Paying it Forward: Orphan Gives Back By Volunteering in Orphanages
August 23, 2019Meet Lesha.
He’s 17 years old and a student of agricultural mechanization. He has an older sister, Vika, an older brother, Artem, and a younger brother who is 12 years old. Lesha never got the chance to know their parents and doesn’t know who they are.
Lesha spent 4 years in Shovgenovskiy orphanage, until he was adopted by one family. Although he had a rough past, he grew up to be a really good person. He knows what it is like to live and grow up in an orphanage – a strong motivator for him to volunteer and help children in orphanages.
For Lesha, this is an act of paying it forward.
Galya, an Allies volunteer and translator, met Lesha at one of the camps Allies is involved in. Galya’s sons attended the camp also, and Lesha was assigned the boys’ camp buddy / counselor. “He is a very humble, kind boy who has such love and patience towards children. My boys loved him very much and are already looking forward to seeing him next year, God willing,” Galya shared.
“He did a great job in the camp, making kids in his group happy and comfortable,” she added.
Lesha encourages orphans to join these camps because he believes camps are good opportunities for children to learn about God and Jesus Christ. He believes these events can help strengthen the children’s faith and help them deal with difficult times, especially while living in an orphanage.
“As I meet and get to know these children more, and hear about their interesting stories, I realize how incredible the work Allies does is, in helping and supporting children in orphanages. They don’t just help the children while they are in the orphanage, but somehow, the values they instill to them are carried over until they grow up,” Galya continues.
By showing love to and mentoring orphans, Allies is modeling the principles of Jesus, teaching these children to do good deeds to others, too, and pay it forward whenever they can. We hope that by showing love and support to orphans, we can develop more Leshas in the world who will selflessly share their time and dedicate their life to help others.
If you want to help and pay it forward, here are different ways you can help, donate, or be part of the Allies team.