Brown Bus, Lviv, Ukraine

While visiting the Livchytsi Boarding School, we were seated in the Auditorium when 9 year-old Iulia came in and immediately sat between Talu S. and Sharon P.  Dr. Jean T. was present and spoke to her in Russian.  Iulia had never experienced a visit from Americans before.  She was not shy at all.  She told Dr. Jean that she is a good doctor.

We then left the Auditorium and went into the classrooms.  This made an opportunity for us to visit with Tatyana V., a teacher with 6 years experience.  She remarked how happy she was to have us visit the school and give the aid to the children. 

This is a boarding school where about 100 children stay the night on weekdays.  Over the weekends, some children (about 30%) go home.  The teachers work from 7 a.m. until 9 p.m. and then one nurse stays with the children overnight.  After dinner the children have about 2 hours to complete their homework and then they have free time to play games and watch movies or cartoons.  They also have computers they can play games on in one room, but no video games.

The location was an 1885 Mansion built for a Duke as a gift from the King.  The Duke never really lived there, but visited sometimes.  After he left, the next owner emptied out all the furnishings and left the home to go into disrepair.  It was empty for a number of years before being turned into a Boarding School in 1956.  Major repairs have been done to the roof, heating system, and plumbing.  More repairs are necessary in the children’s living quarters.  We observed many places where the steps are worn and slanting due to the years of use. 

The windows are made of wood and need to be replaced with sealed ones.  The wood or metal beds that had mattresses were misshapen and worn.  The beds were all neatly made and the floors were clean.  Even with the little they have, they try to make it as nice and cheerful as possible.  It is so difficult to see the conditions they have to live in.

Our time with the children was wonderful.  They were very open and polite.  Even when we were walking into the facility, they were greeting us and holding the doors.  Some even approached us with handshakes or hugs.  They were very friendly, even though they could tell we didn’t understand what they were saying!  As we were leaving, they came to the bus and hugged us goodbye, waving as we drove away.