Katarina came to the orphanage when she was 5 years old with an older sister, Veronika, who has graduated and moved to the capital city, and with a younger brother, Sasha, who is still in our home. They were brought to us by the police after neighbors reported the children being home alone for several days. Their parents were gone on a drinking binge and had left the children with nothing to eat. The neighbors would give them some food and cow’s milk for Sasha, who was only 3.5 months old at the time.
When Katarina was brought to our home, she had severe burns on her abdomen and chest from where the children tried to make soup by themselves and she accidentally poured scalding water on herself. Her burns were left untreated for several days until the police brought them to us. The mother has since died.