From September 25–27, 12 teenagers aged 13–16 from Berezhany Lyceum and Ternopil Children’s Home spent three days at the Orphans Future Foundation learning one thing that will matter long after they leave school: how to manage life on their own.
Instead of simply talking about independence, they practiced it:
- Planning and budgeting — they created their own breakfast and dinner menus and worked out how much they would cost.
- Making real choices — they were given real money and went to a supermarket to buy the food they had planned for.
- Giving back — they volunteered with the “Yellow Apron” project, helping prepare and serve hot meals to people in need
- Navigating everyday life — they completed a team street quest around Ternopil, used public transportation, found their way around the city, and walked many kilometers
- Learning to make decisions — during the training sessions, they worked in pairs and teams, acted out real-life situations, looked for solutions, and shared their own experiences.
They also explored a simple but important question:
What does independence mean to me?
What can I already do on my own? What do I still need to learn? What skills will I need when I start living independently?
At the end of the three days, the teenagers themselves identified the topics they consider most important for the next three months of the program.
This is how independence grows — through small decisions, real experiences, mistakes, reflection, and the confidence to try again.
We are grateful to Ternopil restaurants Faine Misto, Try Mykoly, and Stara Pizzeria for providing delicious meals for our participants during these days.
This was the first of 12 sessions of our “On the Threshold of Independent Life” program.
There are 11 more sessions ahead — with practical tasks, new challenges, questions, mistakes, discoveries, and skills that these young people can carry into adult life.
Your support can make these opportunities possible.
For a teenager growing up without parental care, independence cannot be taken for granted. Skills such as budgeting, cooking, navigating a city, making decisions, communicating with others, and solving everyday problems often have to be learned through experience.
Your donation helps create that experience.
It can give a young person the chance to plan a meal, manage a real budget, make their own purchase, prepare food, solve a difficult situation, try something new — and discover that “I can do it myself.”
Support Orphans Future and help prepare teenagers for independent adult life.
Because young people need more than a safe place to live and a meal on the table. They need practical skills, opportunities to practice, and adults who believe they can build their own future.
Help us give them more than support today.
Help them build the skills they will need for tomorrow.
