The First Lady of Ukraine and the team of the Olena Zelenska Foundation visited the Paskevych foster family home in the Lviv region.
Foster families are families that take in five to ten children deprived of parental care and provide them with a family atmosphere. Since the beginning of its activities, the Foundation has been taking care of such children's homes all over Ukraine. The team communicates directly with the families, and therefore understands their needs and provides targeted assistance based on specific requests. This time, Olena Zelenska and her colleagues from the Foundation personally handed over the aid and learned the story of the Paskevych family.
"These children have already lost their family and security once and found them with foster parents. And now, because of the war, their childhood is under threat again. The children need a home. And parents need the opportunity to protect their extraordinary families. We are simply obliged to support people who help so much on their own," Olena Zelenska emphasized.
The story of this foster family began in 2012. Since then, parents Oksana and Viacheslav have raised ten children. Now the Paskevychs have eight foster children and five biological sons. Before the full-scale invasion, the family lived near Kryvyi Rih. There, the Paskevychs had a cozy house, a large farm, and their own cheese factory. In March, the family was forced to abandon their normal life and move to the Lviv region. In a conversation with the First Lady and the Foundation's team, Oksana shared how difficult it was to find housing for such a large family.
Now the Paskevychs live in a rented house. Their entire life fits into a few suitcases. Despite this, the parents are trying to ensure that their children have a childhood as much as possible. To help them, the Olena Zelenska Foundation provided them with the most necessary household items.
Supporting family-type children's homes is one of the Foundation's permanent activities, which the First Lady personally oversees. The Foundation's team will continue to provide assistance to support families affected by the war.