Dear Sponsor,
Hi! My name is Viktoriia, and I’m 11 years old. I live in a village with my brothers and sisters, there are five of us! I’m a middle child. We play together a lot and help each other. I love them so much. My brother Vitalik really likes cocoa, and my sister Veronika loves tea! I live with my mom and dad, but they don’t have regular jobs. Sometimes my dad finds small jobs in the village, but not very often. Most of the time, they’re at home. I like warm weather because I can go outside, make flowers crowns, and play with my little brothers. I help my mom a lot like washing dishes, cleaning, and watching the little ones. We have a garden with yummy strawberries! Even when things are hard, I try to be helpful. I’m in 5th grade and walk to school. My favorite subjects are math and PE. I don’t really like reading, so literature isn’t my favorite. My best friend is also named Viktoriia! We play tag and hide-and-seek at school.
I love eating fresh veggie salads. My mom makes soups and potatoes in different ways. She doesn’t bake cookies often, but I love them when she does! Christmas is my favorite holiday. We’re all together, and the food smells so good. I help make beet salad, and we eat jellied meat too. I love those moments. One day, I want to be a children’s doctor and help kids feel better. I hope our home will always be warm and cozy. Thank you so much for caring about me. I’m really happy to write to you!
With love,
Viktoriia
Caseworker’s Comments:
Meet Viktoriia, a bright, cheerful, and deeply compassionate 11-year-old with a heart full of love. She’s a devoted sister who always looks out for her siblings, playing with them, comforting them when they’re sad, and bringing joy to their days. Viktoriia is also a creative soul who enjoys drawing and making crafts, and she treasures spending time with her friends. At home, she’s her mother’s right hand, babysitting her younger siblings, helping with chores, and doing it all with kindness and care.
Although Viktoriia is a cheerful and kind-hearted child who deeply loves her family, she lives in circumstances no child should ever have to endure. We’ve known this family for over six years and have done everything we can to support them—but their situation remains heartbreaking and urgently in need of intervention.
Viktoriia’s mother has a significant intellectual disability and cannot properly care for her children. She believes they are doing “well enough,” unaware of the neglect they face. The father, battling chronic alcoholism, is often violent and spends nearly all his income on alcohol. The children live in constant fear. They are emotionally withdrawn, rarely speak, and are especially silent around their parents.
We’ve visited the family regularly over the past four years, bringing food, clothes, books, and toys. The children are always eager to see us. Once, we returned shortly after a visit and saw them rushing desperately to the food we had left. That moment broke our hearts—it was clear they were starving.
The home is in a terrible and devastating state. Though large, the family lives in just two rooms. The children sleep on torn, filthy mattresses or broken beds. The kitchen lacks running water and gas. Doors are rotting, windows are drafty, and the floors are never cleaned. Cooking is done outside over a broken wood fire. The entire environment is unsafe and unsanitary.
The children wear dirty, worn-out clothes and often go unwashed for weeks. At school, they are bullied and isolated. When the father was briefly away for military service, the mother brought another man into the home and completely neglected the children—no food, no clean clothes, no school. Now, both men live in the house. Police are called almost daily due to violence. The mother has become aggressive and has started physically abusing the children.
We are especially worried about Viktoriia. She is quiet, scared, and emotionally shut down. Her basic needs—food, safety, love—are not being met. And yet, when we visit, she opens up. She smiles. She plays. She shows us that with love and support, she can still grow, still dream.
Viktoriia wants to be a pediatrician one day—to help children like herself. But she cannot do it alone. This family needs urgent help. Viktoriia needs protection, stability, and a safe place to heal. She deserves a childhood filled with hope, not fear. Please, help us give Viktoriia the chance she deserves.
