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April 2007 |
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 Sasha with CCPI volunteer Suzanne |
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Dear [subscriber name here], |
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Sasha is one of the many children with whom we work. Your support allows us to bring improvement to the daily lives of children affected by the Chernobyl disaster, as well as to provide long term hope. By getting to know Sasha through his story below, we have the chance to appreciate that behind every statistic, there is a unique human being who deserves to be acknowledged. Please read on for Sasha's story, and click here for more photos and update on programs that need your continued support. Eighteen year old Sasha L., a resident of the Vesnova Children’s Asylum in Belarus, stays indoors for months each winter because his wheelchair can not be maneuvered in the snow. To mentally escape the boredom of the asylum he spends time looking at a small photo album he always carries with him in a black bag hanging from the back of his wheel chair. He shows the album to all newcomers. Inside is a picture of his sister Katja, who has not been to visit him since early summer as she has no means of transportation. He also has photos of his cousins, his Godmother and his aunt. None of them visit more than once a year, but he says he thinks of them every day. Sasha’s father committed suicide when the boy was 9 months old. His mother, who was also an alcoholic, began to beat him when he was a toddler, until he was sent to live with his aunt in 2001. “My mother didn’t care about me, she didn’t feed me, she is an alcoholic always drinking vodka and then hurting me. I never want to see my mother again,” he says when asked about their relationship. “She didn’t hit me when I was still very little. At that time I could crawl and could get up from the floor to the sofa by myself, but then she started to beat me and after a while I could no longer do those things.” Sasha liked living with his aunt, but unfortunately his physical disabilities were too great for her to take care of him, especially as she has five children of her own. So Sasha is relatively happy with his life at Vesnova, where the other kids see him as sort of a ring-leader, one of the cool guys, possibly because he is completely fit mentally. “I like it here at Vesnova, this is home to me. I like the director, but some of the smaller kids drive me crazy” he says with a smile. “In the future I want to be a translator,” he replies when asked about his goals. “It looks like a good job and then I could help CCPI,” he says with a laugh. He has already learned some basic vocabulary and can answer simple questions asked in English. CCPI gave him an English-Russian language program on CD, and he picks up new words and phrases with ease. In the meantime the fear is that Sasha will be sent off to the adult mental asylum as soon as there is space for him there. He is aware of this possibility and does not look forward to it. “I will probably move soon to the adult home, which is bad because I do not want to leave Vesnova. I have friends here, I don’t want to leave what has now become my home.” -- by Dietlind Lerner Click on the Donate Now button to make your donation online by credit card. You may mail check donations to: Chernobyl Children's Project International, 217 East 86th Street, PMB #275, New York, New York 10028 |