Adoption Success Story: Oliver
Dasha, 15 years old, was an orphan from Ukraine. She has been in institutional care since she was left at a hospital at two years old, and she has tested HIV-
positive. At age 16, she would age out of Ukraine’s orphanage system, forcing her to support herself at an extremely young age with very little experience.
Sloan and Gina, of Plainfield, Illinois, decided to adopt after having four biological children. After hosting Dasha through Project 143, Sloan and Gina decided that Dasha needed to become a permanent part of their family. With help from a Gift of Adoption grant worth $5,000, Dasha was able to come home to Illinois in May 2019.
“We will give Dasha love, structure, education, good health care, and the opportunity to pursue an adult life that will be satisfying and productive. From now on, Dasha will always have family. She will have three sisters and a brother, aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandmothers,” she said. “She has already begun to make friends in America during her time as a host child, through my
two younger daughters’ friends.”