Behind the Walls - Case Studies: Olyesa and Her Brother

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We went to the village one day to call on a 16 year old girl named Olesya and her younger brother who was 6. They live with their mother and grandmother who are severe alcoholics. No father. The mom and grandmother are always drunk and they do not take care of these kids. There was absolutely no food in the apartment. This place was in terrible condition. As we were leaving that day there were 3 old ladies sitting outside on a bench. They called us over and asked us to please help this girl and take her away from here. They were afraid something bad was going to happen to her. "Her mother lies drunk on the floor all the time and men can come in and do bad things to these kids." That was one lady’s exact quote.

The sad thing is these kids are not alone. There are so many more situations like this and even worse. Many laborers go to larger cities like Moscow and St Petersburg while to these smaller cities and villages, people will seldom come. Unfortunately situations like these are common among teenagers subjected to drug and alcohol abuse in Russia.

Olyesa and her brother! Reading the Josh McDowell gospel literature we gave.

Cooking food that we brought. She was dressed in rags the first time we met her. My Interpreter and partner Yulia