**ANDRII REQUIRES BOTH REGULAR AND MEDICAL SPONSORSHIP**
Dear Sponsor,
My name is Andrii, and I am 7 years old. I live in a small village. My dad doesn’t have a permanent job, but sometimes he works for people in exchange for food to bring home. My mom is on maternity leave with my baby brother, Danylo. She wanted to name him Daniel from the Bible, but when the documents were made, they wrote his name as Danylo instead.
My best friend is my brother Volodymyr. He pushes me on the swing and gives me rides on his bicycle. We go to church together, where we sing many songs and hear stories. In the summer, I spend all my time playing with my brothers and sisters.
I finished 1st grade and will be going into 2nd. A bus takes us to another village for school. I don’t like when there are too many children or when they don’t understand me. I still don’t know how to read or count well, but I enjoy Physical Education and drawing.
At home, we eat porridge and jacket potatoes. My favorite food is varenyky and apples. On holidays, people from church visit us, and then we get to eat sweets, cutlets, or pies. In my free time, I play football, ride the swing, and run around with the baby goats.
When I grow up, I want to find a job that pays money so I can buy everything my mom and I need. I also want to learn how to drive a big car and do good things for people.
My family thanks you very much for wanting to help us. We would really like to meet you and become friends. We will be waiting for your letter.
With gratitude,
Andrii and his mom Liuba
Caseworker Comments:
Andrii is a calm, gentle, and obedient boy who tries his best to help his family however he can. He takes care of the chickens, helps herd the goats into the barn, washes dishes, and gathers brushwood from the forest with his brothers so they can heat their small home. He loves football, drawing, and spending time outdoors — simple joys that brighten his otherwise difficult childhood.
But Andrii’s development and health are a serious concern. After completing the first grade, he still cannot read, knows very few letters, struggles to count, and has difficulty concentrating or remembering information. His speech is severely delayed; he cannot pronounce many sounds, and often only close family members can understand him. Because of this, he feels isolated at school, unable to make friends even though he is naturally friendly and eager to connect.
We first met this family two years ago, after a teacher reached out for help. When the mother became pregnant again, she was overwhelmed and desperate. During our first visit, we found the children walking barefoot in the summer because they didn’t even have basic shoes. Since then, with the help of the local church and caring people, the family has slowly begun to change. The children now attend church events, try harder in school, and dream of a better future — something they never allowed themselves to imagine before.
The family’s living conditions are heartbreaking. They live in a remote village with only about 35 residents, nine of whom are from this family. There is no school, no kindergarten, no work, no store, and no opportunities for children. The parents themselves grew up in poverty and lack the skills needed to maintain a household or care for their children’s health. The mother has had serious vision problems since childhood but has never been examined. The father suffers from severe psoriasis and eczema, leaving his hands covered in painful wounds — a condition that often prevents him from finding work. He also struggles with alcohol addiction, which creates constant emotional tension at home. Recently, he has become aggressive toward his wife for refusing to drink with him and for attending church, and he sometimes picks fights with the older sons.
The family survives almost entirely on state child benefits — about 3,000 UAH ($66 USD) per month — nowhere near enough for a family of nine. The father takes occasional odd jobs, often working in gardens or doing heavy labor for a small fee or food. Some months, they live solely on social assistance and the kindness of others. Every year, the children gather berries and forest plants to sell so they can buy notebooks and basic school supplies.
Their home is a small, old two‑room house with a narrow corridor. Seven children share the space, and the beds are too small for their growing bodies. One of the older boys must sleep curled up because he no longer fits in his bed. Recently, the church gifted them a bunk bed, giving them just a little more room to walk. The house is in deplorable condition: old wiring, crumbling walls, worn‑out windows, and no bathroom or kitchen. There is no toilet inside or outside — only an old covered shed that once served as a woodshed. They heat the home with a stove, gathering deadwood from the forest because they cannot afford firewood. Water reaches the house only because a grandfather helped install a borehole, but it frequently stops working.
The furniture is old and mostly donated. The yard is filled with collapsing outbuildings. There is no space for studying, resting, or privacy. The biggest challenge remains the constant clutter and the family’s lack of basic household skills. Yet, despite everything, small improvements have begun they now have a washing machine, a refrigerator, and a small oven. The mother is trying to learn, trying to change, trying to give her children a different life.
All the children except the youngest two — Sofiia and baby Danylo — are school‑aged. Two of them are sick. One 12‑year‑old boy has serious eye problems and developmental delays, but even he has not been registered for disability support.
For the past year, the mother has been faithfully attending a church in a neighboring village. The pastor and church members know the family well and help them regularly. They bring the children to Sunday school, organize family events, and support them in crises. Because of this, the family has begun to hope again. They started a small farm with goats and chickens and planted a vegetable garden. The mother is paying more attention to the children and is trying to change the family’s lifestyle. Most importantly, she and the children want to escape the cycle of poverty they were born into.
This is why Andrii’s participation in the Sponsorship Program is so critical. Sponsorship could provide stability, food, clothing, medical care, school supplies, and emotional support, things this family cannot provide on their own. For Andrii, it could mean access to proper learning support, speech therapy, and the chance to finally feel understood. For the entire family, it could be the turning point that breaks generations of hardship.
This family is trying. They are fighting. They are hoping. But they cannot do it alone.
Sponsoring Andrii would not only change his life, but it would also help lift an entire family out of despair and give them a future filled with dignity, possibility, and hope.
