Dear sponsor,
My name is Milana. I am 9 years old and I live in a village. My father works as a tractor driver, and my mother is on maternity leave because she takes care of my baby sister. I have two brothers and two sisters. Mark is 12 and in seventh grade, Solomiia is 7 and in second grade, Danylo is 5 and goes to preschool, and the youngest is Tetiana — she is only 1 year old.
I love playing games, drawing, and coloring with my brothers and sisters. My best friend is Artem. We like to play together and ride our bikes. I really love Christmas because we celebrate it with our whole family, decorate our home, and make lots of tasty food and treats.
In the summer, I help my mom, enjoy my free time, and do sports. I am in third grade now, and I walk to school. I usually spend about 4 hours there. I like talking with my friends and classmates and spending time with them. My favorite subjects are Art, PE, and Math.
I like eating sweet things and fruit. At home we eat borsch, varenyky (dumplings with potatoes), pancakes with meat or poppy seeds, and mashed potatoes with cutlets. My mom always makes lots of sweets for the holidays.
When I grow up, I want to be a pastry chef.
Dear Sponsor, thank you very much for wanting to help me and my family. May the Lord bless you and your family very much.
With love,
Milana
Caseworker’s comments:
Meet Milana — a gentle, loving, and friendly 9‑year‑old girl whose calm spirit and kind heart shine brightly in her family. She is known for the sweet way she cares for her mother and younger siblings, always ready to help with washing dishes or babysitting the little ones. At school, Milana works hard and does wonderfully in Art, Mathematics, and PE. She is a healthy and active child, but because her family lives in poverty, she often struggles with seasonal colds. Milana’s heart is full of love, creativity, and quiet strength. She brings joy to her home and to everyone around her.
Milana is a bright girl growing up in a very large and struggling family. Her mother is in her second marriage and is raising five children—one from her first marriage and four from her current one. For many years, their home life has been marked by instability, hardship, domestic disputes, and emotional strain.
At present, all seven family members live in the grandparents’ small house, where the grandfather, grandmother, and uncle also live. Eleven people share a home with only two small rooms. The house lacks even the most basic necessities: there is no bathroom, no indoor toilet, and no kitchen. The kitchen is located in an old outbuilding in the yard, and the toilet is outside. The children sleep together, and none of them have a room of their own.
Milana’s mother works tirelessly to keep the home clean, prepare meals, wash clothing, and care for the children. She does everything she can, but poverty makes even the simplest needs a daily challenge. The children wear clean but always second‑hand clothing. The mother often cannot afford school supplies or medicine when the children fall ill. Many times, she has had to borrow money just so her children could attend school with the basic materials they need.
The father works as a tractor driver, but much of his income is lost to alcohol. His behavior has caused deep emotional stress within the home. There have been many occasions when the mother had to flee with the children to her own mother’s house to protect them—especially during her pregnancy with the youngest child. Although the father has recently tried to improve, the responsibility of raising the children still rests almost entirely on the mother’s shoulders.
The family hoped for a fresh start when the father purchased an old, inexpensive house in a nearby village. They returned to the grandparents’ home temporarily so they could repair the new house. However, after a year of trying, the renovations remain unfinished because they simply do not have the financial means to complete them. The house is still unfit for children to live in, and the family remains stuck in overcrowded and unsafe conditions.
Milana herself has shown signs of emotional distress, especially around her father. Her kindergarten teacher once witnessed her crying and refusing to go with him, asking instead for her mother. These moments reveal the quiet pain this little girl carries in her heart.
Despite everything, Milana and her sister attend Sunday school, and their mother goes to church whenever the children participate in performances. Their faith is one of the few sources of hope they cling to. They pray for help, for stability, and for God’s protection over their children.
This family urgently needs support. Sponsorship through HART would allow them to meet their most basic needs—food on the table, school supplies, hygiene items, and medicine when the children are sick. It would bring stability to a home that has known far too much uncertainty. Most importantly, it would be a tangible expression of God’s love and care for a family that has been praying for relief.
Milana is a sweet, tender-hearted girl who deserves safety, warmth, and the chance to grow up without fear or hunger. Your support could change the entire direction of her life and bring hope to a mother who is doing everything she can to protect and care for her children. Sponsoring Milana would not only help her thrive—it would be a blessing that echoes God’s compassion into a home that desperately needs it.
