Vocational education: From poverty to unlocked potential

When you come from a background of poverty, opportunities to discover your talents are rare. Parents’ dreams are lost in the waves of responsibility and fear, and children grow up with little hope for a different future. So how can poverty change into potential?

Suffering from a young age

Rosyna, 17, lives in a rural part of western Ukraine with her 8 siblings, and has battled poverty all her life.

At age 12, she discovered she had dermatomyositis. It affected her joints and muscles, taking away all her strength and impacting her mobility. The journey of her diagnosis was piled on top of their family’s pre-existing battles with health problems, as two of Rosyna’s brothers – Illia (11) and Denys (15) – already had hemophilia.

“My mother, who’s a very sensitive woman, seemed to cry out every single tear from her eyes until she had none left,” she added. “When illness came to my life too, it totally broke her heart,” shared Rosyna.

When Rosyna first became unwell, she was filled with fear. What would her future look like?

At first she was treated in the hospital in Rivne, where she was given the wrong diagnosis and medication. Her health began to deteriorate, and the doctors said she’d never stand on her feet again.

“I was praying very hard. I didn’t know why all of this was happening to me, but I had no one to turn to for help except God. My family had been helped by MWB for a long time, and I know that the staff were praying too. The coordinator Sergiy visited us many times and spent many hours in our house.”

Eventually, Rosyna was taken to the hospital in Kyiv, where they correctly diagnosed her and prescribed the right medication. Since then, she has been receiving treatment twice a year there.

“I can’t describe the joy I felt when I was able to walk down our street one day. Every little improvement poured optimism and light into my soul.”

“In the summer, I even volunteered at MWB’s children’s camps. And last September, I started the vocational sewing course that MWB offers free of charge at Sarny Vocational Centre. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to do it, but Sergiy really persisted in encouraging me to enrol, and it made me feel more confident.”

“After several months of studying, I’m totally sure that it was the right choice. I’ve been blessed to live in the centre’s dormitory, as I can walk only short distances. From the very first days of starting the course, I was surrounded by so much friendliness and care that it made me cry from joy. Tasty meals, hot water, comfortable rooms – It is all such a blessing for me, but most of all, I like what I’m learning. It’s not just theory, but lots of practice, and this enables me to sew with my own hands.

“I was so happy to hear that on the day of my graduation, the Mission will give me a sewing machine as a gift. It’s so kind – and it’s worth so much to me!”