Dear sponsor,
My name is Denys. I am 4 years old, almost 5 and I’m in kindergarten. I have two wonderful sisters, Nadiia and Kateryna, who take care of me when my parents are away. In the summer they are always with me: they cook for me, help me change my clothes, and play with me all day long.
I also have a cool friend—my cat—who keeps me company when my mom is running late or when I’m waiting for my dad to come home. I try to help my mom by cleaning up my toys and feeding our cat. My mom takes very good care of me, and sometimes she cooks stuffed cabbage and cutlets for me, especially on big holidays.
I can’t wait to get to know you! Please tell me all about yourself. Do you like cats? Looking forward to receiving your letter.
With love,
Denys
Caseworker’s comments:
Meet Denys, a quiet, gentle, and tender‑hearted little boy whose kindness shines in everything he does. He is shy but deeply affectionate, and he loves drawing, building with plasticine, and creating little worlds with his imagination. He enjoys helping his family in the small ways he can and spends much of his time playing with his beloved cat. Denys dreams big — one day he hopes to build a beautiful house for his family and for all the animals he loves.
Denys lives with his parents and two older sisters, Kateryna and Nadiia. The family is a hardworking family of five. His mother works as a nurse, and his father works at a factory. The girls study diligently at school, and the parents do everything they can to provide for their children. Yet despite their efforts, the family faces serious financial hardship.
Their rented home is extremely old and worn down. There is no central water supply, and the well water is unsafe to drink, so they must carry water from neighbors. There is no shower, the children bathe in a small tub or basin. The outdoor toilet is in awful condition. The girls’ room is so small that there is no space for a desk, so they study at the kitchen table or on their beds.
Most of the furniture is old and left behind by the previous owner. The washing machine has been modified to work without running water — the family must carry water by hand to fill it, and the dirty water drains into a bucket that must be emptied manually. The house is heated with wood, but because firewood is expensive, they gather branches or buy leftover scraps.
Their meals are simple and repetitive: potatoes, pasta, borscht, and soup. Some vegetables come from a small garden or a neighbor’s plot. Clothing is limited, Denys wears hand‑me‑downs from his sisters.
Life was once more stable, but everything changed after the birth of the third child. During her pregnancy, Denys’s mother worked until her eighth month in harsh conditions, sorting mushrooms in a cold storage facility at 3–5°C. She later developed serious heart problems, which reduced the family’s income even further. She can no longer take extra jobs as she once did. The father, overwhelmed by the pressure, began drinking to cope. Both parents now earn only minimum wage, and much of it goes toward rent, leaving very little for the children’s needs. These struggles have created emotional and psychological strain within the home.
Yet even in hardship, this family holds on to hope. The parents continue to care for their children with love, and the children work hard in school. Kateryna excels in mathematics and dreams of graduating with honors so she can attend university and help her family. Denys continues to grow in creativity and imagination, showing a gentle spirit and a desire to build and create.
The family is doing everything they can, but their circumstances are simply too difficult to overcome alone. The lack of proper housing, limited finances, and inability to provide adequate nutrition, clothing, and school supplies deeply affects the children’s quality of life.
Your support could be an answer to this family’s prayers. It would offer dignity, stability, and the promise of a brighter future for Denys and his sisters, a future where their dreams are not limited by poverty but strengthened by love, faith, and opportunity.
