**OLEKSANDR REQUIRES BOTH REGULAR AND MEDICAL SPONSORSHIP**
Dear sponsor,
My name is Oleksandr, and I am four years old. I am currently living in a city because of the war, but I am from Mykolaiv. It was dangerous to stay there because Mykolaiv is a near-frontline city that is constantly shelled by Russian army, so we decided to move.
My father now lives in Mykolaiv, as he works there, and our house is still there too. He works as a firefighter on a special train used to fight fires. My mother is unemployed, as I often get ill, and I suffer from bronchial asthma and allergies. I have a brother whose name is Artem. He is almost 13 years old. He is a seventh-grade student, and he is both a brother and a friend to me. I enjoy playing domino, hide and seek, and football with him.
I attend kindergarten, but rarely because of my illness. I have a friend there whose name is Ostap. We like building toy houses and playing with toy cars with him. The kindergarten is far from our home, so we have to get there by bus or trolleybus. In kindergarten, we have dancing and English classes, but I have missed almost all of them.
I love going for walks to the lake in the park with my mother and brother. Moreover, I like it when my mother cooks something tasty for me. I love borsch, mashed potatoes, and cucumbers. My brother will have a birthday soon, so my mother will cook a delicious pie.
Dear Sponsor, I would be truly grateful if you chose me and my family to support us. I would be happy to communicate and correspond with you.
Hugs,
Oleksandr
Caseworker Comments:
Meet Oleksandr, a tender, quiet boy whose entire world revolves around his mother, the only person he truly trusts. The war, relentless stress, and ongoing health issues have left him deeply afraid of others, causing him to retreat from the outside world. His speech is limited and unclear, and he requires regular sessions with a speech therapist to help him express himself. Because of his fragile condition, Oleksandr rarely leaves home; his days are spent either inside their small apartment or in the hospital. He suffers from bronchial asthma so severely that he is hospitalized up to three times a month due to lung inflammation or dangerous obstructions in his airways. His ability to breathe freely, something so many take for granted, depends entirely on access to specialized medication and care that his family cannot afford without help. Medical sponsorship is not just support, it’s his lifeline. Oleksandr’s life is quiet, filled with fear, but also filled with hope that someone will see him, understand him, and choose to help him survive.
Oleksandr’s life has been shaped by trauma and resilience. Before the war, his family lived peacefully in Mykolaiv, but that peace shattered when the conflict began. Forced into cold, damp basements to hide from danger, Oleksandr’s health deteriorated rapidly. He became seriously ill, but the chaos of displacement denied him the treatment he so desperately needed. After fleeing their home, the family settled in a decaying house in the Ternopil region, with no indoor plumbing and no hot water. Later, they found temporary shelter in a gymnasium before finally moving into a tiny one-room apartment, sparsely furnished and inadequate. There, the family endured more heartbreak as Oleksandr’s father abandoned them entirely, leaving his mother to care for two children alone.
Now, their cramped apartment holds more sorrow than comfort. The older son sleeps on the floor because the beds are broken, and there is no desk to support his education. The kitchen is barely functional, lined with worn cabinets and broken fixtures. Oleksandr, just a young boy, battles a severe form of asthma and recurring lung infections that require frequent hospitalization sometimes up to four times a month. His fragile health prevents his mother from working; every day revolves around medication, monitoring his breathing, and praying that his condition doesn’t worsen. The physical burden is immense, but the emotional toll is even greater. Without a stable income or support network, the family struggles to afford even basic food and supplies.
They are quietly enduring unbearable circumstances. Oleksandr’s mother is not just his caregiver, she is his lifeline, holding everything together with love and desperation. Medical assistance, material support, and compassion from others could transform this story from one of survival to one of hope. Oleksandr is not simply ill, he is a gentle boy trapped in hardship, longing to breathe freely, go to school, make friends, and experience the joy every child deserves. To help him is to help his entire family rise again.
