Mission Ukraine Children’s Hope, (MUCH), is a charitable organization founded to support the ministry of Mark Koehler, an independent Christian missionary. Its purpose is to improve the quality of life for disadvantaged children in Ukrainian communities and orphanages.
MUCH has three points of focus:
Health Care, Education, and Clothing.
Of the three, healthcare is our largest program, with medical massage therapy being our main focus in health care.
Our focus on education began in 2007, when Mark began a Transportation Scholarship Program for underprivileged children in Chornomorsk.
Since 2002, MUCH has provided clothing for children in the orphanage and Transition Home in Marganets.
Nine massage therapists for children with disabilities operate in four cities and a village, providing 15-day massage treatment programs for 46 children a month. MUCH helps children with a number of disabilities, Cerebral Palsy being the predominant disability. In 2009, the neurologist in the Chornomorsk policlinic was introduced to MUCH. She was given permission to send infants having pre-diagnostic signs of disability to the MUCH clinic for massage treatment. This was the beginning of using massage to treat children as young as one month old, providing treatment that is commonly known as Early Intervention.
ILIA NEEDS YOUR HELP
The massage program in Chornomorsk began for Ilia when he turned one year old. Ilia could not hold his head upright, sit, or stand. For the past six years, three times a year, Ilia received massage therapy. Today, Ilia can walk using a walker. The truth is that he practices at home. On the street, his mother pushes him in a stroller. Now, Dr. Natalya, our massage therapist, is teaching him to walk with the help of canes. Because of Ilia’s atrophy of the brain, what he learns in intellectual and motor memory is soon lost. Therefore, Ilia needs massage therapy and movement exercises every day. Ilia is a long term out-patient of MUCH at Dr. Natalia’s clinic in Chornomorsk. Be his sponsor and help him become his personal best. Change his future with your contributions! Take two minutes and watch a video about his success.
Read Mark’s most recent Newsletter!