Hearts 4 Ukraine

As director of international Development with Upward Sports, I had the opportunity to meet Regina and Sasha Kyrylov while exploring opportunities in the Ukraine.  Regina is the daughter of a missionary from Mississippi, but she has spent most of her life in the Ukraine.  At the age of 18 she entered medical school and at 25 became a licensed OB-Gyn Doctor.  Sasha was a student at the Seminary in Odessa and met Regina through her father, a teacher there.  Sasha is an outstanding soccer player and computer expert.  We built a relationship through Upward where Sasha was managing all our leagues and camps there.  His passion for the children is awe inspiring, as is his ability to communicate on their level and teach effectively.  Upward discontinued international operations, yet Sasha and Regina wanted to continue the service to the children of the Ukraine.  I was asked to build a non-profit that could provide support for their respective services.  Hearts 4 Ukraine was developed to raise funding to support their activities as well as help them multiply their ministries.  Sasha is training leaders all over the Ukraine to conduct sports ministries in their areas.  Regina is travelling around with Medical Missionaries supporting their efforts, while awaiting an opening to serve in the local hospital.  They have a small, beautiful girl, and are a joy to spend time with.  The cost for them to operate their ministry is nowhere near what it would cost in the US, except for the cost of transportation, another of our key reasons for existing.

The children and youth of the Ukraine are in general somewhat sad.  Both of their parents usually work, and they are left to their own devices.  Organized sports dont exist, and if they do get a chance to play it is usually at school, unorganized and for a brief time.  To see the 4000 children we are going to reach this year kicking the soccer ball around, yelling with joy, and learning fair play, teamwork and spiritual truths is quite humbling. 

The use of abortion as birth control is quite common in the Ukraine and an unborn child is not considered a person at all.  Regina recently helped a woman deliver her first child after 20 abortions.  Can you imagine?  Regina is in a place to teach respect for human life, morality and health and wellness.  Doctors are very low paid positions in the Ukraine and usually survive on tips.  The better the tip the better the care sometimes.  Regina knows alot of women cannot tip and without her, may receive substandard care.  Our goal at H4UA is to allow her to help these women, 50-100 per year, without needing to ask for tips.