Humanitarian --Odessa, Ukraine--City of Cats, "Way Home"

Odessa is located in the southern part of Ukraine next to the Black Sea. Odessa is a tourist town in the summer season because of it's beautiful beaches. The beaches had soft sand but also jellyfish. 

There are many parks, especially for children. There is one main park, Taras Shevchenko, which includes a Ferris wheel and carnival type rides. There is a haunted house and an upside down house. This park was our main walk to and from the city center to our hotel. There are a lot of roaming cats.

Each day we walked about 7-10 miles. It is easy to get around and so many things to see. The restaurants were amazing. Even though the looks from the outside may not be appealing, inside the restaurants were quaint, clean, and each one had some sort of a theme.  We find that with every Ukrainian restaurant. 

There is a long walking, skating, scootering, and biking path on the hill next to the beach which no cars are allowed. The path starts at the end of the Taras Shevchenko park and through a forest of trees overlooking the Black Sea.

We visited a project that LDS Charities provided mattresses, pillows, and linens, and a washing machine. They take in orphans or children who have social problems at home. The home has about 9 boys and 8 girls living in these dorm type rooms from ages 7-17. 

"Way Home of Odessa" teaches the children different skills so by the time they are 18 they can go out in the world. There are other children who visit the home that might have some troubles at home and need some psychological counseling. There is also a preschool program. LDS Charities, in 2020, provided some hideaway bunk beds and mattresses they use for the children to take naps. 

"Way Home" has classes such as: pottery, art, gardening, farming, karate, health and fitness, cooking, etc. They have 8 centers and around 300 children that participate in the various centers. 

The home we visited used to be a Soviet manufacture building that was converted it into this home. The walls are painted with all sorts of colorful children's pictures. The tree post is a load bearing pillar that has been plastered over to look like a tree trunk.

The children who live there have duties each day to clean, wash, pick up, sweep, and all sorts of chores. There are 2 young adults from Germany to help at this center for 1 year. They learn the language and help the children. 

One of our favorite things to do is to walk around the town and take as many pictures as possible. We love to go into the churches. Spaso-Probrazhensky Cathedral is one that we visited. Inside we witnessed a blessing of the people and also a baptism for a baby. The prayers were lovely as they sang to bless the people. 

Odessa has some of the most interesting architecture. It is called "The Pearl of the Black Sea" It is a warm water port. In 1794 the city of Odessa was founded by a decree of the Russian empress Catherine the Great. 

Potemkin Stairs is one of the famous sites which we climbed down. It is considered the formal entrance to the city. There are 192 steps. 

We took the train from Kiev terminal to Odessa terminal. On the way there we had some nice seats with a lunch box. On the way home we took the sleeping train and slept our way home. We can't decide which we liked better, or which one we liked least. 

Humanitarian -- Sofia, Pazardzhik, Buhovo, and Plovdiv, Bulgaria

 St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral is in the center of Sofia, capital of Bulgaria. Walking on the streets and sides walks are tricky. They mostly have cobblestone paved roads and sidewalks. We tripped on almost all the walkways throughout the city. The streets are mostly one way and very skinny. There was a park where street vendors sell their artwork. 

It is very easy to get around this city. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-days Saints' church and mission home is about 6 blocks from this cathedral.  

It was 80 degrees when we arrived and the day was lovely. At night we walked across the street to the Doctor's Garden Park. This monument is dedicated to all the doctors who had lost their life during war times. 

Many families and children were at the park till all hours of the night. This park is about 2 blocks from the city center.

The Church of Latter-day Saint missionaries helped us with translating. We are thankful for their time and knowledge of the language.

We visited four organizations that serve the people in Bulgaria. One was a children's hospital for diseases. Another helps the homeless and the disabled children. One was the University Hospital that is public and in need of medical equipment. The other was an organization that works with refugees, Roma/Gypsies and helping children with education to learn the Bulgarian language.

Here is a good site to read regarding Roma People

One of our projects (ADRA-partner) was in a small village called, Pazardzhik. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints donated  toward building this medical center for the city. The city has a lot of Roma People. They are in a very poverty stricken state. The medical facility will have one GP doctor and one dentist. The rest of the building will consist of social environment and psychological Therapy, bathrooms and showers, and it is even set up for handicap. There is also a children's room. This project will be open in February of 2022.

Plovdiv is one of our favorite places. Bulgarians refers to Plovdiv as "The City of the Seven Hills". We walked the hills. 

Plovdiv was known by the name Philippopolis and founded as far back as 359 BCE. There still remains walls and part of a Roman colosseum.

Our last project is just outside of Sofia. This hospital was situated by the mountains in a lovely area. However, this place is a hostel for homeless along with rehabilitation patients. The village is called, Buhovo. 

We are heart stricken at the poverty level of the building and facility. The concrete and tiles are crumbling, the paint is chipped, there is rust on every window, the mattresses are sagging, the rooms are very small with up to 4 people in them. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints have donated some medical equipment and mattress covers for some of the beds in the past. We were told by the head doctor that some of their homeless were just dropped off by family members or others and never were heard of again. This project is probably one of the most emotionally felt humanitarian efforts we have encounter so far. 

Because this hospital does not have heaters the staff put all the women in one room and the men in another just to keep them warm during the winter time. LDS Charities will be donating heaters for 30 rooms, and 2 for larger rooms. LDS Charities will also supply them with new mattresses. 

St. Sophia and The Golden Gate--Ukraine

 The Golden Gate of Kyiv was the main gate in the 11th century fortification of Kyiv. The structure was dismantled in the Middle Ages. It was rebuilt by the Soviets in 1982.

The golden gates were built/constructed by Varoslav the Wise, which we can trace our ancestry back to him. It was built in 1017-1024 at about the same time that Saint Sophia Cathedral was erected.

St. Sophia- Kyiv

The first foundations were laid in 1037 or 1011. It took about two decades to complete. It is one of the famous sites to see in Kyiv.

Yaroslav the Wise constructed this cathedral in theory. He is buried there also.

St Sophia survived  WWII. It is the first heritage site in Ukraine to be inscribed on the World Heritage List. 

This artwork is made of completely of eggs. We think they are painted wooden eggs. 

An egg is one of the oldest mythological symbols of the world. The Ukrainian's have brought back and preserved the painted egg