Wednesday, May 4, 2011

Want to help Vasia to help himself?

Vasia is a graduate of Tsurupinsk Orphanage and a gifted painter. He paints with his mouth since he does not have arms. Vasia specializes in landscape and nature scenes, but he also paints wildlife and portraits.

When he aged out of the orphanage as a teenager he was able to attend vocational training for two years. After he graduated the officials in the region where he lived simply put him on the train to Kiev, basically transferring all their responsibility to another area. Vasia had nothing in Kiev.

We are very grateful that Bogdan was able to step in and help. Without Bogdan's assistance, perseverance and many hours of work Vasia would be living on the streets in Kiev.

An Orphan Smiles is so proud of Vasia and his determined spirit for wanting to live independently despite his disabilities. There are many obstacles in Ukrainian society for a person like Vasia. People with special needs are not given opportunities to live independently and are often institutionalized. They face many challenges in a very unaccepting society.

Vasia is painting to support himself. If you are interested in Vasia’s artwork, please see here for more details.

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