Ukraine, a country roughly the same geographic size as Texas, is a beautiful country with an ugly problem - street children.

Officially there are around 200,000 street children but those numbers are artificially low because many of the children living in the streets do not have birth certificates or any other documentation so they don't "officially" exist. Those who work with the street children believe the actual number to be closer to 800,000.

Most have never experienced unconditional love. Many have been prostituted by family members, neglected, physically abused or abandoned.

Once living in the streets, the children have other horrors to face.  Bitter Ukraine winters pose serious problems and the children must find shelter or freeze to death. 

One child seeking shelter slept in an apartment complex entry way.  Tenants told him to leave several times but he had no where to go, so he continued to sleep there.  One night, while he slept, several apartment tenants poured gasoline on him and set him on fire. He survived but the ordeal left him with severe physical and emotional scars.

Many children find shelter in sewer tunnels.  These are large underground tunnels with sewer and water pipes running through them.  The hot water pipes that supply the apartment complexes boiler systems keep the tunnels warm enough for the children to survive.

Girls living on the streets face prostitution and rape. Many of the girls become pregnant and since they cannot care for a baby they abandon the infants at the local hospitals.

As a result of the mistreatment of the street children, they don't trust anyone but House of Hope workers are breaking down barriers and showing the children unconditional love. 

Our goal is to reach these children with the love of Jesus Christ.  We believe that we must meet their physical needs in order to introduce them to the One who loves them enough to die for them.

Please visit our photo gallery to see pictures of these children and the living conditions of some of the homes.