Meet Anastasia: An Orphan Who Found Hope, Art, and a Future
Anastasia D. was born on August 20, 2009, in the small town of Raukhivka in the Odesa region of Ukraine. She was the youngest of four children raised in a one-room apartment by parents who struggled with severe alcohol addiction.
Life at home was dangerous. Anastasia and her three brothers were regularly left hungry, locked in a cold room in unsanitary conditions. When the family fell behind on utility bills, the gas, electricity, and heat were shut off. Eventually, when Anastasia was just three years old, all four children were removed from the home and placed in a shelter. Their father later disappeared without a trace. Their mother's whereabouts remain unknown.
Every donation makes Maria's future brighter
From the shelter, Anastasia and her brothers were taken in by a devout Christian family. Her guardian, Tetyana Petrychenko, is a kind and caring retired woman who opened her home to four orphaned children in the town of Delta-Koshary near Pivdenne, Odesa region. Under her guidance, Anastasia learned not only how to live — but how to love.
In 2015, Anastasia began first grade at Yuzhanskaya School No. 3. That same year, she enrolled in the Pivdenne School of Arts, where she studied piano and fine arts for eight years — completing both programs with distinction. Today, she is an active member of the school's award-winning choir.
In 2025, Anastasia graduated from secondary school and enrolled in the Mechanical and Technological College in Odesa, studying meat processing technology. This September, she also took a meaningful personal step — she was baptized in the Baptist Church "Vefil" in Pivdenne, where she now serves in the Sunday school ministry.
Like millions of Ukrainians, Anastasia and her family are living through the weight of war — financially and emotionally. But she holds firm to her faith, believing that God will help them through every hardship.
Anastasia is applying to join the UAC student support program with a simple, heartfelt promise: to follow the organization's rules, study hard, and conduct herself with excellence.
Her story is one of survival, creativity, and unshakable faith — exactly the kind of story UACUA is honored to share.