Lena is a young girl who attends the CBN Orphan’s Promise education centre in Kiev, Ukraine. She had a very troubled home life with a Father who struggled with alcoholism and a Mother who was forced to work overtime to provide for her family.  

To make matters worse Lena’s parents hadn’t spoken to each other in months, despite living in the same house. 

The effect that this environment was having on Lena was devastating and coming to the Orphan’s Promise education centre gave Lena a much-needed break from a difficult family home. 

One day, Lena was sent home from the Centre with an assignment. She was asked to trace and cut out the shape of her hand and then get her family members to write nice things about each other on each of the five fingers. 

Lena was nervous. She wasn’t even sure if her family would participate. 

Lena wrote loving and thoughtful words to her Father, Mother and younger Brother on the cut-out hand and then asked her Mother to do the same. 

Frustrated but determined to support her daughter, Lena’s Mother wrote on the hand that she was grateful for the children her husband had given her and that she hoped the family’s circumstances would change soon so that they could find joy again. 

Lena’s Father was overwhelmed by his wife’s words. He wrote that he loved his wife and was so thankful for her patience with him. He even apologised for everything that he had put the family through.