Kidsave is proud to announce that two alumni of our Ukraine Corporate Mentoring program have joined the team as staff members. Vova Dorodka and Olena Luhantseva have joined the Ukrainian Mentoring Association as the SuperMentors Project Leader and the Assistant of the Coordinator of the Corporate Mentoring program.
Twenty-two-year-old Olena first joined the Pathway to Success program in 2020 when she was living in institutional care. Because of the pandemic, her first event was virtual, but she still remembers it, recalling that the teens in attendance learned about different opportunities and possibilities for their future.
The workforce readiness programming and having the opportunity to tour different companies once in-person events resumed were very impactful for Olena.
“The program gave me a broader view on different opportunities and jobs that I could pursue in life,” she said.
While she took a lot from the educational aspects of the program, it was the community that the program provided that she enjoyed the most.
“The Corporate Mentoring program was like a big family for me. The staff, my peers, the other children in the program, they were all so open and very supportive,” said Olena.
Today, Olena serves as the Assistant to the Corporate Mentoring Program Coordinator. Her responsibilities include data management and event planning. She is now helping to organize and plan the program activities and events that meant so much to her for the next generation of youth participants.
Twenty-two-year-old Vova shared similar sentiments about the Pathway to Success program when recalling his first event. Vova also joined the program in 2020, but his first event was in person. He had heard about the program from a friend, and he wanted to see what it was all about. When he saw the opportunities the program provides, he realized it was a chance for him to learn and be successful in life.
Vova found a role model in Pavlo Shulha, the President of the Mentoring Association, and the two became close. As an adoptive dad and someone who has worked in child welfare for many years, Pavlo knows firsthand the importance of mentorship and creating opportunities for growth for teens aging out of care. For Vova, Pavlo was someone who believed in him and encouraged him to see how bright his future can really be.
Vova’s work for the Mentoring Association is in Communications. He serves as a spokesperson for the program as he himself is a living testament to the impact it can have. He also helps with writing blog posts for the Mentoring Association website, social media content, and content for the various presentations he takes part in, advocating for the program and the need for mentorship for youth in institutional care.
“It’s not work to me –This is a calling,” said Vova. “It’s more of a passion because it’s what I really love to do, and I know how important it is to develop the Mentoring Association and make it known all over the world.”
But his role at the Mentoring Association is just part of Vova’s plan for his future.
“My main goal is to become the President of Ukraine one day,” he explained. “But before I can become president, I have a lot of work to do in child welfare and in the Mentoring Association to help orphaned children by sharing my own experience, by telling how the Corporate Mentoring program can help them, and by recruiting more mentors for these children because it’s very important.”
Olena has big dreams for herself, too. She is in college studying education, and she hopes to one day run a mentoring program and help change the lives of children the way her life was changed.
“The kids who are living in institutional care, they need support, and they need to be heard by society,” said Olena. “They cannot just pretend that nothing is happening. They think the children are staying in institutional care and they have a place to live, food to eat, and that’s enough. For these children, unfortunately, the statistics are very sad. If they do not have support from trusted adults, from mentors who care, they end up in bad situations.”
Vova shared that the reality of the situation for children in Ukraine cannot be adequately expressed.
“You need to come and see it for yourself because it doesn’t matter how much we talk about it, it’s too hard to express how difficult it is for the kids to live in these institutions or in orphanages where no one actually cares about them,” said Vova. “It is vitally important to have adults who they can trust. It’s not about coming over with a bunch of gifts, taking a few pictures for social media, and then leaving. It is important to actually come to the children and ask them what they need. For many, they just want to talk. They want someone to listen to them.”
It is the mission of Kidsave’s work in Ukraine to find loving families for orphaned children or caring mentors to support them. We are honored to have Vova and Olena joining us in this effort. With their experiences and passion for children, they are invaluable members of our team.
Learn more about our work in Ukraine and give your support today.
