**ARTUR REQUIRES BOTH MEDICAL AND REGULAR SPONSORSHIP**
Dear Sponsor,
My name is Artur, and I am 8 years old. I live in a small village. My mom works as a cleaner at the cardboard factory, and my dad does not work. I have an older sister, Diana, who sometimes takes walks with me when she has free time. We also like to play games on the phone together, which makes me very happy.
I have two best friends, Artem and Daryna. We study at school together, and because they are older, they often protect me wherever we go. We love playing hide‑and‑seek and going for walks. At Christmas, my mom takes me to church, and I receive gifts there. During school holidays, I spend time with my friends, play on the phone, and help my mom in the garden when she needs me.
I am now in the second grade. My mom or my sister takes me to school. I live at school five days a week and come home only for weekends and holidays. I like physical education classes the most. The food at school is tasty, and I have many friends there. I do not like having a lot of lessons, and some of them are hard for me to understand. My favorite food is casserole, but at home we usually eat macaroni. On holidays, I receive sweet gifts, which I love very much. In my free time, I like running with a ball and playing with kittens. When I grow up, I want to become a soldier because I really like their uniform.
Dear Sponsor, thank you sincerely for choosing to help me and my family. Your support is very important and valuable to us. We would really like to receive a letter from you so we can get to know each other better.
With gratitude,
Artur and his mom
Caseworker Comments:
Meet Artur, a lively and talkative little boy who is never afraid to share what he thinks, even when he might be mistaken. He is observant, open, and friendly with everyone he meets. He gets along easily with other children and always finds ways to entertain himself. Although he is physically healthy, he faces serious cognitive and behavioral challenges. After completing Grade 1 in a regular rural school, he made no academic progress. Assessments showed he needed more support, so he repeated Grade 1 at a specialized boarding school with an educational assistant. Now in Grade 2, he still barely knows the alphabet and can write only a few printed letters.
We first met Artur’s family through his sister Diana, who began attending our church programs nearly a year ago. From the very beginning, it was clear that the family was living through extremely difficult circumstances. After speaking with the mother and later visiting their home, we learned that the family consists of both parents and four children, though not all of them live at home anymore. The mother carries the entire weight of providing for the household. She works tirelessly as a cleaner at a cardboard factory, earning only 8,000 UAH ($178 USD) per month, barely enough to cover basic needs. The father has struggled with severe alcohol addiction for many years. He plays almost no role in raising the children and lives in a separate room, while the mother and kids share another.
The home has long been filled with conflict, instability, and emotional tension, a heavy burden for the children. The oldest daughter attempted to enroll in a school in another region after finishing Grade 9 but was unsuccessful. She now works part time, has no stable place to live, and is trying to find her way. One of the sons struggled with serious behavioral issues during his teenage years. Because of the difficult home environment, he was removed from the family and is now being raised by another household. Although the siblings stay in touch, they rarely see one another.
Diana, the sister who attends church, has grown up with very little parental attention or supervision. At times, she even had to stay in a shelter because she was not attending school. When we first met her, she often needed help with clothing, proper nutrition, and basic hygiene. Yet despite everything, she has a remarkably kind heart. She is cheerful, helpful, and eager to learn. She participates actively in church life, helps with cooking and cleaning, and responds beautifully to the care of supportive adults. Artur has recently begun attending Sunday school as well. He is open, energetic, and full of life. He loves animals, enjoys active games, and spends much of his time outdoors.
As we got to know the family, it became clear that their needs go far beyond financial hardship. The children urgently need consistent adult mentorship, emotional support, and positive role models. The mother, though hardworking and loving, is overwhelmed. She struggles with discipline and household management, and the children often do not listen to her. She simply cannot handle the family’s challenges alone.
The family lives in part of a house inherited by the father. They occupy two small living rooms and a kitchen with a separate entrance. They grow vegetables on a small plot of land and plant grain to sell so they can buy school supplies and basic necessities. The house has electricity and an old gas heating system, but the boiler is outdated and inefficient. Cast iron radiators once kept the home warm, but due to unpaid bills, the gas was shut off this spring, leaving the family without heat or a way to cook.
During our first visit, we discovered they could not even afford a small electric hotplate. They were surviving on instant noodles and sandwiches. The house is furnished with old but usable items, yet it desperately needs repairs, updated sanitation, and basic maintenance. The windows are worn out, the front door needs replacing, and the hallways are dark because the switches are broken. With the mother constantly working and overwhelmed, she cannot keep up with repairs or organization. There is no indoor water supply or sewage system. Water must be carried from a well and heated manually for washing and laundry. The toilet is outside in the yard. Although the garden is tidy and the yard is clean, the house lacks the care of someone who knows how to maintain it.
A recent situation revealed just how fragile their circumstances are. When the gas was shut off, the mother asked the church if families could take her children for two weeks until the issue was resolved. This was not a sign of neglect. It showed her complete lack of crisis management skills and her deep exhaustion. She often looks for outside solutions because she does not have the personal resources or life experience to stabilize the household on her own.
This family needs far more than financial help. They need mentorship, guidance, emotional support, and help developing healthy parenting skills. And yet, there is hope. The children respond beautifully to encouragement, structure, and caring adults. The mother is kind, hardworking, and willing to learn. With consistent support, this family truly has the potential to change their future.
Supporting Artur through sponsorship would not only help him. It would help lift an entire family out of a cycle of hardship and give them a chance at stability, dignity, and hope.
