An Orphan’s First Book

Memories of the children growing up in orphanages differ from memories of those who grow up with parents: orphans have no memorabilia or their own toys, and childhood memories remain only on photographs, but only group photos... What do they recall from the past? Who will tell them about those times when they were kids? To bridge the gap we've developed "Book about Me" – a personalised photo album commemorating the first years of the orphan’s life. With your help, more than 500 children deprived of parental care could receive a priceless gift of the childhood memories that have never been saved for them before.

Each of us has some old photographs or drawings cherished by our parents – which we look through from time to time, and we remind our childhood stories. For children who grow up in orphan asylums, this is unfortunately not an option. When it comes to photos, these are mainly faceless group images of children crowded together in a same room when sponsors visit them and bring them presents for Christmas or other occasions. Those pictures may be hung on the wall or used in the wall newspapers, but they don't belong to children. In fact, orphans have very few memories of their childhood. Sometimes it may even seem that their childhood didn't exist at all.

"Book about Me" is a fundraising initiative to ensure that every orphan has a keepsake album where a timeline of his life events is recorded, including everything important during the first years of a child’s life. The original design is based on "My Baby" book. It is specifically tailored for children from orphanages – for example, questions about biological parents are hushed up. Information about other important people in a child’s life will be recorded and perhaps when knowing about them, maybe (s)he would like to meet with them when (s)he grows up.

The album will also contain individual photos, details like all the important events, names of the first friends, first words etc. If it's difficult to explain something by writing it down in the album, you can always draw or glue an item that reminds a child of a certain important event in his/her life. In addition, the book will have an added folder where children’s collages and craftworks can be stored. By using this book, a growing child will know more about his/her own personality and will become more confident and will feel reassured in the adulthood. In addition, the prospective adoptive/foster parents can learn more about the personality of a child to get on better and quicker.

We will also teach orphanage personnel and the prospective parents how to fill those albums in. The books will be accompanied by a video workshop for staff of the orphanages, covering in detail why, when, with whom and how to fill the "Book About Me" in.

We need your support because "Book About Me" is a simple, but effective way to focus attention on children in the government institutions, on their needs, hobbies and dreams to help them realise their unique potential.

To produce 500 memorable photo albums for orphans from 5 regions of Ukraine we need 59 156 UAH. We believe in your kindness and generosity, and hope that with your donations 500 children will get their books no later than in autumn this year!