“What is that you express in your eyes? It seems to me more than all the print I have read in my life.”
- Walt Whitman
Meet Valik - a 22-year old Romaniv boy with Down syndrome. He doesn't speak, nor does he join the other boys in activities. During MTU's lessons, he can typically be found sitting on the benches, lost in his own mysterious world.
Abandoned at birth by his parents and relatives, he has spent the 22 years of his life under the care of the Ukrainian government. He was first sent to one of the many children's facilities where they send all unwanted infants and children with disabilities. After 8 years of living in the children's home, he was sent to the Romaniv Orphanage where he remains to this day. Four years ago, when he turned 18, he was questioned, evaluated, and ultimately declared to be untrainable, untreatable, and unteachable by the courts of Ukraine. In addition to forever prohibiting him from being adopted, this status has permanently doomed him to a life in the Ukrainian government system. Though difficult to imagine, his years at Romaniv will by far be the best of his life. And, unfortunately, those years are coming to an end. Soon, Romaniv will be forced by Ukrainian law to release him to a different facility - the very same facility where they send convicted criminals and the clinically insane. There he will live out the remainder of his years - which, undoubtedly, will not be many.
Abandoned at birth by his parents and relatives, he has spent the 22 years of his life under the care of the Ukrainian government. He was first sent to one of the many children's facilities where they send all unwanted infants and children with disabilities. After 8 years of living in the children's home, he was sent to the Romaniv Orphanage where he remains to this day. Four years ago, when he turned 18, he was questioned, evaluated, and ultimately declared to be untrainable, untreatable, and unteachable by the courts of Ukraine. In addition to forever prohibiting him from being adopted, this status has permanently doomed him to a life in the Ukrainian government system. Though difficult to imagine, his years at Romaniv will by far be the best of his life. And, unfortunately, those years are coming to an end. Soon, Romaniv will be forced by Ukrainian law to release him to a different facility - the very same facility where they send convicted criminals and the clinically insane. There he will live out the remainder of his years - which, undoubtedly, will not be many.
I often wonder what it would take to change such a broken system. The thought of changing the overall disability structure in Ukraine seems overwhelming and, quite frankly, impossible. But perhaps it's not always about changing the societal and governmental system. It's about boys like Valik and the potential impact that I can have in their lives while I still have the chance.
In times like these, where I am overwhelmed by the unjustified neglect and pain in the boys' haunting eyes, I sometimes catch a reflection of Christ Jesus. For He, too, knew sorrow and pain in this world, only to die for the sins of the world. I am reminded that the identity of Romaniv is hidden in Christ's heart - and I am renewed with hope in His redeeming love.
Isaiah 53:2-6
...He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces,
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
In times like these, where I am overwhelmed by the unjustified neglect and pain in the boys' haunting eyes, I sometimes catch a reflection of Christ Jesus. For He, too, knew sorrow and pain in this world, only to die for the sins of the world. I am reminded that the identity of Romaniv is hidden in Christ's heart - and I am renewed with hope in His redeeming love.
Isaiah 53:2-6
...He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces,
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
2 comments:
Thank you so much for this post. As a mother to a beautiful 6 year old Ukrainian Prince with Down Syndrome I found this post incrediblly moving. This could have been my son's fate :( Our Savior is Mighty and He see's this injustice. Lord..move, move in the hearts and help change to come. I have no doubt God Himself has placed this passion in your heart. Kudos to you for being obediant in His calling to you. Blessings, Lysha
Hi Emily! Thank you for this post. It says a lot of what is in our hearts too. We were able to visit Romaniv with MTU a few weeks ago and we loved it so very much. I got to wave at you briefly on skype before you taught the staff later that afternoon. :)
My husband and I are starting to take steps to get our family to Ukraine and I would love to be in touch. Our focus will be laying down children...impossible without God, right? Yep, I know. :) Anyway, our email is johnsoncommune AT gmail DOT com.
Thanks for your work with MTU. Man we fell in love with them!
-Kim
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