The Ternopil site staff don’t have a clear memory of what Mariya looked like when they met her as a little girl - she was hard to spot under the folds of her mother’s skirt!

Little Mariya was very shy before she was sponsored. But by and by, as she was welcomed into the embrace of the other sponsored children in Ternopil site, the staff saw Mariya’s brown eyes change from embarrassed to confident.

“As Mariya grew older each year she became more open and sociable, and smiled more often,” they recall.

At one point when she was young, Mariya needed to be hospitalized for a kidney condition. But it was in this unlikely place she found her vocation.

“There in the hospital, the girl saw many children's drawings on the walls in the hallway,” the staff write. She was fascinated by the pictures of “nature, animals, characters from cartoons...”

“This prompted Mariya to ask her mother to buy her colours and a notebook for drawing. And this is how the girl started painting.”

Once she started, she was unstoppable. “She drew everywhere she could– notebook covers, napkins, pieces of paper.”

As she honed her skills, she began entering art contests. She started leading watercolour workshops for other sponsored children.

Throughout, Mariya’s sponsor has been a rock for the family. Her parents both suffer from chronic illness and cannot work.

“Mariya’s sponsorship and Chalice support means a lot for the family. The sponsorship funds help the family take better care of Mariya,” say the staff. Over the years, her family has received new windows from the Chalice gift catalogue, and home heating support through our emergency programs.

“You should have seen the joy in the eyes of Mariya and her parents when they first saw the new windows installed in their house!” the site staff laugh. 

But the windows were nothing compared to her sponsor’s real gift. In 2021, she enrolled in university to become a fine arts teacher.

“Owing to sponsorship support Mariya's dream has come true. Mariya is finishing her second year of study. She is a diligent student, hardworking, and a kind girl.”

“Mariya and her family have always felt the care and support offered by the sponsorship program, and so much appreciate their connection to it.”

 “They know that assistance they depend on is available, and they thank God for Chalice."