A Family for Every Orphan, afamilyforeveryorphan.org, helps orphans find loving families in their home countries. Recently we helped the Zhirov family in Ukraine finalize the adoption of their little boy, Vanya (2). Vanya’s severe medical needs were not fully disclosed at the time of his adoption. His immunodeficiency disorder treatments cost more than half the average monthly salary in Ukraine!
Vanya’s new mother, Natasha, makes only about $200 a month as a nurse and her husband, Ruslan, was not paid a salary since the beginning of the COVID-19 quarantine in March. A Family for Every Orphan raised funds to assist the Zhirov family in getting medical treatments for Vanya as well as his adopted brothers, Bogdan (7) and Stepan (5), who also have special medical needs. We just received an update that Vanya is doing much better- his asthma attacks have decreased significantly, he has grown 3.5 inches since coming home, and now he is beginning to talk!
Many times, children in developing nations are orphaned because of special needs or medical issues. There are often loving families who are willing to adopt, but they lack the resources to bring children home from the orphanages. The vision of A Family for Every Orphan is to someday see a WORLD WITHOUT ORPHANS – a world in which every child knows the love of Christ through the tangible love of their earthly family. We work with local churches of all denominations, local governments, and non-profit leaders to break down barriers that prevent children from going home to loving, forever families.
Vanya’s mother wrote to tell us, “I want to sincerely thank everyone who helped my family. For us, it is especially important and relevant. My children were in the orphanages with complex diagnoses and nobody wanted to take them home, except for us. Some people might ask why we would take on such a responsibility on a low income. But I just couldn’t forget their eyes… so mature and sad. If not us, then who?”
