Build a small group home for orphans in Ukraine

After months of delays this past summer, we finally broke ground in September. The project is still moving slower than we anticipated as our construction company is splitting time between our project and another one nearby.

We anticipate that the final portion of the foundation will be poured this coming week then our construction team will return to their home base in Central Ukraine for 2 weeks. When they return to our project in early December they should be ready to deliver the pre-fabricated wooden components and they have told us they will completely frame Blossom Cottage during the following 2 weeks. We're hoping for a complete frame and maybe even a completed warm shell by the end of the year.

Our Giving Tuesday goal is $20,000 which should take us close to $300,000 raised so far (much of our fundraising has gone directly through our organization).

Whew, the wheels turn slowly here in Ukraine but that's not unexpected given our circumstances.

We had hoped to have Blossom Cottage ground-broken and under construction by now but we're still waiting.

We've spend more than $50,000 in June and July and the project is underway. Part of the construction plan for Blossom Cottage is that the much of the wooden frame will be pre-assembled at a factory. We've been told by the construction company that the components are cut and assembled and ready for shipping, awaiting the completion of a concrete foundation. That's the part we thought would be finished by now but hasn't started yet.

We met with our construction team last week and they said they will begin as soon as possible. From the time the concrete is poured until it is cured should take about a month. Our builders assure us that the warm shell (frame, exterior facade, roof, and doors and windows) will be completed within 40 days after the foundation is ready.

During our meeting last week we selected roof and window colors (brown) and metal siding colors. Blossom Cottage will be a soothing Salad Green, while two small cottages also on the property will be a pale lemonade and a rose pink, giving the little community a nice pastel/flowery/blossomy look.

We still don't have electricity on-site but the builders can work without it. We're negotiating with a crew that can build a fence that will go up while the concrete is curing. Construction could begin any day now. 

We're grateful for our many partners- together we've raised nearly $250,000, more than enough to complete the warm shells on three structures, the fences, electricity, septic systems and water wells. We are hopeful fundraising will get a boost once we can start showing actual construction pictures. Our total budget is about $450,000 to complete the project.