There is no soul-food like having fun whilst helping others – come to our fundraiser and feel the love!

Follow this link to our Fundraiser page for more info :

http://www.futureyouthproject.com/fundraiser/

PLEASE NOTE
The date of our fundraiser has been changed in order that our nearest and dearest supporters are all able to attend. Many of you expressed great disappointment in not being able to attend the weekend of the 27th April and so we decided to postpone the event until 4th June, a weekday night.
We at FYP are happy to welcome new supporters into our fold but also hold dear all those that have supported us in the past and although our annual fundraiser must raise funds, it is also a time where those that have supported us over the last two years can hear directly about the wonderful things their kind donations have helped us achieve. Its also a time for us all to come together and have some fun!
We deeply regret that some of you may not be able to attend due to the date change but hope you understand our motives. The decision was not taken lightly.
Huge Love,
Vinca & Clare and all those at FYP.

The FYP Mission for 2013

All at FYP decided that we should concentrate our efforts on one on-going project in Ukraine and one in England, linked by the annual journey undertaken between the two.

In Ukraine we have seen the incredible change in the lives of 9 of the orphans with special needs whom we moved, from the main building at Kalinovka orphanage, into the Happy House family-style home. All of you who donated to FYP over the last two years made this happen….you have made 9 children happier than they ever dreamed they could be. They are now safe, loved and are starting to be educated thanks to YOU.

But this project represents far more than changing the lives of these 9 children, it represents a model for greater change. The progress of the children in the Happy House has amazed not only the carers that work with them but many others and has got the attention of the local authorities who now express an interest in these children and for the first time see potential in them and others like them.

This small project now stands as an example of what is possible, with a little effort, and is a signal to all those caring for people with special needs in Ukraine that they can achieve similar goals.

To read more about Kalinovka, cut & paste this this link :

http://deti.zp.ua/eng/show_article.php?a_id=90002

To see photos from the Happy House, cut & paste this link :

http://deti.zp.ua/eng/show_article.php?a_id=505707

We continue to support the younger residents at Kalinovka but this year we are setting ourselves a huge challenge and want you to help us achieve it. We want to help the adults at Kalinovka.

These men with special needs have been abandoned by their families. They have no mothers or fathers, sisters or brothers, grand parents or even friends to care about what happens to them. They have seen no love and absolutely no efforts to educate them. The are dubbed ‘uneducatable’ by those that ‘care’ for them.

It is hard to motivate anyone to care about adults with special needs, yet they respond to just the tinniest of attention. When we arrived in Kalinovka last summer most of the men spend their time sitting on the grass rocking. I looked at them and thought they would be impossible to communicate with but within JUST A FEW HOURS most has stopped rocking and were following us around taking part in simple activities and even playing football. Their rocking was simply due to utter boredom in most cases.

In the winter they are stuck in one indoor room with nothing but wooden benches and a TV in a cage blasting crackly TV programs at them. They have no activities, no visitors, no possessions, not even their own clothes. The carers that work with them basically herd them around, stop them harming themselves and give them basic meals. In the summer they at least have the garden… but its full of rusty decaying ‘exercise equipment’ which is unusable, so again they have nothing to do.

I have met these men. They are gentle-men. They smile, they want to communicate, they are fascinated by anything new; a ball, a pen & paper, a camera. They have nothing, yet when I am with them they give to me anything they have; a song, a hug, piece of broken toy.

No body cares what happens to these men. They are worth zero in the eyes of Ukrainian society. But we value them. We want to help these men that no one else wants to help. We want to change their lives FOREVER and with your help we can.

How? One of the main problems is that all the men live in one huge group and a small minority of bullies rule the roost and abuse the younger or weaker men. We intend to divide their huge building into seperate ‘houses’ each homing carefully selected ‘family’ groups. We will then employ a dedicated team of carers to look after and work with them. The quality of these carers will be the key to the success of this project. They cannot be like most carers working in these types of institutes ie. unmotivated, poorly educated and unsuitable for their jobs. Our team of Ukrainian carers will be selected for their characters as well as qualifications; we will forge them into a team of pioneers in the care for adults with special needs in Ukraine. We will get professional volunteers from the UK to train them and continually monitor and mentor them.

We will educate the men at Kalinovka by teaching them simple skills and crafts as well as numeracy and literacy. Then we will show the world what is possible and act as a catalist for changing attitudes to people with special needs across Ukraine and beyond.

Help us by donating now, or by offering us a regular monthly donation which will guarantee sustained help for these men – remember currently they have no one else to give them a brighter future.

Email me if you can offer even just a small sum on a monthly basis : vinca@futureyouthproject.com

or donate a single amount now here :

http://83.223.124.227/~futureyo/shop-donate/

  

This is where they currently spend their winter :

…and this is where they spend summer.