Our history starts in 1995 when “Compassion Is Life” Founder and CEO Konstantin Yakubenko (at the time manager of U.S. Government funded social service programs) walked into Ukrainian orphanages and saw first hand the situation with orphans and other disadvantaged children of Ukraine. That sparked the desire to get involved, a journey and legacy which carries out until this day. United with like-minded child care specialists assistance to needy children of Ukraine was launched. Thousands of Ukrainian needy children have been sponsored and helped by us from 2004 when our first non-profit organization was formed! Our team started its work in Ukraine as “Social Development Foundation”, an international service charity assisting needy children mainly in Ukrainian orphanages. Further research of the situation with at-risk children in Ukraine was necessary and we launched an assessment of disadvantaged children in 2005 which was published in Ukraine and can be accessed here. Our team pushed and influenced a reform in at-risk children sector after Victor Yuschenko became the President of Ukraine in 2005 and thousands of foster families and family type homes emerged throughout Ukraine for the first time in its history. Sadly, ubiquitous corruption among government officials including at the top level and corresponding economic hardships did not allow the at-risk children reform to be completed as planned and oligarchic clans pushed the reform-minded pro-western President Yuschenko out of power. Our team saw the skidding unfinished reform not ushering the desired results as we added international hosting to our sponsorship program. Thousands of our sponsored Ukrainian children have travelled to the United States and Italy under our teams guardianship and with advice and support to extended to our partner organizations. Thousands of orphans from our program were adopted by American, Canadian, Italian and local families as a result of our direct involvement and facilitation. Years went by as economic situation in Ukraine deteriorated, naturally hitting the most vulnerable – the children. Ultimately, Ukraine became the poorest country in Europe. The second revolution in 2013/2014 and consequent beginning of first phase of war with Russia took poverty to a new level while we continued with sponsorships, hostings and adoptions. Already having all these economic and social hardships on February 24, 2022 a full scale Russian military invasion to Ukraine commenced. The government of Ukraine has suspended all international hosting trips and all adoptions which in addition to sponsorship used to be important mechanisms for U.S. families and international charities including ours to help the most needy Ukrainian children. Per today – rehabilitation and sponsorship is the ONLY remaining mechanism to DIRECTLY assist a Ukrainian orphan or disadvantaged child.