Governing Board

Kindness Foundation is a 501c3 nonprofit organization which operates under the authority of Mississippi's Secretary of State. The organization is governed by a Board of Directors, each of whom, after being nominated and elected by the Executive Committee, serves a three (3) year term for which they can be re-elected.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

DR. Olga lutsenko, founder and president

When Communism fell in August of 1991, Dr. Olga Lutsenka, was working as a Professor of History with the Academy of Pedagogical Sciences which was responsible for the development of school curriculum in Russia, when she was contacted by the Russian government and asked to develop a curriculum for teaching morals and ethics in the Russian schools. Since literacy had come to Russia through the translation of the Bible, Dr. Lutsenko and her colleagues recommended that the Bible be accepted as the base to develop a morals and ethics curriculum and this was ultimately approved by the Russian Ministry of Education and by the Russian Duma.

In the course of her research, Dr. Lutsenko became a Christian and was baptized. Dr. Olga and her colleagues in the Ministry of Education were responsible for the education of 43 million students and provided oversight for 200,000 teachers. She is regarded as one of the foremost educators in Russia. In November of 1992, Dr. Olga Lutsenko was one of four Russian dignitaries invited to speak at the launch of The CoMission at the opening session of the 42nd Annual ACSI Teachers Convention held in Anaheim, California. Speaking before 8,000 American teachers, Dr. Olga raised open arms to invite them to ‘Come to Russia!’ to teach Russian teachers how to teach from the Bible. During 75 years of Communism, all the Bibles had been destroyed and they had to bring Christian scientists over to help write the curriculum.

She founded FOND DOBRO or Kindness International. Subsequently, the Russian Education Department, who would only work with Russian led organizations, and on July 6, 1994, signed an Agreement for Cooperation with Fond Dobro (the Kindness Foundation) on education, culture and the spiritual rebirth of Russia”. The Russian government encouraged the organization to supply Bibles and other materials to schools. Opportunities later appeared to expand into Ukraine and more recently, into Latvia.

Dr. Olga, during her last few years in Russia, organized a special ministry to Russian families, students and teachersby establishing Christian Education Resource Centers throughout the country. These highly effective centers offer Christian counseling, family life training and specialized training for Russia’s public school teachers in Christian ethics and morality. She also set up convocations across Russia to train teachersto use Biblical materials. To date, over 25,000 teachers have participated in the convocations.

Ultimately, Dr. Olga resigned her position with the Ministry of Education in Russia in 1996 and moved with her husband, Fred to Canada where they continued to oversee the work of the Kindness Foundation, traveling to Russia and Ukraine several times each year.

raymond friesen, vice PRESIDENT

Raymond Friesen is a native of Canada and has served with the Kindness Foundation in Canada for over two decades. While his specialty is accounting, he has much experience is all aspects of the organization. After the death of Dr. Olga’s husband, Fred Lutsenko, in 2019, he stepped in to fill some of the Kindness Foundation duties which Fred had so meticulously carried out since its inception over 25 years ago.

Along the way, he and Dr. Olga grew very close and they married three years later. He continues to help oversee the purchasing and distribution of Bibles in Russia, Ukraine and Latvia and accompanies Dr. Olga to meet with government officials, educators and students in these former Soviet Republic countries.

delois smith, VICE PRESIDENT and treasurer

DeLois Smith is a real estate broker in Hattiesburg, Mississippi and  has owned The All Star Team Realtors since 1992.  In 1996, DeLoisand her husband, Lavon Smith, traveled to Orlando, Florida to attend a convention hosted by the Association of Christian Schools International. It was there that they first heard Dr. Olga Lutsenko speak.

They were inspired by her story of Russia’s turn towards Christianity and upon meeting her and her husband, Fred,  afterwards, offered to help with funding. Ultimately, the Kindness Foundation in Hattiesburg was formed and has raised money, mostly from local residents, to fund the organization for more than 20 years. DeLois and Lavon have led numerous trips to Russia and Ukraine to tour the schools and to meet educators with the Kindness Foundation.

dr. glenn molsbee, chairman pro tem and secretary

Coming soon...

Dr. nathan barber, director

Dr. Nathan Barber has been a professional pastor in some position with the Southern Baptist Church for 52 years. At present, he is serving as Pastor to Victory Baptist Church in Bassfield. Prior to this, Dr. Barber served as the Associational Missions Director for Covington-Jeff Davis Baptist Association for 8 years.

He also founded a ministry, Chaplain to Heroes, to servethe law enforcement, fire fighters and  emergency medical service personnel. Dr. Barber has served as a Command Chaplain for the Mississippi State Guard for 10 years. He also serves as a volunteer Chaplain for Forrest General Hospital.

Dr. Barber has served on the Board of Directors of the Kindness Foundation since 2016.

For the first four years of their marriage, Janet and Scott lived in Utah, where their two sons, Andrew and Alex, were born. Janet and her family have lived in Hattiesburg, Mississippi since 1994. Janet worked for many years as an outpatient therapist before coming to her position as Art Exhibit Director / Curator of the Kindness Foundation’s collection of award-winning children’s Christian art from Russia, the Ukraine, and Latvia.

Through friends back in Dallas, he was introduced to a beautiful Christian woman named Simona who had moved to Dallas from her home country of Romania.  After a friendship of a couple of years, they would eventually marry and adopt two young boys from Romania and raise them in a loving home.  Hal is self-employed in Hattiesburg, working as an electrical engineer, entrepreneur and inventor.
Around 1989 he helped to form Community Bible Church with some other local families. Then in 1993 when Hal and Simona were married, she became involved with the church as well.  In early 1998 several families from Community Bible Church had the opportunity to meet Dr. Olga and Fred Lutsenko and to Learn about this unique opportunity in schools of the former Soviet Union.  Immediately Hal and his pastor joined DeLois Smith, Dr. Olga, Fred and several others on a Vision Trip to Russia. It was on this trip that he got to see first hand the Bible integrated into the various disciplines and taught in the classrooms through the efforts of the Kindness Foundation and the many dedicated teachers.  He also witnessed the impact in the lives of children. Soon afterwards, Hal was nominated to serve on the Board of Directors of the Kindness Foundation, where he continues to serve and help guide the ministry. He and his wife participated in several additional trips to Russia and Ukraine with the Kindness Foundation in subsequent years

ANNA STUART EVERETT, DIRECTOR

Anna Stuart Everett is a retired Registered Nurse, having worked in the medical profession in both California and Mississippi. She initially joined a weekly prayer group at the Kindness Foundation which has continued for over 10 years and ultimately became a Board Member in 2023, where she serves faithfully and continues to serve on the prayer team.

schools and festivals. She has also worked to help raise funds to support the purchase of new Bibles for students in these former Soviet Republic countries which is overseen by founding President, Dr. Olga Lutsenko.

National Advisory Board
Dr. Ben Burnett, President of Williams Carey University, Hattiesburg, MS
Dr. J. Ligon Duncan III, Chancellor and CEO, Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson, MS
Wayne Husband, Retired Banker, Madison, MS
Greg Moore, Moore Funeral Services, Hattiesburg, MS
Dr. Roger Oakland, Renowned Creationist, Author, Lecturer, Los Angeles, CA