Valeriy                                               Yana

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Valeriy and Yana are brother and sister; they have different fathers (whom they do not remember), but the same mother. Their mother has a drinking problem, often resorts to vagrancy while taking odd jobs as a janitor at a local shopping market, and seldom pays attention to her children. Valeriy was in the 2nd grade at school, but his attendance was irregular, and Yana has never been enrolled in any school.  Both children spent all of their spare time panhandling at the market.  When asked why they were doing that, little Yana’s response was: “Mommy did not have the time to take care of us, and we were really hungry”. The family does not have a permanent residence.
The kids love their mother very much, but it has been her initiative to abandon them, since she does not feel she has the strength or the means to bring them up.
Since the children appear to have been grossly neglected in educational terms, our Rehab Center has focused most of its effort on their psychological and educational support.  They have proven to be educable, very inquisitive, eager to learn and actively explore everything that is new and interesting to them. Valeriy’s favorite subject is reading; in his free time, he enjoys playing computer games, taking walks and playing games with other boys, like cops and robbers. Little Yana likes to play with dolls, and she really loves big toys.
Both Valeriy and Yana love stuffed animals, which more than likely symbolize tenderness and care to these kids; particularly during playing activities, they seem to give these stuffed animals the warm emotional support that they were lacking themselves in the past.  In the future, Valeriy wants to be “just a common person”, and Yana dreams to become a princess, also “a janitor, like mommy”, or a salesperson.