December 14, 2020

From care to independence

Nastia has started a small sewing business with our help, so she can support her two small children with an added income. Our STEP team helps young people prepare for independent life, giving them the skills and opportunities they need, and Nastia is one of young people we work with.

Only 25% of young people who have left children’s homes have stable employment in Ukraine. Care leavers have many challenges to face without a family to back them up, and during the Covid-19 quarantine it was even more difficult to earn a living. We stepped in to help and Nastia’s was one of one of the 150 families who received months of food supplies in 2020.

We first met Nastia 9 years ago, when she was living in an orphanage.  As a young child, she was abandoned by her alcoholic mother and her father went to prison for robbery. At the orphanage, Nastia participated in our STEP workshops, including the Job Orientation Programme, which led to her decision to learn tailoring after she left the orphanage at the age of 15.

Nastia entered a four-year paid apprenticeship with our partner textile firm, and with Care in Action mentorship and guidance she did well.  Unfortunately she became pregnant during her final semester and moved to social dormitories for mothers in crisis.  After some time the State provided her with accommodation in L’viv where she now lives with the father of her two children. Nastia does all she can to be a good mother. The STEP team keeps in regular contact and we supported her children with basic supplies when they struggled to make ends meet during the Covid lockdown.

Our goal is to help people live well independently, so our STEP team gave Nastia a sewing machine, materials and help with advertising to start her small sewing business. By doing alterations she has a new revenue stream doing something she loves. In supporting Nastia’s determination to give her children the love and care she never received from her own parents, we can help break the cycle of poverty and give them a better future.

We are strengthening our partnerships with firms who can offer apprenticeships, internships, or job orientation visits which can help young people explore career opportunities and set goals. There are many ways to get involved and help a young person like Nastia to have a successful independent future:

  • Give your time - mentor or tutor a child or young person
  • Sponsor a child - €30 a month supports education and personal needs
  • Connect your workplace – there are many ways for professionals and businesses to help, such as giving career advice, work experience, or sponsoring a vocational course

If you would like to get involved, send us an email and we can discuss options that work for you.

Thank you, to all of our supporters, for helping us to give young people like Nastia the back up they need to succeed in life.

Sponsor a child

You can sponsor a child in Ukraine or Malawi and change their life for the better with a monthly donation of €30. In this time of crisis more children need the security of regular sponsorship to support their education and meet their basic needs.