The President of the Father’s House talks about the homeless in Ukraine

By Victoria Uzunova of the Christian Telegraph (www.christiantelegraph.com)
Special to ASSIST News Service


UKRAINE (ANS) -- Roman Korniyko, the founder and the President of the Father’s House International Charity Foundation, based in the Kiev region of Ukraine, spoke recently to the House of Bread Church press center (www.houseofbreadchurch.org) about his life and the fortunes of the homeless, whom he has served since 1996.

Roman Korniyko with his wife Natasja

Korniyko says that initially, he didn’t have a love for children. He was a very successful doctor, but had some problems in his family life.

“I was invited to church, where I accepted Jesus,” the President explained. “At first, God changed me and, one year later, He changed my wife and healed my oldest daughter. I became the happiest person on the earth.

“I asked God what I could do for Him to show my gratitude. God showed me two Bible verses: James 1:27 and Matthew 25:40. After that, homeless children began to appear before my eyes. I saw them everywhere – on my way home from work, or when I walked or went shopping.”

A 12-year-old Ukrainian boy injects a self-made drug based on ephedrine known as “baltushka” to his friend in Odessa, Ukraine

Roman Korniyko underlines that Father's House is the portion of his life that he has dedicated to God, however his first acquaintance with the homeless was not so pleasant.

“Once, I was invited to hold a teaching seminar about birth by one church near Kiev,” notes Korniyko. “After that I spent the whole night like a homeless person. It was a crucial night for me since God helped me to understand several things.”

He said they were:

1) It was very cold, though I was in warm clothes, whereas the homeless were ill-clad.
2) I was afraid, but I’m an adult who can defend myself or call the police, whereas the majority of homeless children are not even registered.
3) I was hungry, but I knew that my wife would feed me in the morning, whereas these children would search for opportunities to earn, steal or beg money for food.
4) I felt dirty, but I knew that I could shower in the morning, whereas they couldn’t wash for months.

5) I felt lonely, but knew that my wife was waiting and praying for me.

Roman went on to say, “These children were not prayed for; there were only curses in their lives. Then God spoke to me and said: ‘You’ve wanted to show your gratitude to me? I love these children and have a plan for them.’”

Homeless Ukrainian street kids living in appalling conditions

The founder of the Father's House added that the principal goal for the foundation is to “save children whom God sends to us in our lives, to prepare them for service to people and God, and to motivate others to do the same by our own example.”

Today, Father's House is recognized on all levels of government as the leading program of children's care and support in Ukraine. More than 12 departments aimed at supporting homeless children make up Father's House. In 2001, the Father's House Center for Social Care for Children was visited by representatives of the European Council and admitted as a the leading institution of its kind in East Europe. In 2005, an agreement of cooperation was signed between the Ukrainian Ministry for Children, Family and Youth (now: The Ministry in Youth and Sport Affairs) and Father's House.

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Victoria Uzunova is a correspondent for the Christian Telegraph [www.christiantelegraph.com], a unique Christian news service partnering with the largest Christian News Agency in Russian language InVictory News [www.invictory.org/news/] which is one of few news gateways of what is happening in Christianity in such former USSR countries as Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Georgia and others.