Volunteers' support

We continue to tell you about our volunteers - people who come everyday to care about our children. People whose work is possible thanks to you. Here's a story of Liza who came to Shag Navstrechu long ago and now is a head of the department. 

"I came to the organization so long ago that the volunteering leaflets were hanging on the noticebord. It was one of the days in February when I saw that an orphanage was seeking volunteers.

When I arrived at the orphanage for the first time, I sensed a slightly foul smell (by the way, now it’s almost gone). I was taken to see the groups: 15 children in each, there was no school at all (now there are 5 children in each group, and most of them attend to school or kindergarten part-time). But back then, when kids were sitting there…I wanted to leave and take a shower as soon as possible just to wash that foul smell off.

At that time there were a lot of children living in the building, who could speak, and I will never forget Madina’s eyes, when she looked at me and asked if I would come again. At home I was in the shower for 40 minutes thinking what I could give those children. I finished with a clear understanding that I was ready to and wanted to go back.

The second shocking thing was that I was “assigned” to a group of boys (although I wanted and asked for girls). 15 boys who got sick all together at once and were blowing their noses while sneezing at me. It was crazy. Sometimes I thought I wasn’t made for it. But then there came the ordinary day, when I realized that everything inside me turned upside down: it was raining outside; Lyosha and I were playing in the group. Lyosha didn’t really like talking to people and wasn’t attached to anyone. But that time he was sitting on a windowsill, looking at raindrops, and suddenly said “I love Liza”. I asked him to repeat, and he did. I couldn’t hold my tears as I realized that it all was worth it".

Liza Z.