Mulberry International Children's Ministries

I shared yesterday, that I would like to Publicize What God is Doing and this organization is a great place to start. Please keep in mind as I share the information for these groups that I do not know most of the people personally, I am merely hoping to make connections of God's people with places and opportunities to serve and give.

Mulberry International Children's Ministries is an organization that connects Ukrainian orphans with Christian foster homes. They also have an outreach to street children and assist teens with transitioning from life on the street into mainstream society by providing housing, support and house parents to guide them. They also have a ministry to abandoned babies in hospitals to advocate for the children and seek to place them in the Christian foster homes.

The statistics on their website are staggering (MulberryInternational.org):

• 80% of the population lives below the poverty line
• There are over 100,000 orphans in the Ukraine
• 9 out of 10 homeless children will be addicted to alcohol, glue or other drugs
• Trafficking homeless children has become big business

What has happened? Why is the Ukraine in this state of deterioration? Because they went from being controlled in every facet of their lives by communism, to a government that paid women to birth children due to their declining population. The women did not have to raise these children, just birth them. In 2008 alone, 14,000 children under the age of 3 were abandoned by their parents. The average age of a child on the streets is 12-13, but children as young as 3 have been seen rifling through trash for food.

The most staggering statistic I read? The average Ukrainian woman has seven abortions in her lifetime. This is not a pro-choice vs. pro-life debate...that is just horrendous for your physical and mental health. To me, this is an indication of how hopeless the people of this country feel.

So do your own research and if this is a place you feel the Holy Spirit leading you to give or to serve...don't question the feeling...or the wisdom...or even the practicality of it...just do it, and you will be blessed!