Sevastopol Update

On Tuesday, we visited Sevastopol, a large city on the Black Sea coast. Just recently, Mulberry added a second Abandoned Baby Ward ministry in this city. Our new worker, Olya, is married with two sons and has a heart for serving these children. She is working for less than the minimum wage.

When we arrived at the hospital, I had to wait outside while Olya went in to get permission for me to visit. She is still new to the hospital staff and has to be careful about protocol.

We entered through a narrow, rusted door. The halls and stairways are unlighted. I’m not sure whether the dark made the place look better or worse. But, it sure didn’t look like any hospital in the U.S.

The Abandoned Baby Ward consists of four rooms on the second floor. There are two rooms for the children and two treatment rooms. The treatment rooms are set up with IV stands and inhalers. The windows are so leaky that they plug the leaks with pillows.

There were four children in the ward. In the first room, there was a two year old from one of the orphanages. He was being treated for “breathing difficulties” and treatment includes isolation. He stood up on the stained linens in his metal crib and clapped his hands when we entered. The “toy” he was playing with was one of his socks. He has Down syndrome. The nurse said he was much improved and would be going home soon.

The other room had three children. There was a three year old boy and his one year sister. The two have been removed from their parents. We weren’t given any details but the little girl jerked away whenever one of us touched her.

The third girl appeared to be about three years old as well. There isn’t any way to know for sure because she was abandoned in the local train station. The authorities are trying to identify her parents.

In Ukraine, each hospital patient is responsible for providing his or her own food. There is no kitchen. The nurses in this ward are given a budget of $0.20 per day per child for food. The children eat cereal two or three times a day unless something more substantial is donated. This will be part of the assistance Olya provides.

I’ll have one or two more updates later.

Don’t grow weary,

Charles