Page 20 - Book about Friendship and Future.Stories of Volunteers.

Anton Efimov

An orphanage student
Vladivostok

I Was Supported by Volunteers

I do not remember the exact date or year when everything
went wrong and at what age I got to the orphanage. I remem-
ber the house where I used to live, my childhood, all the deaths
and all my pain. My father died first, and then my grandma died.
Mother was often ill, so there was no one to take care of me. We
had some cats at home, and my teacher called the social security
service because I was stinking. I was taken to “The Sail of Hope”,
a sort of a foster house where children are kept temporarily. One
day a psychologist came saying that my mother had died from
a heart attack. I felt very bad. Then they took me to the hospital
for a medical check and then I got to the orphanage. I wanted
to be taken home by my sister and naively waited, but she never
came. Our house was just a hundred meters away from the or-
phanage and she did not visit me even once…
But enough speaking about pain and hardships, let us speak
about more positive issues. I would like to tell you how the vol-
unteers came into my life. The story started at the orphanage.
I have just arrived and did not have enough time to adapt, it
was very difficult for me there, I needed someone to understand
me. Soon after that a group of volunteers from the fund “HOPE
Worldwide” started visiting us. They were kind and sympathetic,
they held various games and classes which were interesting and
pleasant. I started eagerly attending these classes, communicat-
ing and learning a lot of new things, and impatiently waited for
the next lesson.
The team of volunteers was growing: KFC volunteers from the
charity program “Generation Choice” joined us. They were all
equally kind to us and we became great friends. They came to
classes and spoke about something new, we listened to them
and memorized.
I believe these volunteers are just great people with great
soul and endless kindness, because not everyone can find the
space for those who need help. I appreciate each minute spent
with them! These are the people who did not leave me when
I needed support so much.