Right now, a group of brave orphans are preparing to take on a daunting feat—biking across Russia to advocate for national adoption and foster care. These twenty boys and girls have been training for the past year to ride over 1100 miles. At each city they stop in, they will be hosting press conferences and speaking in churches about adoption and foster care. Some of the bikers have already been adopted into families—others still need a home. They all believe that the best place for a child is in a loving family, and they want to do their part to spur others towards caring for orphans.

Until recently, adoption in Ukraine and Russia had a terrible stigma associated with it. Therefore, it was surprising and encouraging that last year’s bikeathon across Ukraine to promote adoption and foster care got such an incredible response—it was shown daily on local and national TV channels, and over 20,000 people participated in the event in some way.

You may remember us sharing the story of Marina, a 15 year-old orphan girl who begged leaders of the bikeathon to help find her a family. We learned that Marina got adopted recently, one of the many positive results of last year’s bikeathon! The bikeathon even led to top political leaders in Ukraine asking how they could support developing their nation’s adoption and foster care systems. Many of the same orphans who biked across Ukraine are participating in this year’s bikeathon (read Yuri’s story below).

The average cost of their journey is $2/mile for each child.

From our Grant Manager, Cristi Slate:
I met 11 year old Yuri last summer. Yuri has mischievous green eyes, cheeks smattered with freckles, and blond hair combed to a spike in the front. Though you'd never guess it by seeing him, for the past 3 years, Yuri and his alcoholic mother have lived on and off the streets of Mariupol, Ukraine. As an alcohol-addicted 11 year old who could barely read, Yuri's future did not seem very bright.

Yuri's life changed 18 months ago when he was brought into a Christian orphanage, and then only months later received the greatest news any orphan could ever receive-- the news that a family wanted to adopt him, to make him their son.

Last summer, Yuri took on an incredible feat-- he joined his new adopted brothers and sisters, along with 40 other children as they biked across Ukraine to encourage and challenge Ukrainians to care for orphans.

I visited Yuri in his new family the day after the bike tour ended. He came out to greet me, proudly riding his bike and telling me about all the kilometers he had ridden and the places he had seen. But Yuri's biggest smile was not when he showed me his bike, or when he told me about the bikeathon-- it was when his adopted father came home, and wrapped him in a hug.

And this truly is what the bikeathons are all about-- providing every orphan across Ukraine and Russia with the chance for a loving family. The chance to have a father come home and wrap them in a hug.

Meet some of the bikeathon team!

Sergei: Sergei was five years old when his birth mother, an alcoholic, gave him his first taste of alcohol. By age 11, Sergei was addicted to alcohol. He dropped out of school, and roamed the streets until age 14, when his mother died and he was placed into a Christian rehab center for orphans. Two years ago, Sergei was adopted into a loving Christian family and his life has turned around. Sergei hopes to work in construction when he grows up. He is looking forward to riding across Russia on behalf of orphans.

Kolya: At four years old, Kolya was living in a cardboard box on the streets of southern Ukraine. He spent his childhood bouncing back and forth between orphanages and the street. Two years ago, a Ukrainian family decided to adopt Kolya. Their adjustments have not been easy—Kolya carries much baggage from so many years on the street. This bikeathon is a chance for Kolya, now 12, to use his energy to make a positive difference in the lives of other orphans.

Vlad: Twelve year old Vlad spent his early childhood in orphanages because his birth mother was in prison for drugs. At the age of eight, he was adopted into a Christian family despite health problems due to the drugs his mother had been on while pregnant with him. When adopted, Vlad was shy and took a long time to open up to his adoptive family. Now, after four years, he is well adjusted. His adoptive father Sasha (pictured below left) taught Vlad to play the flute and they do duets together. Vlad participated last year in the bikeathon across Ukraine and he hopes even more orphans get adopted as a result of the bikeathon across Russia.