Cerebral Palsy Support – Life saving support for families and children living in Ukraine 

Ludmila runs the organisation ‘Cerebral of the Darnitsky district of Kyiv’ which has been providing support for over 500 families for many years and, more so now in wartime. In the first days of the war, Ludmilla hid in the basement of a kindergarten with the most severely disabled children and their families and then moved 171 of these people, in three stages, from the Ukraine to Sweden, organising funds and resettlement when they arrived there. Ludmilla and her husband providing ongoing support not only to the families in Sweden but also those left behind in Kyiv.

Latest update – November 2023

Ludmilla and Anton continue to live in Sweden and there are 120 people remaining with them, among them orphans. Ludmilla communicates with them constantly and takes 5 people to live with her for two weeks once a month. She visits many families who live in other cities and go to them with gifts and home-cooked food and communication from Ukraine. They miss home very much. 51 people returned to Ukraine, but are very scared, as they hear explosions and Shahed drones. Ludmilla is always in touch with Kyiv, where work in ongoing; she has assistants there who helped her when she was still in Kyiv. These are disabled people and parents whom she can trust and Ludmilla coordinates the work, providing all the help she can, advising the volunteers where they can get help from and directing them to families in need.

Disabled people in Kyiv are struggling to survive against a backdrop of severe stress. Health problems have increased but medicine and food prices have doubled, as well as utilities and people don’t know how to survive. Many people are asking for help. There are more families who have been diagnosed with cancer and need costly treatment with radiation and medications and others who have had heart attacks. Ludmilla and her team are always looking for ways to help.

In one instance, one lady died of a heart attack leaving her only disabled son who was bedridden and left alone. Not having the strength to bury her, he remained in bed with his mother until she was taken away. Two weeks later he died too. Ludmilla called various services, trying to arrange funerals which are very expensive in Ukraine.

Ludmilla tells us there are a lot of people in need. “I had a call from Tanya’s mother – she has cancer and Tanya also needs an operation, which costs 17 thousand hryvnia. But where can she get the money? If the operation is not performed, the leg will have to be cut off. Sergei needs surgery on his leg. Natasha needs abdominal surgery. A disabled father’s son, who looked after him, died. Your help is very, very helpful and supports disabled people. It is like manna from heaven. Someone needs medicine to buy because the family has no money, and without it the child may die. For some it’s food, for others it’s surgery, for others, it’s hygiene products. Through Natalia Kobzar (Gorchakova), we received money in August, which we distributed to the most critical cases, to disabled people in need. Every day, from morning to evening, I am connected with Cerebral. And I can’t even imagine leaving my children, this is my life.

“I ask the Lord to abundantly bless you and your families, and your ministry to support disabled people in Kyiv and other regions.

Many maternal thanks! God’s blessings”

Anton and Lyudmila Myslitskaya.