New Board Members We Welcome
New Board Members:
John & Janice Anderson
David & Carol Carlson
Jane Gordon
Lauri Smith
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Anastasyia, (Nastya) is seventeen-years old this October (2009). When she was four-years old she saw her mom's boyfriend hit her in the head with a hammer. It was then that she escaped the alcoholism and abuse in her home. At age six some saw her standing on a corner with a bottle of Vodka in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Once a staff saw her yelling to drivers, "You want Nastya?"
She has had one year of school her whole life. Yet, she is very bright. . It is difficult to convince her to enter a place like a foster family because of her distrust for adults and the freedom she has grown up with on the streets. Two years ago she was hit by a car and left unconscious with a broken pelvis. In December of 2006 she was again hit by a car when walking on a dark road with several friends. One friend was killed. Nastya suffered a concussion, broken arm and re-broken pelvis. Before she could heal she escaped back to the streets and tore the cast off her arm. We have not heard from her for a while. Please pray.
Editor's Note: We love Nastya very much and spend time with her every trip. We are praying that she will find her way home, and also become a worker who will help many other street children in her life |
| Igor says, "My mom is Ira. She has no job. We live in an apartment with my aunt, grandfather, mom's boyfriend, aunt, another uncle, mom of course, and two brothers. Sometimes there is no heat or cold water. I lived in the sewers now for five months."
"Five or six of my friends and I sleep on wood pallets. We try to find blankets. There is no light, just a candle."
Editor's Note: We met Igor at the Dr. Haaz day center run by Alla in Kherson, Ukraine. |
"My name is Slava. I was born in 1991. My mom is now in prison for child neglect. I tried to live with my dad a couple of years ago but it was bad. He drank and was mean to me."
Editor's Note: We first met Slava as he was climbing up out of a sewer with some other kids. This is their home. He was born after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991 and attended school for only one year when he was fourteen. Him mom was arrested for child neglect and sent to prison. The ironic thing is that he is now living on the streets sleeping in sewers. He has done this since he was ten-years old. He told us it is nice and warm in the winter. He has no legal papers and his only relative; a grandmother sold her apartment and moved somewhere far away. |
Yulia is shown here with her young brother Kolya and her older sister. When we met them Christmas of 2006 they were living with an alcoholic mom in very poor conditions. They would go to the streets for food at times. Now they have been taken in by the foster family and the change is amazing. Kolya and Yulia have come alive in their new home environment.
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Kiev Time
