christ. It authenticates the claims we make about ourselves and about Jesus Christ being the Son of God and Savior of the world.