Hey everyone, Will Kostal here. As some of you may know, I'm in Ukraine now, working on a documentary covering the war and what life is like for Ukrainian people living in the shadow of it. 

For the past two weeks, I was in Lviv, in the western part of Ukraine. While there, I had the opportunity to work with a couple of different organizations, but the one that really stood out to me was Children's Group Home 1, an orphanage. Group Home 1 houses about 20 kids from the age of 3 to 8, all of whom are direct victims of the war.  

I don't think I can adequately describe what these kids have been through. All of them have experienced loss. Several witnessed their parents die as the result of Russian artillery strikes. Frequently, the children are forced to take refuge in the orphanage's basement as air raid sirens sound over the city. The war is an ever-present threat to them.

Hearing this, you might expect an Oliver Twist-type, Dickensian sense of tragedy to pervade throughout the orphanage. I expected that as well. Instead, what I heard was children's laughter. I saw young kids who are full of life and joy. Despite all the tragedy and adversity that the children face, they are happy. This is because of the staff and volunteers of Children's Group Home 1- they are what hold the orphanage together. 

Group Home 1 is underfunded. It exists because of the sheer force of will of those who operate it. They do their best with what they have, but they do not have enough. They need our help.  

Currently, the roof of the orphanage is in dire need of repair. It leaks water and is becoming a greater source of concern with winter approaching. While there are six sections to the home’s roof in need of repair, for this campaign our goal is to raise the money for the two sections that are in the worst shape. Each section costs about $3000. Of that, $2200 goes to materials and $800 to labor.

Now I know roof repairs might not necessarily be the most illustrious kind of aid, but I also know most of the people reading this have probably spent a lot of time outdoors themselves. You all know how much a little bit of rain can ruin your week. We are trying to keep these kids from having to deal with that. Likewise, we are trying to get the building weather-tight before winter to prevent more damage from occurring. While we cannot repair all the damage the war has caused these kids, we can fix this.

On behalf of myself and Group Home 1, thank you for all your help!