Life is hard in an orphanage, and is even harder when you are blind.

After the divorce of his parents, Dmitry* lived with his mum and sister. Soon they found themselves in difficult life circumstances and had to send the 13 year old boy to a specialised boarding school for blind children. Due to a lack of understanding from the school staff, lack of friends, and rare visits from his mother, Dmitry developed alienation, suicidal tendencies, asocial behavior, apathy and a lack of interest in life. He was miserable. In was in these difficult conditions that Dmitry met his One Hope mentor.

Gradually, Dmitry and his mentor, Vladimir, built a friendship. At first Dmitry was on alert and didn’t show much trust to his new friend. Still, Vladimir persisted in finding the best way to communicate with the boy, getting to know him more with each visit.

Eventually, Dmitry began to open his heart to Vladimir as he saw the genuine interest of his mentor and that he really cared.

Together, they outlined the main goals for the boy’s development: socialisation, healthy relationships, improving his studies, personal development, elimination of complexes due to physical limitations, and developing a healthy personality in the long run.

After three years of hard work with his mentor, Dmitry is now taking an active part in the life of his class. He is capable in communication and he has developed good relationships with his peers and teachers. He is not anxious and doesn’t feel apathy anymore. The aggression and suicidal behavior are in the past. Dmitry has become more calm and open to communication and general development.

Dmitry says that he is very happy to know that there is always someone who cares. He says, “I am so happy I can call him (my mentor) at any time, tell him how I feel and count on his support! It’s so good to have a mentor.”

Please pray for the One Hope project, that we can overcome the remaining obstacles in implementing the program at a state level.