Svitlana was a shy 11 year old.

Hello everyone! My name is Svitlana Didukh. I have been sponsored by Chalice for 9 years. I am usually asked what the Sponsorship Program has changed for me. Now when I am retired from the program and looking back I can tell, for sure, that it has become the starting point of building my self-confidence. 

When I first met my field worker Svitlana I was 11. Now I am 22. My sister and I come from a low-income family. Mother was the only provider for our family as our father abused alcohol and did not live with us. Mother used to work on a parquet plant earning a meager salary. We lived in an old two-rooms house where only one room could be used for living. It is easy to write about past now as many positive changes have happened to me but at that time it was like a nightmare.

I used to be a shy girl who wore not very qualitative and new clothes and dreamt of my own room, good nutrition, and beautiful toys. At school, I did my best to hide in a crowd and had a few friends but to tell the truth, I am very open and like to communicate. When I was chosen for sponsoring  I did not expect much of that. But the sponsorship turned my world upside down.  I had not become just a sponsored child but a part of a large Chalice family. I took part in different contests, competitions and master classes. My new family, sponsors, field worker, and other sponsored children taught me to be confident, to dream and hope for better. I will always remember the day when My sponsor sent me Special Money as a birthday gift. I was in grade 7 then and that was the first time in my life when I could buy new clothes for me. They sent me inspiring letters that made me move on and never give up.

After school graduation, I entered the Department of Economics at Berezhany Institute. It was a happy time for me. It was easier for my mother as I received the scholarship and supplied with everything necessary for studying and living through sponsorship. She could spend her salary on housing fees and remodeling the rooms. Besides, my and my sponsors’ prayers had been heard and my father stopped abusing alcohol. My sister finished her studies and got married. It was a blessed time for us.

Now I work as an administrator in a local bank in my hometown. I like my job. I am happy in my cozy home. Owing to Chalice and my sponsors I know that life is beautiful and I believe in happy tomorrow. May God bless you all for improving the lives of thousands of children in the world!