For more than seven weeks, the people of Ukraine have been experiencing the state of quarantine, declared by the government on March 12. Shops, schools and markets are closed. David Lock, deputy director of the foster house, “Živá Perla”, wrote to us how they dealt with the situation.

Most schools are empty, but not in Bortnyky. Arranging boys to continue learning was not an easy task. David Lock told us: „We have a private school located on the property, where the foster house is built. Thanks to that, children can continue to attend school. The problem, however, was the teacher had to stay home, so no one could teach the boys. They probably didn´t expect it, but we were able to cover all the essential subjects. English is taught by our two volunteers, mathematics and Ukrainian language are taught by two older boys who are very talented, and the director of the foster house, Ruslan Markiv, has taken history.“ In addition to theoretical classes, they also have practical exercises: „We have created a small field on our land, where the boys build a greenhouse with our help.“

The boys also help with the housework: „There is a lot of work around the foster house. We have a small farm where we keep chickens, goats, pigs, hares and cows. We also own a field that we are slowly preparing for planting, and besides vegetables, we also have a few fruit trees.  All works are divided according to difficulty. The younger ones collect eggs, keep chicken and dogs, the older ones help water the garden, and carry wood to the kitchen, and the oldest ones take care of the cows and cut timber.“ Of course, the boys get a well-deserved time off, when there is no more of school or housework. Then they have fun, play football and relax.

The football field is seldom empty because the boys always like to play football

In conclusion, on behalf of all the boys and staff of the orphanage, David Lock did not forget to thank you, our dear donors, for making their lives more comfortable during this difficult time. 

We would also like to express our gratitude for Your continuous help even during the pandemic. Thanks to You we can help up to 4915 children. We wish you all the best, and stay healthy. If you also want to join the Children´s donation project, you can do so HERE.

Martin Kružliak