For Anna, every day felt like a fight to just survive. Born into a large family in Kherson, Southern Ukraine, Anna’s parents struggled to provide for the family. Those challenges led them to a place of alcohol addiction, meaning that Anna and her siblings were not cared for. The house was always cold and there was never much in the cupboards. As things began to escalate, Anna, her twin brother and her three siblings were removed from the family home by social services. 

“We lived very poorly.” Anna recalls. “I do not remember a single moment from my childhood that I could call happy.”

When they left the family home, Anna and her siblings were sent to a boarding school. She couldn’t stay together with her siblings, and they were split according to their ages.

“We had to continue to survive. The other children were separated, but there were two of us left – me and my brother Ivan. This saved us. My brother was everything to me: a support, a protector, a ray of light at the end of a dark tunnel… He gave me all his care. Often, I think that I managed to survive only because I always had the support of my brother,” Anna shared.

Anna’s relationship with her twin brother helped to sustain her during this difficult time, and things began to look brighter when a new foster family came to the orphanage, agreeing to take the two children into their care.

However, that hope was short lived.

Their new home was far from what they had imagined. With tears in her eyes, Anna told us, “We had to earn our food by doing manual labour. The results of our labour did not always satisfy our foster parents, so they punished us for it. No matter how hard we tried, they would still find something that they thought deserved punishment.”

Fortunately, another foster family came and took not just Anna and her brother, but all the children into their home. Finally, reunited with her siblings, Anna had a place where hope could be realised. Her new home was a loving, kind and safe place to grow up.

When life seemed like it had settled, there was a new challenge on the horizon. When the full-scale war broke out in 2022, constant shelling, fear, and struggle to find enough food became a daily struggle. When the Russian bombardment destroyed their house, the family escaped from Kherson and fled to a safer region of the country.

Through some local connections, they found the Transition Home, supported by Operation Blessing, in Vinnytsia. Here, young people learn life skills, they are cared for and provided a secure environment to heal and grow. Through Operation Blessing’s support, the children’s physical, emotional, and spiritual needs are met. The staff and volunteers introduce young people to God and Christian values. This home has also become a shelter for many refugee children from the occupied territories, seeking safety from the war. Even in the face of continuous air raids, frequent absence of electricity and many other challenges, the home continues to work, tirelessly providing support to those in need.

Thanks to the support of Operation Blessing, Anna has received help and hope for the future. She told us, “Now I have a sense of purpose in my life. You have given me an example of family love. Yes, I had parents, brothers and sisters, foster families, but you became my real family. You showed me unconditional love, gave me faith, and helped me to open the heart of God.”

Your giving to the CBN family of ministries means that projects like this Transition Home in Vinnytsia are made possible. When you partner with us, you are making a significant impact in the lives of children and young people who find themselves in difficult circumstances. To help us continue this incredible work, let’s commit together to pray for the work of CBN across the world, to boldly share these incredible stories of hope with our friends, families and colleagues and to consider partnership with us as we take the Light of Jesus into some of the darkest places.

Thank you for saying yes to the call and mission, bringing help and hope to the most vulnerable children across the world.