My husband and I raised two sons, but I really wanted a daughter. My sister Marina and her husband were already raising foster children and I loved those kids dearly. They were little Katya Maslyak, Vlada, Darina, and two boys. One day Marina suggested that me and my husband should also adopt a girl. I thought about it and then talked to my husband. He agreed. We decided to foster two girls. It was September 2011. We went to the regional child services. They looked at us and suggested becoming a foster family. In December, we received documents to establish a foster family. My husband was still working, and I began searching for children. My heart was heavy from meeting so many different kids in need. I prayed and went back to the regional office. They said they had three girls for us, three sisters, and my heart skipped a beat. I hadn’t even seen them yet, but I already knew it was them! They showed me their photos: one cross-eyed, all nearly bald because of lice, but I already loved them. I brought them home, and my sons asked where I found them. They were Tonya and Ira Kibki and their sister Karina. That’s how our journey started, taking in more children, raising 18 foster and 2 biological kids, 12 girls and 8 boys. All the girls are beautiful, and so are the boys. We have traditions: we always go to the sea in the summer, every December 25th the whole family gathers at our house. My husband and I prepare gifts for the children, and I write a personal letter to each child from mom. The children love my letters and keep them, rereading them. We set a big and delicious table, talk for a long time. Everyone tells how the year went. Everyone enjoys these gatherings. Also, for each child’s birthday, we bake a unique cake.
When the war started, we were very afraid for the children and decided to evacuate, but we didn’t know where to go. Various volunteers started calling us, and only one number was given to us by few different people: it was Natasha Radchenko, we decided to call Natasha’s number. That’s how we ended up in Dniprokids. We had heard about this organization from our friends: Sobolev family, Derevyanko, Kudryavtseva and Yana Zakharova. Nobody had ever helped our families before.
I am very glad that our family got into Dniprokids program, which opened Scotland for us. A beautiful fairy tale country. Scotland is about security, which is very important in our situation. It is a very comfortable country, I like the work of public transport. I am so thankful to every single person here for taking care of us from all sides. It was very hard for me. I miss my home, my family and friends who stayed in Ukraine. But Scotland has already taken over a part of my heart. When I return home, I will also miss Scotland.
My huge thanks to the wonderful people who met us and took care of us and continue to do so. I will name them by name: Steven, David, Jacquie, Liz, Jimmy, Natasha, Karina, Steward, Lawrence, Joe, David, Abigail, Derek, Eric, Susan, Kate, Wendy, Paul and many others. Thank you all for your kindness to us, for your patience.