The Story

In 2005, Kevin traveled in Ukraine on business. Before the trip, Jessica gathered good used clothing for Dad to drop off at a local orphanage she had read about on the Internet http://www.life2orphans.org/ While at the orphanage, the children were preparing for a holiday musical performance. Valya was in the performance. A little girl about 3 years old caught his eye by her engaging personality. Upon inquiring about the girl (Olya), he was told she had recently been brought to this orphanage after being abandoned by her mother, who was supposed to be in jail. The little girl, so it was told wasn't expected to live long as she was dying of cancer. After returning to US, Kevin sought information on getting treatment for Olya. Children's Hospital in Memphis and NW Airlines agreed to help the little girl. However, all the efforts were fruitless and Kevin couldn't find the right officials to sign off on the medical treatment. Taking her out of the country for treatment wasn't going to work.

The red flags are in support of the communist party. Pink (not present) in pictures supports the socialists. Blue supports pro-Russia Yanokovich. Most of the people gathered appear to be enjoying the loud music mostly. We steered clear of the main body.

The white flags are in support of Yulia, the sometimes ally of Yushenko.

Tomorrow we are on our way home. More pictures and stories to come later.

Today the team toured around Kyiv while a small delegation visited CNFA. The Orange protesters are in support of pro-west Yushenko. The locals tell us that people are brought in from around the country and paid $60 for coming and protesting.

The internet is a little difficult, especially when trying to edit and post pics due to language. Even though switched to English the local computers still have the menu in Russian or Ukr.

The pictures are teaching local kids at the orphanage about baseball. Some of the kids live with their family on some weekends as the family can't afford to feed them.

Today we left Poltava after teaching baseball at a local orphanage. The kids loved it. Very well behaved. For some of us, the hot water finally arrived for showers....of course the day we leave.

The drive back to Kyiv was uneventful. Kyiv is bustling, but the locals are a little nervous about the political situation. A police officer fleeced a bribe from the bus driver to get a permit to get downtown. We're really close to the demonstration area. Lots of flags and buses.

The guys check out the rich Ukrainian soil.

A local shows a long list of relatives from the village killed during ww2

A family of elderly head out of a village down the road. The next village is miles away.

Peer pressure for toasting is pretty strong. The guys are trying to figure out what to do about it???

Group picture in Poltava at the city center not far from our stay. Stalin leveled Poltava during ww2 in taking it back from Germany. The locals hoped Hitler was better than Stalin.

The group is in the middle of the second day of the conference. After some cultural glitches the first day, the conference is running very well. Lot's of connections have been established for future collaboration.

In Poltava, the heat is supplied through the heated water that is not very hot by the time it gets to at least some of us. A couple of the apartments have electric water heaters for showering. One does not.

Ladies cleaning the sidewalks with stick brooms begin at about 6 in the morning. Kind of hard to sleep through. A pack of dogs like tormenting sleeping Americanski's at about 3 am.

The food has been great. Our hosts have toned down the number of toasts, but still seems about seven too many.

After the conference, we will introduce students to baseball.

The cemetary pictures show Memorial Day

Team talks to kids from local orphanage

Gathering in Poltava

Scenes from neighborhood on north side of Poltava

Native entertainment at local restaurant

Donna meets with interpreter prior to the conference.

Ukrainian students 8th - 11th grade listen to Donna and Karyn talk about youth leadership and nutrition. The village is Reshetivka, located 20 km west of Poltava.

Ukrainian meals are often like a feast. Toasts are often done. Abstaining is becoming more acceptable, but one must be consistent. To drink with on and later refuse can be taken as an insult. Sometimes there is intense pressure. Other times not. Mainly, be consistent. The 3rd toast is always a toast to the women.

Life can have a negative overtone in the villages. The elderly lady lost her mother during the starvation period under Stalin. Above, pensioners glean grain after harvest. A man shows the name of a relative killed by the Nazis in WW2. The combine operates over 6,000 acres of wheat during the summer with a 12 foot wide head. A crew of 12 keeps the combine going. The combine is almost 40 years old.

Radiation levels are not a problem in this area. Actually the levels are lower than natural levels in much of the Midwest US.

This lady was drawing water at the well when I asked about taking a picture.

These are 7th graders outside their school. The bags are placed outside on a fence during school. Note the plastic.

Local Village

The average family income in this village is between 1200 and 3600 USD per year.