Three boys from the Ukraine will be spending the summer months with the Maskells, of Saratoga. The boys have been living in an orphanage for the last eight years.
Quirt Rice, left, Annabelle Maskell, center and Lillian Maskell make up the band Hillbilly Hellions. The trio played at Laura Ms artist reception May 21. During breaks, Lillian shared the story of the three brothers her family is hosting over the summer.
Imagine having bread three times a day, and if you are lucky, getting chicken broth with the evening meal.
That is what life has been like for the last eight years for three boys who will be spending the summer in Saratoga.
Jennifer and Peter Maskell are sponsoring three boys from the Ukraine to spend the summer with them. For the oldest boy, DiMa who is 15, this is his last chance at finding a home that will keep him and his two brothers together.
Their parents died eight years ago and they have been in an orphanage in the Ukraine since.
The boys had a glimpse of hope last year, when they were to be adopted, but for medical reasons, their "forever family" backed out of the adoption.
The Maskell family learned about the boys when they were working on hosting a girl from the Ukraine. There was a problem with the paperwork and the girl was not going to be able to come. Project 143, the organization the Maskells go through told Jennifer about the boys.
The Maskells had already paid the $3,000 for the girl's expenses to travel to the United States, and it was non-refundable, so they told the organization to put it toward another child.
The organization called us, Jennifer said, and said they had an emergency. "We have these three boys that were supposed to be adopted." Jennifer knew the family that was supposed to adopt them and also of their circumstances – the adoptive mother had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.
"You heart has to hurt for the boys," Jennifer said.
Jennifer said she told the agency she had to talk to her husband Peter, but she was pretty sure he would say "no".
Jennifer said she was surprised when her husband said, "We got to do this thing."
Jennifer told Peter, "Don't say it unless you mean it, because you know me, I will do it."
The next morning, Peter filled out the paperwork and the boys are coming June 15.
Life for orphans in the Ukraine varies from orphanage to orphanage, Jennifer said. The rural orphanages are smaller, so the children get more attention and more food because they are usually on farmland.
The boys that are coming this summer are from Keiv. Since Ukraine is at war with Russia, the food supply and hygiene products, such as toilet paper, have been cut off, Jennifer said.
To bring the boys to the U.S., it is $9,000 and the Maskells have raised most of that through donations.
They hope to adopt the boys and have been advised to budget for $60,000. The paperwork in the U.S. is $25,000 and other costs are for travel and bribes, Jennifer said.
"You have to bribe the Ukrainian officials to get the children out of the country," Jennifer said. They are now working on raising the funds to adopt the boys.
Jennifer said if people adopt through the Department of Family Services, there is no cost, but to adopt through a private agency is expensive.
They had tried to adopt before, and found there are a lot of costs involved.
"These three kids came across our path and you are supposed to do good as you are able," Jennifer said. "We just didn't feel like we could say no. There are 140 million kids who need help, but we can't help all 140 million, but we can try to save these three."
Jennifer is hoping to give the children a full experience while living in the Platte Valley and is hoping the community will step in to take them boating or fishing.
In the meantime, the family has started raising funds. Jennifer and Peter's girls Annabelle and Lillian, who performed at Laura M Gallery May 21, were telling visitors about the boys and were accepting donations for the adoption fund.
Donations can be dropped off at Laura M Gallery.
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