Sofiya, 43, lovingly strokes her 2-year-old son Valeriy’s fair, thin hair as she spoons mushy food into his mouth. The intense focus she has on helping him swallow each mouthful makes it hard to believe she struggled to bond with her son. She is lucky to have a team of support workers around her at the Mother and Child Social Center in Lviv region, Ukraine, where they live. Without them, Sofiya might have placed Valeriy in institutional care from birth.
“She didn’t want the child,” said Svitlana Pavlyk, head of the center, when Devex visited in December. Sofiya, whose name and her son’s have been changed to respect their privacy, is a single parent without any family. Her home in Kherson, eastern Ukraine, was bombed during her pregnancy. She evacuated to Lviv, but could not afford accommodation and had health complications. Valeriy was born preterm with the genetic disorder Down syndrome. As a result he has learning difficulties and needs extra help.
“Every time anyone asks her about the center, she says: ‘I don’t know what would have happened without it,’” Pavlyk said.
About the author
Gabriella Jóźwiak@GabriellaJ
Gabriella Jóźwiak is an award-winning journalist based in London. Her work on issues and policies affecting children and young people in developing countries and the U.K. has been published in national newspapers and magazines. Having worked in-house for domestic and international development charities, Jóźwiak has a keen interest in organizational development, and has worked as a journalist in several countries across West Africa and South America.
