My name is Ricardo. I'm from Timisoara, Romania. I was born in the maternity hospital but my mom had no identity papers. The hospital staff thought she would abandon me and called Bethany. My parents were young and unmarried. Even though neither one had a job, they love me and did not consider sending me to an orphanage.

My parents and I live with my dad's family. After we joined the Sponsorship Program in 2006 Bethany's social worker helped my parents get me registered in our town. The social worker also helped my parents get their identity papers, allowing them to receive government support. They also got jobs!! This was a huge thing for our family.

Now I have a younger sister. My mom stays home to take care of us, but my dad still works full time. My parents and Bethany's Social Worker decided that we could graduate from the program this fall! THANK YOU for helping us so much. We could not have done it without you.

Our names are Olena, Maria, and Anna. We are triplets and live in Romania. We have had a rough start in life. Mom had a very difficult pregnancy and, after several months of bed-rest, we were born prematurely via C-section. Although we were all placed in incubators, I (Anna) and Olena did pretty well. Unfortunately, Maria didn't make out to well. She is blind because of the retinal burns she got from too much oxygen in her incubator.

We were in the hospital for a full month before we could come home. Since we all have different levels of special needs, it has been hard for our parents to take care of us. Mom and dad did everything they could for us, but Dad had to work a lot so mom could stay home. We were struggling every day.

We became part of the Sponsorship Program in April of 2007. We were only three months old when we joined. Since joining, Maria has had two surgeries on her eyes and may need more. We have all received physical therapy, and Bethany helped find "helpers" who could come to our house and work with the three of us. The "helpers" even showed mom what do to help us. Bethany's Extra Mile Fund helped us buy special play equipment to exercise and strengthen our muscles. We also started going to a special day care where we can go until we are 8 years old. This gives mom a break and might even give her the chance to look for a job.

The Sponsorship program even gave mom the chance to take driving lessons. We can't believe she can drive! Now she can take us to a farm near our house (in our little car) so that we can ride horses. This has been very good for us, having CP. Lots of our friends and neighbors have stepped forward to help us.

When mom and dad met with our case workers this summer, they decided that we could graduate from the Sponsorship Program. Bethany in Ukraine will stay in touch with us to make sure we are doing OK. If we need to, we can always come back. WOW! Thank you so much for helping us!

My name is Bogdan. I'm from Iasi, Romania. I joined the Sponsorship Youth Program in 2005 when I "aged out" of the orphanage. Because of my paralysis, mom just could not take care of me at home. I wanted to continue my schooling, but had no place to live and just didn't know what to do. I'm an artist and wanted to continue studying art.

Bethany and people like you helped! Bethany found a place for me to live, got me enrolled in college, purchased a new wheelchair for me with funds from the Extra Mile Fund, and just took care of me. This fall I graduated from college! One of the paintings I did for an exam was so well received that I was offered a commission to paint in two churches. I'm on my way!

Now that I am older I have been visiting with mom. Our relationship has grown and she is doing better as well. She found a job in Italy and is able to send me some money occasionally. It feels so good to finally have gained independence. Thank you for your many years of support to help me achieve my dream of being an artist. I could not have done it without you!

Hi. I'm Yuriy. That's my mom and brother, Vova. I became part of the Sponsorship Program in 2004. Mom put me in an orphanage for safety reasons. My dad is an alcoholic and often beat my mom. Mom moved out of the house but could not move far. She went to live in a shed on the very edge of the property where my dad lived. Since there wasn't any heat in the shed, my mom could only bring me home for weekends. Unfortunately, she could only do this when the weather was nice since I would still get sick and catch pneumonia.

My brother, Vova, has autism. He lived in an orphanage for special needs kids. My mom dreamed of the day she could bring both of us home, but knew that would be impossible as long as she was living in the run-down shed. I don't know how it happened, but my mom got in contact with Bethany and they told her about their sponsorship program. Because of sponsorship help, my mom was able to make the shed into a safe home where all three of us could live. We became a family again in early 2005!

We have been a part of Bethany's Sponsorship program for a long time. Because of this, Vova has been able to attend a special school for autistic children during the week and comes home on the weekends. In addition, I have been able to go to school and my mom has been able to find a full time job. Between her job, support through sponsorship, and learning how to save money, we have slowly made our home into a place where we will always be able to live. In fact, my mom has even had the chance to take bookkeeping classes and graduated from the program! Now she is trying to earn her bachelors degree.

Bethany's sponsorship program has helped our family so much. My mom is now working with an attorney to prepare a case against my dad. Dad doesn't like the fact that we live at the end of "his" property, but we are fighting for the right to stay there. The attorney is very optimistic since the land also belongs to my mom.

Life has changed so much for all of us since 2004. We are now ready to graduate from the Sponsorship Program and are able to take care of ourselves. Thank you so much for your care, love, concern, prayers and financial support. My brother, my mom, and I have a great future to look forward to.