LifeNets Summer 2011 Mission to Vinogradov, Ukraine
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Posted June 26, 2011
This July LifeNets will be sponsoring an English Class in the Carpathian Region of Ukraine from July 5 -20, 2011. Vasil and Irina Polichko, directors, bring in children from Vinogradov and surrounding areas along with their orphans and street children that they take care of themselves. LifeNets has chosen five people to go on the third such mission. Previous ones can be reviewed at http://lifenets.org/vinogradov. Those going are Oleh Kubik (coordinator), Natasha Kubik, Heather Kubik, Gregory and Stephka Zajack.
Oleh Kubik who speaks both Ukrainian and English was born of Ukrainian immigrants. He teaches ESL (English as a Second Language) in the local school district in New York and works with Ukrainian immigrants in the Binghamton, New York area.
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Natasha, Oleh Kubik's daughter has finished her second year of college. She has also worked with street children in Sri Lanka and India.
Heather Kubik has been on several mission trips to foreign counties and has worked with disadvantage children. Gregory and Stephka are brother and sister from Southern California. Their father is of Ukrainian heritage. Both are familiar with some Ukrainian.
The purpose of the trip is humanitarian in nature. They will assist Vasyl Polichko, a local pastor, and his wife Irina who put on this summer camp annually. They will be there to assist their program by teaching English and expanding the world of these disadvantaged children. They will be either exposing these students to English or expanding their knowledge of the English language and will be doing it through conversation, writing, listening, speaking and singing in English. Also they will be there to mutually share their cultures with one another. They will also be involved with their activities of sports and travel. They have every intention of making friends for life.
Here's what some of the participants have to say about their goals as they leave....
From Gregory Zajac -
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"My goal in teaching these children is to give them the confidence to aspire for a better future life than they have today. I hope the fact that my grandparents came from Ukraine will help me connect with these children in a more meaningful way during my time with them. I also believe this experience will help prepare me for service in the Kingdom of God, when Christ will send us to far-off regions of the globe to teach his way to people who have never known it."
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From Heather Kubik -
"In Ukraine, I hope to experience a taste of the Ukrainian culture and
get a better idea of where our family came from. While working with the
kids, I am excited to work with them, teaching them English, but also
learning from them. It will be interesting working around the language
barrier, but I am excited to find ways to bond with the kids and enjoy
my time with them. I will be teaching English as a second language
through pictures and stories to the kids and plan to make it as fun as
possible! I am also very excited to see where my grandparents grew up
and meet relatives over in Ukraine!"
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From Stephka Zajac -
"A personal goal of mine for this trip is to reach out to some children in need, and show them some of God's loving nature through my service to them. I'm looking forward to being immersed in a different country, culture, and language. As a Ukrainian-American, this trip is especially special to me because it is the first time I will be traveling to the country of my cultural heritage, which will allow me to learn more about my family history."
- Informational letter from Vasyl Polichko and "Light of Love" Mission dated December 16, 2009
- Victor Kubik blog of Travel to Vinogradov, Ukraine and other places in summer 2009
- United News Article by Cindy Harper about Serving in Ukraine the last two years teaching English as a Second Language.
- Teaching English as a Second Language in Vinogradov, Ukraine July 2009 by Cherie Zahora
- Read the impressions of our four volunteers who worked with these children in June 2008. They taught English as a Second Language and helped with day camp.