NewsThe Story of Princessa View this story in PDF format (with full colour photos) by clicking HERE.You might expect a story about a little girl called Princessa to start “Once Upon a Time …” and to be fair, an introduction like that might not be out of place in this story. During that first visit to the Predniprovsk TB Centre, back in September 2005, there were many children that left a lasting impression but none more so than Princessa and herelder sister Deana. The TB Centre is an institution that is designed to allow a recuperation period, normally around 6 months, for children that are “at risk” or have displayed signs of TB, or possibly just living in poor conditions. Unfortunately though some of the children admitted for recuperation can sometimes find themselves abandoned at the Centre, and can remain there for much longer than the 6 months. Deana and Princessa were two such children that found themselves in this situation and ended up spending much longer at Predniprovsk than originally anticipated. The parents of the girls were known to be “travellers” and, from what we hear, the girls had been subjected to a pretty poor upbringing. The living conditions were poor and we have heard that beatings for the girls, and even their mother, were not uncommon. It was thanks to the intervention of their Grandmother, who secretly took the girls to the Predniprovsk centre, that the girls were removed from the dangers at home. Whilst the TB Centre was certainly the better option for the girls in the long run, the circumstances in which they arrived unfortunately saw them in between the responsibility of their parents and that of the State. This was to prove a big hurdle when it came to providing the girls with a stable environment and, in the case of Princessa, proper medical care. Their proposed 6 month stay had actually turned into 2 years by the time of the first visit of the football supporters from Scotland, and the girls were pretty much a permanent fixture at the TB Centre. Although their stay at the Centre did provide them with food and shelter, it has to be said that it lacked stability as well as proper education. There is a level of education provided within the Predniprovsk Centre, it is one of the things that the Dnipro Appeal strives to assist with, but it isn’t proper full time education. The teaching is often provided by the employees of the TB Centre, rather than professional teachers, and is designed more as temporary cover than proper education. Unfortunately, in the case of Deana and Princessa, this was the only education available to them at a critical time in their development and as a result their education and development had visibly suffered. However, this was not initially known by the Dnipro Appeal team and it was only when we had enquired about funding the operation, that Princessa needed for her eye’s, that a lot of this became apparent. We were informed by the director at Predniprovsk that even if we funded the operation it still could not be carried out without parental consent. As it was very unlikely that the parents could be tracked down, it left us in a bit of a dilemma. At this point the committee decided that it would put its efforts into trying to overcome the first real hurdle that it had encountered. Ukraine can seem very bureaucratic at times and trying to get government departments to rubber stamp requests can sometimes be very time consuming and tiresome. This was certainly the case with Princessa and Deana and without the help of Vasily, the director at Predniprovsk, I don’t think we would have managed it. Firstly we had to officially approach the police and try and get them to trace the parents. Once the police had made their enquiries and were satisfied that the parents were either dead or untraceable we had to get them to file an official report confirming this. Next stop was to file this information with the relevant department in Dnipropetrovsk so that the girls could then be officially classified as orphans and parental consent would no longer be required. This was finally completed at the start of 2007, but unfortunately it had a twist that we had not been expecting. Once the proper paperwork had been completed the girls were moved away from Predniprovsk to a temporary home for orphans. With hindsight it was pretty obvious that they would no longer be able to stay at Predniprovsk, as it was not a designated orphanage, but we had been so focussed on getting the paperwork completed we had not been thinking too far ahead. Straight away we approached the director at the Odinkovka orphanage to ask if she would be able to take the girls in on a permanent basis. The director was very helpful and said that, due to our involvement with the girls and the support we gave the Odinkovka orphanage, she would ensure that they made space for the girls. Once again though, just as we’d thought we’d found a solution, we hit another problem. The fractured education that the girls had received at Predniprovsk meant that they were well short of the required level of education for the local school. As much as we tried to push it simply wasn’t possible for the local school to provide the girls with the one on one teaching that would be required to bring them up to the required level. Just when we thought we had solved the problems the girls were moved out of Dnipropetrovsk and sent to the Kotovka orphanage. Kotovka is a village off the beaten track and just over 100km north of Dnipropetrovsk. It does, however, have a school nearby that is able to help children that have missed out on proper education or have learning difficulties. Although it was a huge disappointment to the Dnipro Appeal team, the girls seemed to settle in quite quickly and seemed happy enough in their new surroundings. The one thing that almost got lost in the disappointment of the girls getting moved out was that the original objective had actually been completed. The girls no longer needed parental consent for medical treatment so there was nothing to stop us making enquiries about surgery for Princessa. It was now down to the director of the orphanage as to whether the girls were allowed to receive medical assistance so Ira wasted no time in speaking with the director to organise a trip to the eye clinic, and it wasn’t too long before Princessa was back in Dnipropetrovsk for the initial consultation for surgery. The consultation goes well and tests show that surgery will be possible. This is great news because one of the biggest worries was that the length of time taken to get Princessa to the eye clinic would have meant she was too old for surgery to be undertaken. Eventually the hospital contacts the director at Kotovka with a date for surgery, and the director contacts Ira to inform her of the date and to finalise plans for the trip into Dnipropetrovsk. After speaking with the director, regarding Princessa’s upcoming surgery, Ira volunteers to take full responsibility for Princessa during the days that she will be at the hospital for surgery. Princessa arrives at the hospital for the surgery a little apprehensive. Although keen on having the surgery she has waited so long for, Princessa is still just a little girl and it’s not surprising to hear from Ira that there are a few tears in the hospital. Ira is a little upset herself at having to leave but by the time of her next visit Ira discovers that Princessa has made friends with the little girl sharing her room. It is hardly surprising that Princessa has a new friend, given her personality, and the friendship seems to be working wonders for both the girls who are sharing a room. Princessa is taken in for her surgery and Ira makes sure that she is there for her going in and is also at her bedside for her coming round after the surgery. Obviously there are more tears when she comes round, so having Ira there for comfort is a big bonus. There is also her new friend, Lena, to help take her mind off the discomfort and Lena’s mother reassures Ira she’ll keep an eye on Princessa. Ira tells us that Lena’s mother was fantastic at keeping the girls spirits up and so Ira brought in dolls and some sweets for both of the brave little girls. The difference in Princessa’s eyes after surgery is phenomenal. The doctors inform Ira that they are happy that the surgery went well, although given the length of time it took to have the surgery done they would like to monitor the situation to see if a second operation is required at a later date. After some postoperation tests, and an overnight stay, Princessa is allowed to leave to go stay with Ira. It is quite a responsibility for Ira, as Princessa needs to be given regular eye drops throughout the day, but Ira insists that it is the best option for Princessa. It is not the first time that Princessa has stayed at Ira’s home, having stayed on her previous consultation visit, and it seems that everyone is looking forward to spending time together, especially Ira’s granddaughter. The two young girls had got along fantastically on the previous stay, with a love of Barbie dolls being shared by the girls. In between Princessa’s check-ups, Ira contacts the Dnipro Appeal Committee with a request. Having spent some time in the eye clinic ward she feels that something that the kids are seriously missing is something to help take their minds off the anxiety and apprehension they experience both before and after surgery. She asks if it might be possible for the Dnipro Appeal to fund a TV, a DVD player and some DVD films and cartoons. After the updates, and the photos, that Ira had provided over the previous couple of weeks, the committee had no hesitation in providing the funds for Ira’s request. Ira was actually able to purchase the items and get them delivered to the eye clinic around the same time as one of Princessa’s check-ups. Being able to stay at home with Ira is ideal for Princessa during her recovery period. Her eyes are still sore for a few days after surgery and it is great to have Ira on hand to help her through the times of tears. There is also the bonus that Princessa has the ability to get out and about with Ira, rather than being stuck in the hospital all day. The time seems to pass quickly and it is not long before Princessa is back into the hospital for her final check-up. The check-up goes as expected and Princessa is given the all clear. She returns to Ira’s for a couple more days of recovery prior to her return to the Kotovka orphanage. On the day of her return Princessa has mixed emotions. She is very sad at having to leave the loving family environment afforded by Ira but, at the same time, is looking forward to returning to the Kotovka orphanage to be with her sister and friends. The taxi arrives to take them all to Kotovka and Princessa gathers together all her belongings. She needs to gather together a few more items than when she first arrived though, as Ira had purchased her some new clothing, shoes, some sweets and of course a doll or two. There’s also an extra bag of similar items for Princessa to pack into the taxi, for big sister Deana. After an hour and a bit they arrive at Kotovka and are met by the director. He can’t believe it is the same girl that left just a couple of weeks ago and asks Ira to pass on a huge “thank you” to everyone that helped to make it happen. Deana isn’t far behind the director to see how her sister is doing and Ira can see immediately how happy she is for Princessa. And the smile manages to widen a little bit further when Ira presents her the clothing and gifts she’d brought along. The girls are over the moon with all the new things they’ve received and they struggle to contain their excitement. Ira is feeling quite sad at having to leave the girls but it’s obvious that the girls have got to catch up on everything that has happened over the last couple of weeks. Ira and Natalie say their goodbyes to everyone and get back into their taxi before heading back to Dnipropetrovsk. |
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