Based out of Berthoud, Colorado, Ukraine Orphan Outreach is a local non-profit you should know about that is having a global impact.
UOO works to help the kids who are falling between the cracks in the system, by establishing transition homes for orphans who are aging out of the system as well as helping to facilitate adoptions of older orphans with adoptive parents in the US. They also organize camps and other activities for orphans in Ukraine, to be able to have fun and hear the good news of Jesus Christ.
Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world. – James 1:27
When we lived in Hungary, my wife and I were involved in ministry to orphans, and we saw how difficult life is particularly for kids as they get older and especially when they age out of the system and have to move out on their own.
Here are some statistics from UOO’s website:
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12,000 children age out of orphanages every year with no where to go.
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70% of the boys are incarcerated after only 2 years of being out of an orphanage.
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60% of young girls that age out of orphanages are pulled into sex trafficking. |
10% of the children who age out of orphanages commit suicide within 2 years.
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Friends of mine here in Longmont have adopted through UOO, a couple from our church met on a UOO mission trip, and through UOO I have made good contacts and friends in Ukraine, including at Ukrainian Evangelical Theological Seminary, where I will be visiting in March when I will be in Kyiv for a pastors and leaders conference.
How You Can Help:
Become a Sponsor
For $35/month, you can sponsor an aged-out orphan to live in one of the transitional homes. Click here for more information.
Attend Their Annual Fundraiser
This year’s fundraising event will be held on March 9, 2018 at Foundations Church in Loveland, CO from 5:30-9:00 PM.
Tickets are $20/person, $35/couple, $50/family – and can be purchased here.
My wife an I attended their fundraiser two years ago, and they put on a great event.
Donate Online
If you’d like to support their work with a donation, you can do that online here.
Here is a video which shows what they do in their transition homes:
Pray for this ministry and help spread the word about the important work they are doing!
Theology for the People 