Happy Child logo

From the City to the Rural Life

September 1, 2015, 13:50 2912 Author: Albert Pavlov, translated by Anna Oliynyk deti.zp.ua In July 2015, our family moved from Zaporozhye to the country and organized a family-type children's home with 10 children. In this article, we will share our first impressions of our rural life.

Once every few years I feel an urge to change my life radically.

It happened in 2006, when I made a decision to quit my job at the factory and devote all my time to development of the project, www.deti.zp.ua. Instead of following someone else's instructions, I started doing what I love doing and bringing good to people around me.

Then, this summer my wife Liuda and I decided to change our way of life and to move to the rural area, to the children's village which is currently under construction and to organize a family-type children's home. At some point, my daughter Masha was asking if she could have 7 sisters - and now her dream came true!

Since July 2015, we live in the village of Ukrainka in Mikhailovka district of Zaporozhye oblast. We bring up 10 children (2 biologic daughters, 2 adoptive sons and 6 adoptive daughters). Our 3-room apartment in the city is now being used by an internally displaced foster family from Donbass.

Just as it was in 2006, when I quit my job at the factory, most of our friends and acquaintances did not welcome such a step. "It is too far from the city! There is no school in the village! There is no 24/7 shop, no pharmacy! What about clubs and groups for children? How will you go to work?" are the questions we have been asked most often.

But now, six weeks after our move, we see that it is quite possible to live in the village; that all questions can be settled, and even more - that such life brings more joy than the city life. Yes, we have a lot of questions to settle with children and a lot of duties about the house and in the yard. But being close to nature and doing simple rural work gives inspiration and facilitates normal development of the children.

In the city, we lived our virtual life, far from nature. And now we feel that we are in fact part of it. Every morning we enjoy the scents of herbs, observe plants growing and seasons changing. Every night we see the moon transforming, observe the sky and the stars. In 10 meters from our house, we have our own small football field, and we can walk on it barefoot… In our disposal, we have a big meadow in the center of the village, full of wild flowers, and several forest plantations, where one can walk, listening to the songs of hundreds of birds. The pond is a bit further, in 2 kilometers - a good reason to go jogging in the morning. We try to swim in it all the year round… Around us we have many animals, even though we do not raise any hens or cows so far. Several cats with kittens, a dog - an unlimited source of games for our little ones. Besides, there are hedgehogs, hears, foxes, partridges, pheasants, hoopoes, owls, hundreds of jumping frogs in the evening, and various bugs… People say, that there are even wolves somewhere nearby.

Before our move, we were afraid that in the village both we and our children will feel bored. But so far we faced another problem - we can hardly find a free minute. Children spend their whole days outside - playing with kittens, the dog, helping us work in the yard, boys try digging or building something. It is a real work which requires not only physical but also mental efforts.

When we moved to the rural area, we did not cut our ties with civilization. 2-3 times a week we go to the district center, Vasilyevka, to do the shopping. Two times a week I work in the office in Zaporozhye. Now we live 80 kilometers closer to the Azov Sea; that is why we go there more often. Our family likes traveling, and our move to the country will not interfere with our trips. In our house we have high-speed Internet access, so we do not have a feeling that we are isolated. We have even more guests than we used to have when we lived in the city, plus they come to visit us not for a couple of hours but most often for a few days.

Some people ask how I am going to manage to work as the director of our Foundation, living with 10 children in a small village far from the city. Sure, I will not be able to devote as much time to my work in the Foundation as I used to. But I am not going to quit my job and I think that developing the activities of the Foundation is one of my key goals. Twice a week I go to the office, and in other days I work at home, using my telephone and web access. Besides, most projects of the Foundation are coordinated by project managers who do their work well. In the nearest future, we will decide who will take the post of the Executive Director. As for me, I am going to focus on the development of children's village, Klubok tourist project and websites of the Foundation.

We would like to say a big thank you to all those who helped us in building the house!

We are always happy to welcome guests in our children's village!

You can e-mail us at detizp@mail.ru, call +3 8 066 513 34 35 and come to visit us!

Best regards, Albert Pavlov,

Director of the Happy Child Foundation, www.deti.zp.ua

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

They need help:
Kira Karhiieva
Kira Karhiieva

Disorders of neurodevelopment, disorders of the autistic spectrum

Help now

You donated in 2025

$ 31 610

Our expenses in 2025
To 28 sick children $7 823
Medical equipment: $0
Humanitarian help: $1 047
To disabled children: $1 609
To children's village: $1 006
To orphans and poor children: $1 940
"Helpus" - help to adults: $2 235
Service expenses: $2 268
Total sum of expenses: $17 968

$7 082 618

donated since 2007