2006 in Review

2006 was a time of transition for the UEC. Sergiy Lyakh enrolled in Pepperdine's business school and Vitaly Samodin took over many of his responsibilities as our new part-time administrator. Lera Cherednichenko, who manages the library, married Vitaly this past summer and so now a married couple is keeping things running at the UEC. We also hired a new part-time desk worker, Ira Ikonnikova.

While we noticed the organizational culture change, we noted significant changes in the general culture as well. Students are much busier than they used to be. Most have part-time jobs and many activities now compete for their attention. Universities are now staggering their schedules so that students don't have large breaks during the middle of their day. Kyiv has also been experiencing an economic upswing. Now, more people are able to spend time at recently-opened coffeehouses and cafes. These changes have meant shifts in the way people come to the UEC, and it's meant adjustments on our part.

But our base of library users continues to grow. 517 people joined the library in 2006. Also, 1,279 people checked out an item from the library. Of course hundreds of others came to the UEC for events but didn't use the library. The library is well-used and the Center is often filled at night with church groups meeting, students studying, or friends gathering to watch a movie. We also played host to multiple, church-sponsored special events in 2006. And we brought back Movie Night.

After more than 5 years, the UEC has changed and will continue to adapt to meet the needs of the Kyiv community. Pray for us as we enter 2007.

Posted on April 6, 2007