Sometimes we read stories that it is difficult to share. Stories difficult to read that we put aside for a while until we find the courage to look at them again. If this is painful for us, we can’t imagine the trauma the child experienced.
This is a story of hope. Hope that even the worst situations can change when love and care is present.
Ivan (15), Natalia (10) and Ira (8) have the same father but different mothers. Ivan’s mother died from alcoholic hepatitis. His father an alcoholic lived a selfish life. The girls’ mother was an orphan, she lived in orphanage till she grew up. One day she came to dad’s place as a guest and stayed with him. Later they had two children. Ivan lived with his grandmother and the girls with the father. Every time they visited the grandmother to eat something they cried because they didn’t want to return home, but the grandmother couldn’t afford to care for all the children.
For them home meant starvation, violence, sexual abuse and lots of suffering. When Ivan’s grandmother died he had to return to live with his father. The father was regularly violent.
Dad’s friends came often, and they drank and did horrible things in front of the children. Very often when parents were sleeping drunk and naked, dad’s friends hit children and touched them inappropriately.
When, eventually social services came to take the children away, their parents couldn’t even get out of bed because they were heavily drunk. They found Ira on the floor in temperatures of 40 ̊. The children often went to the neighbours to ask for a little bit of semolina for Ira.
All the children were malnourished. Our partners New Beginnings, Ukraine took the 3 children into their home. It was a blessing not to be sent to the State orphanage. They are now loved and cared for by their foster family. Ira began to talk, Ivan is making progress at school, Natalia sings very well.
It’s amazing how these children were saved. How different their story could have been.
Your kind donations are giving hope and security to children experiencing trauma.
Thank you.
