To see nothing from birth - what could be sadder? Children who have been diagnosed with retinopathy of prematurity require tremendous support from their closest people - loving parents - in order to somehow adapt to adulthood.
Julia, in addition to her illness, is deprived of a family. Yulia's mother died, and her father created a new family, and only from time to time visits his daughter. Yulia's aunt is worried about the fate of the girl, but she is not ready to take Yulia into her family. Blindness and lack of a family are two factors that depress the girl's psyche, reduce self-esteem, and do not allow them to believe in themselves.
For several years, Yulia studied at the Odessa boarding school for blind children, and then was transferred to the children's department of Kirov Psycho-Neurological Institution in the Zaporizhzhia region.
When I spoke with Yulia, she was nervous and swayed her body, sometimes covering her ears with her hands - as if afraid to hear a loud sound. And yet I managed to understand something: “I dream of my home, my family… Once I was at the sea in Crimea… I remember the sea, I like to swim in it…”. Yulia also said several times: “I am blind, but I want to be cured. Will I be cured? What's the point of me?"
I asked what gift she would like to receive for the New Year - but Yulia could not answer for a long time. Finally, it turned out that they would like to listen to audio books - about love, about family and children. To do this, they need a column with an MP3 player and the simplest flash drive for recording audiobooks. And she also asked for a gold ornament.
January 3, 2013 Yulia will be 18 years old. Usually a person at this age is full of energy, plans for the future. But Julia sees only darkness in eyes, and no light in the future. She feels like a worthless creature. That is why she sits in her room all day long, swaying sadly, and sometimes - on purpose she beats her forehead on the floor.
Yulia's character and behavior are complex, but this does not stop her from being a person who really needs our help.
Julia with Helpus volunteers who visited the boarding school on December 22, 2013
Video with Julia:
Are there are no people who will help Yulia understand that life is not someone's senseless joke, and that every person can be happy, even if he is blind? Can't Yulia have real friends? Perhaps there is someone who can be Yulia's mom or dad? Or at least a brother or sister? People who will help Yulia believe in herself, who will love her, accept her for who she is. Only then will you need the help of professionals - a defectologist, a teacher, a psychologist and a psychiatrist. But first, close people must appear.
If you are thinking - write, call - together we will definitely come up with something!
