Communications Visit II

One of the greatest parts of serving with MCC is meeting with local partners. I usually end up leaving the visit thinking about how great the people are and how interesting it was to spend time with them. I am not a photographer, nor do I write in a journal, therefore I often forget the details of these visits. I do take photos but almost all of them are posed and at least one person looks like a total goof (usually me).

In August-September of last year we were fortunate to have a visit from MCC’s communications department. A while later they sent us the pictures that they took when doing the interviews. The photographer they sent was really good, as you can see from the pictures. When looking at these pictures, taken when these people were lost in their lives and stories, it is possible to see the person more deeply. I am thankful that the photographer captured several memories for me.

The first photo is of Gregory Nikolaenko, a builder and loan fund president in the Kharkov oblast. He is a rather rough and tough guy, but in the photo he is caught playing with one of his adopted grand-nieces.

The second photo is of Vladimir Tsupko, the director of the Good Shepherd Fund (the fund that operates the children’s center and the shelter in Makeevka). This photo shows him as I know him, animatedly describing what Good Shepherd does.

The third photo is of Valentina Chernova, the former director of Good Shepherd Children’s Center. The photo shows her behind her desk, probably talking about the everyday activities, rewarding and difficult, involved in taking care of the children.

The fourth photo is one that I have already posted. It is of Alexsander Doroshenko, the auto parts salesman and former boxer. It shows him as he always seems to be, enjoying himself.

And the fifth photo shows Katya Savchuka, the smallest girl at Good Shepherd Center. It shows the part of the kids that makes spending time there the most rewarding. Even though these kids have been through more than I can imagine and oftentimes seem like little adults, they still have not lost their playfulness.

I also thought I would use this blog as an opportunity to say that the cover story in the January-February MCC aCommonPlace magazine is on Income Generation in Ukraine (see a preview at http://www.mcc.org/acp/). The MCC website also has a photo gallery (http://www.mcc.org/gallery/07_01/) where you can see more of Ukraine.

Dave