By Peter A. Sutters Jr.

I&M Staff Writer

Photo by Nicole Harnishfeger Robert and Yana Walder, holding their daughter Nina, will host Ukrainian children for Christmas.

For a group of orphans who have undoubtedly led a life that so few of us can even imagine, a bit of relief is in sight this Christmas.

Six children from the Ukraine will be coming to Nantucket for two weeks beginning Dec. 23 and staying with four island families to learn about family, American life and enjoy their time away from the orphanage.

Yana Walder, who is originally from the Ukraine, and her husband Bob already sponsor a child from the orphanage in Borzna, Ukraine. They were contacted by the director of the orphanage to see if they were interested in hosting children.

Walder jumped at the opportunity.

“I was just glad to give these kids an opportunity to come over here, even for a short time, and learn as much as they can to better their situation,” said Walder.

Walder, who first came to the United States at age 16, has a keen appreciation of just how difficult life is in Ukraine for most of its citizens, let alone those who have grown up without parents.

“The kids are just survivors,” she said. “Whatever you throw at them, they just survive.”

After spending just six months in the United States working as a baby-sitter, Walder returned to the Ukraine with $800 in her pocket, compared to the $40 a month her mother made, and decided to spread the wealth around.

“Some of my friends in college didn’t even have winter shoes,” said Walder. “I just wanted to help anyway I could.”

One of the ways Walder wanted to help was giving some of her new-found fortune to an orphanage in her town. The director of the orphanage suggested she visit the children she was going to help. She ended up going back to visit the kids every day for the two weeks she was home and after returning to the U.S., she did not forget them.

“I still send them stuff like clothing,” said Walder. “It’s empowering, especially as a woman, to be able to help these kids.”

Now, in addition to sending, Walder will be receiving.

She said the visit is not a complete vacation for the kids, who range in age from 10 to 14, although that is part of it. She stressed that some of the children have never been around a solid family structure and do not know how to do many of the simple things in life that Americans take for granted every day.

“Even if the trip just gets their self-esteem up it will be worth it,” said Walder. “They can learn a bit of English and stay in touch with their host families, which will go a long way in helping them once they are back home.”

The Ukraine is a former Soviet republic of 47.4 million people – 29 percent of whom live below the poverty line – bordering the Black Sea between Poland, Romania and Moldova in the west and Russia in the east.

The living conditions in the Ukraine and the prospects for life after moving out of the orphanages are grim. According to the nonprofit foundation orphanshope.org, after leaving the government-run orphanage and moving into government-run housing between the ages of 15 and 17, between 10 and 30 percent of the children commit suicide before they reach the age of 18, 70 percent of the boys end up leading a life of crime and 60 percent of the girls end up in forced or voluntary prostitution.

“Once they’re out of the orphanage the criminals go to the government housing and recruit them,” said Walder. “They tell the girls that they can get them a job as a waitress in Turkey or somewhere and then take their passports and force them into prostitution.

They just don’t have the means to survive.”

Walder said the children who are coming on the trip are chosen because they are well-adjusted and don’t have a history of abuse, so they are more stable than others and better prepared to handle the differences in America. She added that it pains her to have to choose only five children out of the estimated 100,000 orphans in the Ukraine, but helping even a few is worth it.

“I understand I can’t bring every one of them over,” said Walder. “But if you can just take five children at a time and make a difference in their lives, it counts.”

Walder is working with orphanshope.org and fosteringhope.org to work out the logistics of bringing the children to the island and has raised more than $9,000 on her own to pay for the plane tickets and other travel-related expenses.

“I raised the money $100 at a time, just asking friends,” she said.

Although Walder has raised a considerable amount of money just to bring the children over, she is still looking for donations to make the trip a memorable one. She has already secured free lunches from various island restaurants, but is also looking for more. Anyone interested in making a donation can contact Yana Walder at (508) 228-6865.