September 16, 2009
By Staff

Nastya Averina (2 years 9 months), Sergey Azarin (1 year 6 months), Konstantin Antonov (2 years), Polina Galenkova (2 years 11 months), and 16 other toddlers under the age of three are currently living in an orphanage in the town of Karachev in Russia's Bryansk Region.

Kostya Antonov's parents refused to take care of him, as he suffers from cerebral palsy. Polina lived with her alcoholic mother for two years, before her mother eventually agreed to sign away her parental rights and asked the state to take care of her upbringing. Nastya Solovyova's parents are serving prison sentences for a serious crime, while the mother of 2-year-old Kirill Tkachev was deemed unfit to raise him and he has no father. 2-year-old Semyon Yurchenko was left on the porch of the orphanage and pinned to him was his birth certificate with the names of his mother and father scribbled out.

The lives of each of these children began differently, but now they all share a common fate. They all live in the same orphanage, the word "mother" to them is more of a concept than something actual, with 'mama' the name that they now called their caregivers, physicians and most of the women who work at the orphanage.

They are like radars, trying to catch the attention of every woman, trying to look into her eyes and, if achieved, then clinging on to her legs, hands, or clothes—even those of strangers, in hopes that this 'auntie' may be their real or future mother. But there is not much hope, as almost all of these children have a serious disease, congenital defects and deformities, or mental retardation.

It is rare in Russia that such children are adopted, so their fate becomes even more challenging as they grow older. These people are often seen as outcasts by society. After leaving this warm and familiar children's home, such children will be transferred to a new children's home, then a boarding school for children with developmental problems, and then afterwards, they may be relegated to living in a home for the disabled.

These kids are used to wearing uniforms, to eat meals that are healthy but not necessarily tasty, and they must all share the same toys. They lack many of the things needed for normal life—vitamins, bright and warm clothes, comfortable shoes. Receiving aid from the Fellowship Foundation was like a genuine miracle for them—the fresh seemingly-exotic fruits provided by the Foundation enabled nearly all of these youngsters to try these treats for the first time in their lives. Now their menu will offer a variety of foods. The Foundation made it possible for each of the kids to receive their very own clothes!

Teachers at the orphanage collectively wrote a letter to the Fellowship Foundation and personally thanked its head, Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, for this remarkable gift. An excerpt from this letter reads "If you could have seen our children when they put on their new things, when we gave them fruit, and all the delicious and assorted food that we have acquired through your Foundation! These children's little eyes literally lit up with joy, and they are just glowing with happiness and hope that they will also be able to enjoy such wonderful things in the future. Thank you so much!"