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A Child Has a Family: Matvey B., born in 1997

January 23, 2013, 17:00 3284 Author: Mariya Semashkina, translated by Daria Sukach www.deti.zp.ua Matvey is with his new loving family in the USA now

Matvey as well as Nikolai are with his new loving family in the USA now

Matvey is one of the so-called “invisible” children in the Child’s Home. He is one of the children who cannot speak, and thus, cannot express his wishes and concerns. He obviously longs for someone’s care, warmth and understanding.

Matvey is spiritually strong regardless of the fact that he can just crawl. The Child’s Home staff says that Matvey is the only child in the institution who never cries. Perhaps the boy understands that tears would never help him, so he enjoys each moment of his life. He also cherishes every person who gives him a piece of their heart.

I did not really play much with Matvey before so when I pushed his wheelchair into the playroom to take some photographs of him, I couldn’t help noticing how delighted he suddenly looked! Matvey’s caretaker told me that although Matvey usually spends his days alone, sitting in the wheelchair with his head hung, he is actually a very sociable child. When we were in the playroom Matvey was smiling at each new toy, was touching and even tasting them. He even tried to catch a ball and was thrilled about the beep toys.

One should not be a psychologist or a therapist to see that Matvey is definitely a promising child. He is likely to learn to eat independently with some proper therapy and care. Let’s hope his future loving parents will have some free time to make Matvey’s life brighter, so he could discover the world instead of sitting in his wheelchair and looking down on the floor…

If you are interested in adopting Matvey, please read the memo to the potential adoptive parents, guardians, and foster parents; you can also contact Children’s Affairs' service of the Zaporozhia State Administration by telephone (061) 239-01-56. Request the Profile Number of Matvey accordingly to the orphan list # 0057734.

Other children who dream of finding a family

If for some reason you are currently not able to adopt (for example, you are a student and do not have a family of your own yet) you are still able to help children at a boarding school (an orphanage with your financial support. Ways you can help include: planning and participating in excursions and trips for children; visiting a child in an orphanage; or helping purchase developmental toys, books, construction sets, and sports equipment.

Happy Child foundation - effective help to the most needy children of the Zaporizhzhia region, Ukraine, since 2004

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Stepan Suvorov

Cerebral palsy, spastic diplegia

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