A child should be loved and cared for.
But sometimes they’re not.
We began our work of compassion in the town of Zhodino, long ago.
There’s a shelter there for abused and abandoned children, which we renovated over the years.
We met a beautiful, tiny girl there, named Alina.
In such a place, you never want to see the same child a second time.
You want to believe that the child’s home somehow became safe and healthy.
Or at least you hope the child was moved to a new family, one that’s safe and healthy.
We found Alina in the Zhodino shelter multiple times over the years.
The odds were against her.
She was likely to grow up repeating the same tragedies that had befallen her.
But love prevails.
In the next 7 beautiful minutes, you can meet Alina.
She’ll take you back to the shelter, and tell you her own story.
You’ll see how she turned out.
A testament to the faithful generosity of so many friends giving to New Thing,
supporting the workers at Zhodino and many other locations around Belarus.
(You'll see the name "Otklick" — this is a phonetic translation of the Russian word that we translate as "Response of the Heart." And you'll see the term "pedagogical center" — it's the official term for the shelter we help in Zhodino.)
God bless all who give out of a heart of love.
Thanks for journeying with us!
Much love,
Doug Brendel
(Video by Oleg Yarovenko and Max Korostelyov)
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