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The UEC is staffed by two directors, an office manager and a library assistant. Part-time workers and volunteers also help at the reception and with housekeeping. UEC Directors Vitaly and Valeria both graduated from ICU-Kyiv with
a bachelor’s degree in business administration. Vitaly serves in ministry
with the Nivky Church of Christ. He also started working as the UEC's
part-time administrator in June 2006. Valeria was the UEC’s first library
acquisitions manager. Since September 2007 Vitaly and Lera serve as UEC
directors. Vitaly and Lera got married on May 27, 2006. They lead one
of the church's small groups and youth ministry. You can contact them
at
UEC Office Manager Alex came to know the UEC through his sister Anastasia and later came to faith and started serving other students with us. He graduated from Kyiv International University in 2007 and same year he started working for the UEC.
UEC Library Assistant Iryna studies International Business at the National Aviation University, where many of our patrons study. It was her dream to work at a library and serve other students. Her sister Luda recently was baptized and now also helps us at the UEC.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
David Ralston,
Mack Wayne Craig, Ph.D. Greg Hardeman Gary Jerkins, M.D.
Paul Prill, Ph.D.
Mike Buckley
FACILITY Directly across the street from the Kyiv Politechnic Institute, the UEC maintains a modern facility in the heart of the Kyiv university community. Two apartments were combined and renovated to create the 1,800 sq. ft. facility. The first floor features a spacious kitchen, the office, the library and computer center and two bathrooms. The second floor currently houses a large meeting room, one small room, a guest room with shower, TV, VCR and DVD player, a study room and one bathroom. Click here to visit galleries depicting the renovation process. Visit our Renovation page to read the story of how the current facility was found, purchased, and renovated.
Slowly, under God's sovereign orchestration, a small base of energetic supporters emerged with David Ralston, the current UEC board president, leading the charge. Ideas crystallized. Prayers were prayed. In March 1999, about 20 gathered in Memphis to discuss possibilities. In January 2000, from a Nashville meeting the name “Ukrainian Education Center” was chosen and a board of directors formed. Chris Lovingood was asked to serve as the Kyiv director and Monica Moreland served as the assistant director. A more concrete vision statement written by the new director was endorsed by the board. A temporary center (on Dovzhenko Street near the Shulyavska
metro station) was soon rented in the heart of Kyiv's university center
to explore possibilities. Bogdan Andriychenko, who worked as the project
manager, became the work horse in those early days—managing real estate
agents and contractors, finding building mat With the apartments desperate for complete renovation, a quality contractor was prayed for and God provided through an old Lipscomb student and Kyivite. Renovation began—which included entirely gutting the two apartments--in December 2000 and was completed in fall 2001. The UEC opened its doors to the public on October 4. 2001. Bogdan Andriychenko, the UEC’s building project coordinator, completed his work with the UEC in May 2002, and Sergiy Lyakh was hired as the UEC’s first manager. Under Sergiy’s leadership, the Center’s library became fully automated and we became more professional in all we do. As Sergiy went on to continue his studies, Vitaly Samodin was hired to replace him in 2006. In 2009, Vitaly and his wife Valeria became UEC directors. Currently, the UEC employees two directors, one full-time manager and one information assistant. Katie Boyer, Joshua and Maurie Hanauer, and Jonathan Shaub have served as interns who worked with local churches and the UEC. In just a few years, the UEC has emerged as a vibrant
space used by hundreds of visitors every week. Our library of over 9,600
items (as of September 2009) grows constantly thanks to donations in Kyiv and
from abroad, and the more than 4,300 registered library patrons (as of
September 2009) keep our manager and information assistant busy. The many church-sponsored
outreach and education opportunities fill the Center to almost maximum
capacity. |
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Vitaly
Samodin
.
Alexander
Tolmachov
Iryna
Ikonnikova
Jerry
Collins, Ph.D.
Chris
and Lena Lovingood
The Ukrainian Education Center began as a dream in the mid-1990s among
Christian workers in Kyiv, Ukraine. Missionaries observed that university
students were very open to the Christian faith and at the same time had
many needs. Universities lacked modern textbooks, there were few computers,
and students needed a place to spend time together. Small Soviet apartments
hosted countless Bible studies, movie nights, and book discussions. The
opportunities for ministry cried out for a larger, permanent space. 
erials,
and developing our first website. As that temporary center took on a life
of its own, so did the US-based board. IRS non-profit status was filed
for and a fundraising campaign began. The search for the new center began
in earnest and after months of frustration and exhilaration, the Kyiv
staff and the UEC board agreed to the purchase of two apartments near
the Kyiv Polytechnic Institute. The first and second floor apartments
were bought at a total cost of $85,000 and almost all the funds had been
raised by the September 2000 purchase. 
