Meet Sasha Levkin

We do this largely by working on the community level. But, by getting to know Sasha through his story, we have the chance to appreciate that behind every statistic, there is a unique human being who deserves to be acknowledged. I know Sasha, and I am very moved by his dignity and positive outlook in the face of unusually difficult challenges. The photo shows him with CCPI volunteer Suzanne Reese.

Eighteen year old Sasha Levkin, a resident of the Vesnova Children's Asylum in Belarus, stays indoors for months each winter because his wheelchair cannot be maneuvered in the snow. To mentally escape the boredom of the asylum he spends time looking at a small photo album he always carries with him in a black bag hanging from the back of his wheelchair. He shows the album to all newcomers. Inside is a picture of his sister Katja, who has not been to visit him since early summer as she has no means of transportation. He also has photos of his cousins, his godmother, and his aunt. None of them visit more than once a year, but he says he thinks of them every day. Sasha's father committed suicide when the boy was 9 months old. His mother, who was also an alcoholic, began to beat him when he was a toddler, until he was

sent to live with his aunt in 20o1. My mother didn't care about me, she didn't feed me -- she is an alcoholic, always drinking vodka and then hurting me. I never want to see my mother again. She didn't hit me when I was very little. At that time I could crawl  and could get up from the floor to the sofa by myself, but then she started to  beat me and I could no longer do such things. Sasha liked living with his aunt, but unfortunately his physical disabilities were too great for her to take care of him. So, he is happy with his life at Vesnova, where the other kids see him as a

Sasha is eighteen years old now, and he will soon be moved into an adult mental institution, where his prospects for survival are very poor. "I don't want to leave Vesnova. I have friends here and don't want to leave what has become my home." We are extremely concerned about Sasha's future, but not quite sure what we can do to help him. I'll continue to post updates. The image on the right shows Sasha when I woke him up in the middle of the night to show him that his photograph was published in PEOPLE Magazine last year. He was beyond pleased. (And I still think he should have been on the cover, instead of whats-her-name Tom Cruise's latest wife. Go figure!)

Posted by Kathy Ryan at 01:47 AM

October 09, 2007