Випускники – Your Help UA

recorded on video

Testimony · name withheld · audio 2026-01-28

“During the war, we caught stray dogs, to survive”

This is not sensationalism. This is a real child’s testimony that we recorded on video — and not just one.

The teenager told it calmly — as a fact. In their village, there was no food at all then. He remembers how they caught dogs as a whole group so they could share. He was 9 years old.

We kept this story safe until we found a way to tell it without sensationalism. This is not a “victim.” This is a generation that survived — and now carries a silent scar within, one we need to work with together.

Age at the camp session: 10 Context: occupation · hunger Work: individual psychology

recurring theme

Team collective testimony · teens ages 13–16

"In the families children come from before entering an orphanage, it is even worse, than in the orphanage itself"

This is the most painful truth educators share with us. An orphanage is a bad place. But the family a child comes from is often worse.

That is why children are not running from something worse, but searching for something better. They come to our center not for "social aid" — they come for the atmosphere: calm, an adult who listens, shared prayer, no shouting.

And that is exactly why they come back again — as long as we still have space.

They often return: ~40% What they ask for when they return: "one more week"

3 years of support

Kateryna · 14 years old · came twice

"I don't have parents — but I have a Heavenly Father. He is correcting my character"

The first time Katya came to a camp session from an orphanage — quiet, with her fists in her pockets. She barely spoke. Before leaving, she folded a sheet of paper and said nothing.

A year later, she returned — her foster father brought her (the family is not Adventist). She came on her own and asked to join.

Before leaving, she told her mentor: "I started praying. I stopped swearing. That means a lot to me." And she added the phrase we still remember: "I don't have parents, but I have a Heavenly Father. He is correcting my character."

Age: 14 Camp sessions: 2 Status: foster family

critical age

Teens ages 15–16 · every camp session

"In a year we will leave the orphanage. Could you adopt us?»

At the last camp session, several older teens asked the mentors directly: "Couldn't you adopt us?"

This is not a random wish. In 1–2 years they will age out of the system — without a family, without housing, without independent living skills. The future is frightening, and they understand that.

That is why we launched a separate initiative — Preparing families for adoption. We work with both sides at the same time: preparing families who can welcome them, and the teens themselves — so that a home is not just "formal," but real.

Age: 15–16 Request: direct request for a family Status: ~30% find a family

What happened after the camp session

“During the war, we caught stray dogs, to survive”

"In the families children come from before entering an orphanage, it is even worse, than in the orphanage itself"

"I don't have parents — but I have a Heavenly Father. He is correcting my character"

"In a year we will leave the orphanage. Could you adopt us?»

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