A Sequim man is seeking support to finish the first of four small homes for abandoned and orphaned children from the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Michael Cimino, who coordinates missionary support through Gardiner Community Church, said the missionary team of Doug and Roberta Moore with the River of Life ministry will expand their “Care Homes” model to help Ukrainian children.
The Moores, who moved from the Sequim area in 1998, started their ministry to create safe homes in Romania for women, children and the elderly.
They were asked by a Ukrainian pastor to replicate their home model for war-torn children in Western Ukraine, Cimino said.
Following Russia invading Ukraine in February 2022, he said, Ukrainian social services now indicate they have a backlog of at least 50 children in need of a stable/healthy environment.
The Moores, who previously attended Gardiner Community Church last in 1998, purchased a 1.5 acre-farm in western Ukraine in Sept. 2023, which was funded by a Washington donor and later approved through the Ukrainian government to host four Care Homes.
While construction is under way on the first home, Cimino said they need about $22,500 to fully fund it a few miles from the Romanian border in western Ukraine.
To support construction, Cimino said people can send checks to Gardiner Community Church, with “Ukraine Relief” in the notes section, via mail to “Gardiner Community Church, 1040 Old Gardiner Highway, Gardiner, WA 98382.”
So far, Gardiner Community Church has given more than $10,000 to the effort, Cimino said.
“We’re looking for people whose hearts are touched by people in need,” he said.
Funds are distributed to nonprofit International Messengers, who has a four-star rating according to Charity Navigator, Cimino said.
He said the Ukrainian government prefers to reestablish family environments for abandoned/orphaned children “where they can experience love and encouragement as they grow into young adulthood” while government agencies seek a permanent housing solution for the children.
To lead the home, the Moores identified a couple — including a former pastor — to serve as parents. They’ve raised five children on their own and completed foster parent training, Cimino said.
Two orphans have already been approved for the new home, which is designed for as many as 10 children.
Asked about his connection to Ukraine, Cimino, a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Air Force, said he’s been following the war, and felt a need to help after seeing reports of small towns being decimated and lives lost.
He knew of the nearby connection with the Moores in Romania and wanted to see how he could help, and last winter he and his church collected about 2,500 pounds of clothes, school supplies, bedding, kitchen supplies, and more to send to Romania for the first Ukrainian Care Home. It was received earlier this year.
Cimino said he hopes to travel to the area in the future to see how he and locals could help.
He said donated funds so far covered the purchase of the land, renovation of a farmhouse, pouring cement, drilling two water wells, and more.
For more information on the project, call Cimino at 360-670-8320.
