Alexander Klimenko
of Philanthropists Book of Consolations
Three-year-old Maria Borisenko needs a cochlear implant to hear. Three-year-old Mariyka Borysenko is growing up a happy girl, happy because she is not yet aware of her illness. From an early age, the child hears neither the words of his mother, nor the purring of kittens in the yard, nor the arguments of her favorite cartoon characters. Even with hearing aids, Mariyka distinguishes only the intonation of language, which she repeats in all directions. If the disease is not treated, the girl will have a sad future in a specialized boarding school for deaf and dumb children, located hundreds of kilometers from her home… In fact, there may be another, better sequel in Maria’s story: doctors at a Turkish clinic set out to install a cochlear implant in the girl, which will restore her ability to hear. However, its cost is too high - 468,000 hryvnias, and the child’s mother has no such money, and there is little time left: if Mariyka does not hear until the age of five, she will not be able to master the language and speak fully. Ufond correspondent Nina Filatova tells about Mariya Borysenko, the winner of the popular vocal project of the 1 + 1 TV channel "Voice of the Country", Father Oleksandr (Klimenko). - Father Oleksandr, you are first of all a spiritual pastor, a priest, but you became known to the general public thanks to your singing talent. As a person who is famous for his voice, please tell me what "voice" means to you? - For me, the voice is, first of all, an opportunity to create. In the Gospel of John we read: "In the beginning was the word." You can explain this statement in different ways, but a person’s voice can do wonderful things. She can change the world with her voice. She can reach hearts with her words. And that is why the ability to speak, to voice their thoughts, to formulate them, to have a voice in general in this society is the most important. This is one of the invaluable gifts of the Creator, it is the ability to be a co-creator and the ability to praise the Creator of the Creators. That’s why having a voice is very important. - And what about a child who has lost his hearing and can not speak from it? How can she join all the beauty and good that comes with the word? To church life? - Man -creation is integral, it cannot be considered that it perceives the world only by ear, or mentally, or tactilely, or sight. And when a person enters the temple, he immediately feels that there is a special place here: there are not those smells, other visual sensations, different colors. We see a rather strange picture in terms of secular life: icons, images, the father is dressed differently. The same goes for the touch: old marble or granite is colder and nicer. But yes, one of the most important moments in a child’s perception of the church world is the ability to hear. "Our faith is by hearing" is what the Scriptures say. After all, it is very important to hear exactly what you live for, where you are going. But in fact a child can be brought up with the love she will see in her eyes, support, tactile contact. But it is very difficult to fully develop without being able to hear. You know, there was such a story, a few centuries ago in one of the countries they decided to find out what the "speech" was. They took several babies, fed them, raised them, but protected them from any conversations. It was expected that the child, when he grows up, will speak a speech that will not be derived from the words of the father or mother. And the worst thing happened: these children did not survive without talking ... This strange, even cruel experiment proves how important the ability to hear and speak is for a person. I am sure that in the case of illness everything is different, because they talk to the child, he feels emotional. -Father Oleksandr, you are probably close to the problems of Maria’s family, you understand what a serious illness is, because four years ago you suffered a serious injury, had many fractures, and were in intensive care. How did you perceive such tests? - The parallel between my story and the story of the child is only relative. At that time I already had a family, wonderful children, I was a realized person. It was hard for the family, hard for those standing nearby. Because I took everything calmly, I was even a living person. Everyone was depressed, and as soon as I came to, I tried to joke and get everyone back to normal. Although I spoke very poorly, and my memory was lost. It was so scary for my relatives. I will not say that he was ready to die. But I always see such things as God’s providence and God’s care for you. As for the child, you can’t share your experience here. The child does not realize what is happening to him, does not understand it. Maybe he thinks so. We understand that it will be a great trauma for her to live life to the fullest, so the experiences are more ours. -You rightly said that the illness of a loved one, and a child in particular - a test primarily for her family. But how to perceive such trials? - Sick people do not appear just like that. If it is an elderly person - to test your faithfulness to God and the ability to endure trials for his sake. When it comes to young children or adults, it is a test of the people around us on the level of empathy, empathy, on the level of feeling all of us as children of one Adam, the feeling of our unity in Christ. And another important aspect: sick children are a litmus test of how healthy our society is. There is no higher sacrifice than when a person lays down his soul, his time, his finances, who has such an opportunity, for his neighbors. And the biggest trouble is when a child is sick and you can’t help financially. In that case, you can pray. And if you don’t know how to pray, you can at least think well, not mentally dismiss this topic. To the sick person who lives next to you or you know about his existence, the Lord gives the opportunity to show his kindness, his Christianity through compassion, through prayer, through material help, through fundraising activities. But if it is done internally for the good, I am sure it will be of the greatest benefit. I think everyone can help. Sick children are a test of everyone on the level of our consciousness. - And how do you assess the level of consciousness of our people: how humane is our society? The more we are overtaken by the crisis, the tougher we become? - I was convinced earlier that many people are sincere. Personally, I can say by example. An accident happened to me in 2013, when I fell off the roof and was killed. I was very impressed by how many people responded, I am grateful to them all, because we would not have pulled my treatment, I was even in the hospital for a short time due to financial difficulties. I wanted to go home as soon as possible and stay under the care of my father, a surgeon. By the way, my father himself took metal screws out of my body. After the injury I was literally put in pieces, I had a lot of metal plates that held the bones. And in order to save money, when it was necessary to unscrew the screws from the plates, I did not go to Kyiv, but asked my father to take them out. But there were thirty screwdrivers for screws, Soviet, contemporary, they were picked up for almost four hours. I said, I’m patient. - I want to say that at that time the level of empathy was very high. But the longer the crisis drags on, the more people become locked into solving their own problems. This can be seen from that. how they help sick children, I see by how difficult it is to build a temple. Previously, I didn’t even ask anyone, people just came and said: we know what we need, and shared the money. Now almost all the doors are locked. In reality, donations are hundreds of times smaller. I think, unfortunately, you are also familiar with it. - As an experienced father of four children, please tell me: is there an age to which a child really needs to convey the parent’s "educational" word? Does the age of the child not matter? - According to my children, I will say that at the age of three a child begins to appreciate the importance of the conversation between father and mother. And seven years is a very difficult period, when a child is going through the first year of school, she has new social contacts, she reaches a new level of communication outside the family. Begins to flounder in an independent field, so the period from three to seven years is very important. And so I notice my eldest son: he himself came to faith. I do not force children to pray, to fast, I would like it to be an internal decision. And I’m glad that my son David, when there are problems, discusses them with me. - It seems that nothing is lost for our Maria, if, in your opinion, the child only accepts the ethical guidelines of parents after three years. -I’m not sure, maybe we underestimate the level of perception of children. But after three years, they ask a lot of questions and, like a sponge, soak everything up . - Father Alexander, what could you wish Maria’s parents? They are very worried about the future of the child, but they hope that good people will help them overcome their daughter’s illness. - I would like my relatives not to lose hope, because God reveals himself when you have a completely empty hand. Because there is a saying: God does not give in full. Often, when you are completely exhausted, you lose hope, self-confidence, when your hands seem to fall, it is then that God’s providence takes effect. Therefore, I want them not to lose hope, because God will always find time to support them to go through this difficult path. Dear friends! If you decide to save Maria Borisenko , do not be confused by the price of salvation. Any of your donations will be gratefully accepted. You can send a donation by bank transfer to the Fund. All the necessary details are in the Fund. You can also use our electronic payment system by making a donation from a credit card or e-cash, including from abroad. Also, you can help Maria on the website of the Ukrainian Charity Exchange in the project - " Funny Sounds of Sadness ".