Part 1 was on Third World Guilt.

Families traveling to Ukraine... especially families adopting older children will have read stories about human trafficking. It used to be called slavery.

This is a major problem for Ukraine. It is a source and a destination for human beings who are used and abused. Many children, men and women (49% of Ukraine) are vulnerable to trafficking.

29% of Ukrainians live under the poverty line (Isn't the line about $50 per month?... more

Part 1 is found here.

Ukraine is the same as the United States. When you have no job skills, finding a job and supporting yourself is difficult to impossible. So many teenagers turn to prostitution and crime to feed themselves. They are adults at 16 years of age with few options or support system.

My brief relationship with Luda is why I sponsor a young man named Andrey Tokarchuk for $40 per month... more

As I mentioned in my Kharkiv Air Pollution blog, I met my daughter, Natasha, in a hospital room that she shared with 4 other orphans. They were from 4 different orphanages. I visited Natasha and her roommates at the hospital for about 7 days. *

Luda was the oldest in the room at 16 years of age. Here is her picture. She was beautiful inside and outside. She mothered the 12 year old, 10 year old, 8 year old and 3 year old children in the hospital room.

For example, she always made sure... more