Church leads mission to help orphans

Buy photos » Tudor Grange pupil Alice Henning and teacher Emma Ainslie present the commemorative plaque to Woodgreen Evangelical Church's John Davenport, Rev Paul Hughes, Malcolm Perry, Andy Cheetham and Ben Lewis, ahead of their trip to the Ukraine. (s)

VOLUNTEERS from a church in Warndon Villages will jet out to the Ukraine on Saturday to continue their efforts to help build an orphanage to house youngsters living in desperate conditions.

A group of seven people from Woodgreen Evangelical Church are heading to Odessa where they hope to provide a lifeline to some of the estimated 10,000 homeless children on the city's streets.

They will be joined by three members of Gwersyllt Congregational Church, in North Wales, which is partnering Woodgreen in helping to build the four-storey orphanage, that will eventually house up to 50 children.

The two churches have been working with Grace Baptist Church in Odessa to make it a reality and their latest week-long trip will see them continue work on the second and third floors and attic.

The team from Woodgreen will be taking more than £7,000 with them which has been raised through generous donations and will be used to purchase materials including tiles and carpets.

Church pastor Reverend Paul Hughes said: "The orphanage is incomplete and the people out there have very little money so we are doing what we can to get the work done as quickly as possible and get the kids off the street.

"Homelessness is a huge problem in the city itself. You go three or four miles outside the centre and you have high rise blocks where the kids are living in basements, sewers, water tanks and all sorts of dreadful stuff."

Among those supporting the project are pupils and staff at Tudor Grange Academy who presented the church with a cheque for £1,500, along with a commemorative plaque.

"We were humbled by their generosity. The money will all go towards purchasing materials and go a long way in making the home for needy children a comfortable and cosy place to live," Rev Hughes added.

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