**TETIANA REQUIRES BOTH REGULAR AND MEDICAL SPONSORSHIP**
Dear sponsor,
My name is Tetiana (Tanya), but everyone calls me Tanyusha. I am 4 years old and live in a village.
I have many friends in kindergarten, but my best friend is Iryna, she loves hugs, and every morning we hug before we play. I have three little brothers and one sister, and we often go to the playground together. I love jumping on the trampoline. At home we have two kittens and some chickens, and I help feed them. I love my dad very much — he carries me in his arms and plays with me. He works in the school boiler room and keeps the children warm. My mom stays home and takes care of us.
There is a river in our village, and in the summer our whole family swims there. I go to church and know our pastor, Pavlo. He always hugs me, and I enjoy Sunday school because we do fun things.
I love drawing, I paint my hands and press them onto paper to create art. When I grow up, I want to be an artist. On holidays my mom cooks stuffed cabbage rolls. On regular days I like sweet oatmeal, and in summer I love ice cream. My favorite is vanilla. What kind do you like?
Thank you very much for helping me and my family. I send you a big hug.
Love,
Tanyusha (Tetiana)
Caseworker’s Report:
Meet Tetiana, a bright, joyful little girl whose smile lights up every room she enters.
At just four years old, she is full of life, creativity, and curiosity. She loves drawing, crafting, singing, and dancing, and her family affectionately calls her Tanyusha, the nickname she prefers. She is active, friendly, and always eager to share her joy with others.
But behind her cheerful spirit is a story marked by hardship.
Tetiana is growing up in a foster home and faces significant health challenges. She has been diagnosed with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and experiences developmental delays as a result. When she was removed from unsafe conditions, her situation was critical — at three years old, she weighed only about 2 kg (4 lbs) and was unable to walk on her own.
Thanks to the devoted care of her foster parents, consistent medical treatment, and ongoing developmental support, Tetiana is slowly improving. However, she still requires constant medical supervision, regular testing, medications, vitamin therapy, and a special high‑protein diet essential for her brain development.
Tetiana’s foster parents, Nataliia and Mykhailo, are a remarkable couple who have opened their hearts and home to five children with complex medical needs. Each child in their care has a chronic diagnosis, including Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, and requires ongoing medical supervision, treatment, and rehabilitation. Four of the children have been with the family for about three years, and the youngest girl, Tetiana, joined them in December 2025. Slowly, the children are learning to adapt to family life, school, and kindergarten, something they had never experienced before.
When the children first arrived, both foster parents were employed. However, due to the intensity of the children’s medical needs, the mother was forced to leave her job to provide full‑time care. The father now works as a stoker at the local school, earning only minimum wage. Their financial situation is extremely difficult, yet they continue to give everything they have to these children.
Each child faces serious health challenges:
- Nazar struggles with neurological disorders, including eyelid myokymia.
- Oleksandr has developmental delays.
- Yevhen faces psycho‑speech developmental delays, ADHD, and vision problems.
- Mariia, the youngest, requires constant monitoring due to the risks associated with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.
- Tetiana, the youngest girl, has Fetal Alcohol Syndrome and developmental delays and needs continuous medical care, specialized nutrition, and regular testing.
All five children require constant attention, treatment, and support—far beyond what the family’s limited income can provide.
Although the family has official foster‑family status, they do not qualify for “large family” benefits and receive no additional support. The state provides 3,028 UAH ($71.16 USD) per child, an amount that is nowhere near enough to cover the cost of proper nutrition, medical examinations, medications, and rehabilitation. With only the father’s monthly minimum‑wage income of 6,960 UAH ($163 USD), the family is unable to meet even the most basic needs of the children.
The family lives in a modest home in the village, an inherited house they have been slowly repairing themselves. While some rooms still need cosmetic work, Nataliia and Mykhailo do everything they can to keep the home clean, safe, and welcoming. They keep a few chickens and maintain a small garden to help supplement their food.
Their local church, though small, supports them whenever possible. The family is active in church life: the mother is a member, and the children attend Sunday school, joyfully learning Bible verses and listening to stories about God’s love. Their faith is a source of strength, and they trust that the Lord will continue to provide for their needs.
Despite overwhelming challenges, these foster parents love their children deeply and sacrificially. The father takes on any extra work he can find in the village, but with so many children and constant medical expenses, the family simply cannot manage on their own.
Tetiana and her siblings urgently need support. Given their complex health conditions, minimal state assistance, and the family’s limited financial resources, help from the HART’s Child Sponsorship Program would be life‑changing. Sponsorship for Tetiana would ensure she receives proper nutrition, essential medical care, and the developmental support she needs to grow, learn, and thrive.
Your support can be an answer to prayer for this family, an expression of Christ’s love in a home that is already doing everything possible to give these children hope and a future.
