A Family in Desperate need of Support
⬇️ Meet 12-year-old Katya in a video she made for you below ❤️⬇️
The family we’re introducing you to today, have been through so much. You may find their story distressing to read.
It starts with a broken family, an addicted mother, and a bad relationship with a step-mum that resulted in the mother of this family (Nastya) leaving home at eight years old and choosing to live with her older brothers.
At just 15, returning from school, Nastya was raped by a group of drunken men. Robbed of her childhood she struggled with anxiety, became frightened of everyone and couldn’t leave home.
At 20, within the space of year, her beloved brother died of cancer and her dad died too. At 21 years old, Nastya was left feeling completely alone.
Nastya married, and had her first daughter. Katya was born more than two months premature with internal and external deformities. Medics advised her to put Katya in an orphanage but Nastya refused. She had a second daughter who was thankfully healthy. Throughout her marriage, Nastya’s husband was a violent alcoholic…. who in the end, had an affair leaving Nastya and his daughters in poverty.
It is not surprising that Nastya eventually became dependent on alcohol.
Now, this family is at our Women's Crisis Centre (WCC).
Struggling with addiction and having no money, Nastya could never address the mounting health problems both she and Katya had. At the WCC, this family was immediately seen by a doctor. Finances for the WCC are constantly stretched but the health of its residents is a priority.
Investigations have found that Nastya has ovarian cancer. She needed immediate treatment. Despite all she’s been through, God has reached Nastya’s heart and in May, she gave her life to Jesus.
Daughter Katya’s health problems are very extensive. She has a hump on her spine (because it’s fused in the wrong place), a kidney that’s not where it should be, missing organs, and for a 12-year-old, she is the height of someone half her age. Alina (manager of the WCC), said of Katya:
"Her operation and treatments must be done urgently. Since she is still growing, if her spine continues to bend she will become very disabled. She needs urgent heart and kidney surgery too. It's a very sad story."
The cost to begin Katya’s treatment will be in the region of £3,100; an amount Alina cannot raise locally, because in Russia, this would equate to an entire 18 months' worth of full-time salary on minimum wage*. Alina asked us to share their story with you in case God is prompting you to respond and help this family.
You can meet little Katya in this video...
Thanks to the Women’s Crisis Centre, this family’s circumstances have changed. Nastya doesn’t drink and is present for her children. Katya and her sister are having GOOD childhood experiences, like trying pizza and celebrating birthdays! Here they are settled and cherished.
Please keep this family in your prayers as they battle their health issues.