Ruslana and her family live in the mountainous Transcarpathia region in west-Ukraine, close to one of our Orphan’s Promise training centres. Ruslana has nine children. The youngest boy is only one and a half years old and the oldest daughter is fifteen. They live in a dilapidated house with a floor that is made of clay. The family struggle to make ends meet and live in very poor conditions.

Ruslana’s husband used to collect scrap metal to have some income. Now, during the war in Ukraine, most of the scrap metal reception points are closed and the ones that are open, don’t give much for scrap metal nowadays. Now Ruslana has to go out and ask for food, clothes and money to survive. Sometimes she has to walk ten to fifteen kilometers a day to feed her children.

One of our training centre’s volunteers shares:

“We are trying to support this family. Eight of Ruslana’s children come to our training centre. Here they can eat delicious hot meals for breakfast and for lunch. They can have a shower and change into clean clothes. Their mother brings the smallest boy to feed him and then she eats herself. The children always ask for food to bring home to eat in the evening.We also visit this family in their home. We talk about God and share the Good News of Jesus with them. We help them with food, nappies and medications.

The children started coming to our centre from the very beginning, when we opened. They have changed a lot since then. Kamila, one of the older daughters, was very shy and closed. She was afraid of everything. She did not communicate with anyone. We did not see her often as she always looked after the children. She is like a second mum to them. When the mother goes around the villages, Kamila looks after the younger kids, cooks for them and washes their clothes.

As a result of the support this family receives, Ruslana and her husband are in a much better position to look after their children, thanks to the generous support of CBN partners.

Now Kamila is 13 years old. She never misses a day of school. Kamila attends all classes that we have in the center. And now we see how she has changed. She is no longer afraid of anything. She is happy to communicate with teachers and other children. You can always see a smile on her face. She participates in games and relays and helps teachers in lessons.”

Kamilla says: : “I really like going to the centre because they talk about God there. I really like to sing for the Lord. My dream is to become a teacher when I grow up. I want to teach other children about God.”

Her younger brother Onur is now 9 years old. He used to be very restless, did not listen to anyone and often got into quarrels with other children. Since his involvement with the Orphan’s Promise training centre, Onur is more balanced, diligent and caring. He actively participates in classes and already gets along much better with other children. He loves to sing songs with movements. His favourite game is ‘Bingo’ – which helps him to remember the letters better.

When asking Onur why he likes going to the centre he answered: “Because they love me there and give me food!” Onur’s dream is to become a soldier and defend his country.

Ruslana says: “As a mother, I am very grateful to you for feeding and educating our children. Thank you for food, diapers, sweets for my children. I don’t know how we would survive in this difficult time.”