After the death of their mother and soon their father, eight orphaned boys and three girls were told by social workers that they were now likely to have to live separately in boarding schools and shelters. There is hardly a married couple who would like to take eleven children for upbringing at once. The children cried bitterly, hugged and … said goodbye forever. They swear that when they grow up, they will find each other. Fortunately, the orphans did not live apart for long. Tamara and Igor Medvedev from Rivne, parents of two sons, gathered brothers and sisters together and gave happiness to live as a family. For a year now, Medvedeva-Androsyuk is one big loving family. And this story began with … mystical events.
— A few years ago, my friend and I went to the forest for berries, says 41-year-old Tamara Medvedeva. And she suddenly told about a large family, where her mother died because of a serious illness. Eleven children aged from six months to 14 years remained in the care of their father. Older children drowned the oven, cooked food, washed, cared for younger brothers and sisters, while the father until late at night tried to earn an extra penny. The friend knew the family well, because she often visited her mother in the village of Zdolbunovsky district of the Rivne region, where orphans lived. I was shocked by what I heard. At home, I could not sleep for a long time, I thought how the children are trying to survive and how hard it is for them. She told her husband about it. Igor took a heavy breath and said that we need to pray so that the children can bear the loss and cope with the problems that befell them.
As time passed, we somehow forgot about this story and lived our own worries. And two years later, I happened to meet a friend in the city, and she stunned me: «Remember, I told you about the kids whose mother died?» Now they don’t have a father, he’s gone too. The orphan was scattered in various boarding schools and shelters. What will happen to them now? To say I was shocked is to say nothing. I went home and literally burst into tears.
To be honest, my husband and I never planned on becoming adoptive parents. When my sister, the mother of three children Orysia Primak, nine years ago decided to take such a step, I even condemned her. She refused to take on such a responsibility — to educate adoptives. Fortunately, my sister did not listen to me, and today twenty children of different nationalities are growing up in her happy home. — Author.
But the story of the eleven orphans shocked me to the core. I thought, what are the children waiting for, who will shelter them? I told my sister that I wanted to follow her example and raise a child. In the evening she told her husband about her decision.
The husband of Tamara Igor immediately warned that if one of the sons will be against the fact that their family suddenly increased, then this idea will have to be abandoned.
In the evening, when the whole family was gathered, we told the children that we wanted to take the adopted daughter or son. We tried to explain to our children how difficult it is for orphans to live in a boarding school. And the sons agreed with us. I went to the office this morning and announced my decision. The employees accepted my application and told them to wait. Two weeks later, I got a call and asked to come for an interview. The head of the service asked if we had changed our mind about taking orphans. I replied that my family is looking forward to replenishment, my husband and I are ready at any time to go for the children. Then she asked me why I didn’t care how many kids I had to take. We have, I say, a large apartment in Rivne, me and the orphans will fit in it. And then the head of the service explained that we need to take eleven brothers and sisters. I thought I misunderstood, so I asked again how many children I had.
It turned out that we are talking about the same children that I first heard about a few years ago from my friend. By this time, the orphans were scattered in different boarding schools, the younger ones were in the Children’s Home. Social workers said they would help them if my husband and I agreed to take everyone into foster care. Isn’t it mysticism? We don’t know children yet, but we’ve heard so much about them. I thought it was fate.
Before informing my sons of the decision to take up eleven orphans at once, we told their sad story. The younger Kostya burst into tears from what he heard, and the elder Vitaly, as an adult, said that we can count on him. And my husband and sister Orysei and I went to the so-called kin.
When all the siblings were gathered in a rehabilitation center and announced that from now on they would live together again, the children cried with happiness. But then they asked themselves: who will become their father and mother? The children were afraid, they looked at us with fear.
— Aren’t you afraid to take eleven orphans?
— If I say that it was not scary, you still will not believe it, the woman smiles. Both Igor and I were worried that the children would not accept us. As they later admitted, they remembered my long hair and terrified eyes. Orysya, whom my husband and I took to the screens, the children perceived as a new mother, because she constantly asked them about something, was more courageous. This is understandable, because my sister has a lot of experience! My husband and my sons talked a lot. After a few hours, the feeling of awkwardness completely disappeared. At the end of the meeting, the director of the rehabilitation center, where the brothers and sisters were placed for a while, asked whether they agreed to join the family of the adoptive parents Tamara and Igor Medvedev. Everyone said yes in chorus. When the children said goodbye, they said, “When will you pick us up?” We explained that we need to clean up the house in which we will live together. Ten days later, we took the children with us.
— Have you been in contact with them during this period?
— Moreover, we prepared our common house together every day! exclaims Tamara Nikolaevna. The fact is that we were provided with housing in the same village where the rehabilitation center is located. As soon as the children noticed our car, they rushed to us. They tried their best: took out garbage, washed windows and floors, cleaned the yard. Repairs made us friends, we could not wait to part again.
— Taking eleven children from the same family, the Medvedev couple set a kind of record for Ukraine, says Natalia Andriyuk, head of the children’s service of the Rivne district state administration.
A friendly family lives in a spacious house in the village of Alexandria, Rivne district: three-year-old Volodya, five-year-old Denis, eight-year-old Misha, ten-year-old Valeria, 11-year-old Olesya and Kostya, 12-year-old Katya, 13-year-old Kolya, 14-year-old Vlad, 15-year-old Pavlik, 16-year-old twins Artem and Anton, 18-year-old Vitaly, mother Tamara and father Igor. They are happy that fate brought them together.
The youngest child in the family of Tamara and Igor Medvedev is only three years old, and the oldest is eighteen (photo from the family album)
— The total area of the house in which we live is 320 square meters, says the mother of many children. — It’s ten rooms, kitchen, bathroom. We have three TV sets, one of which the children took from their home, and two more we brought from the Rivne apartment. There are two computers, all children have mobile phones with Internet connection. However, the older ones have expensive mobile phones, and the younger ones have cheaper ones.
— Usually, government payments for foster children do not come immediately. What did they survive at first?
— I had to take a loan from the bank, admits Tamara Nikolaevna. We also borrowed money from our friends and relatives. For these funds and made repairs in the house. My sister Orysia at first helped with food, shared baby clothes, shoes and bedding. It takes a lot of things! I remember when we were getting ready for school in the fall, they took notebooks in packs. I bought 100 pens for all the students. I thought it would be enough until winter. But they ended in literally… one month.
Recently, a year has passed as our family of fifteen people lives amicably and cheerfully. We had a party on this occasion. At the family table, they remembered the first meeting, told their impressions about each other, laughed a lot. During this time, they acquired their own “zoo”. We have a Labrador dog, a British cat, a parrot and aquarium fish.
— What difficulties have you encountered?
— It was very unusual to cook a lot of food, admits Tamara Nikolaevna. — I bought a 12-liter borscht pan. But it soon became clear that she was too small for our family. After all, there are eleven men in the house, large and small, and only four representatives of the fair sex. Men like to eat a lot and tasty. At first I didn’t know how much to cook for everyone. We buy six loaves of bread a day. In one sitting, we eat a bucket of potatoes and forty cutlets, they take at least three kilograms of minced meat. We cook all together: several people peel potatoes, one carrot, the second beet, the third shinks cabbage. At the same time, no one divides “boy” work and “girl” work – everyone is equal. The boys wash the floor and the girls wash the dishes.
The second hard part was when the kids looked at us and we looked at them. Somewhere we feared them, somewhere they feared us. I think it was easier for them, because they are much more. Fortunately, the time of the laundry passed quickly. We have very little experience in foster care. We celebrated birthdays once a year. Every birthday party tried to please. My kids gave me a huge teddy bear. Turns out they were saving pocket money that Dad gives out to everyone every morning before school.
There was another difficult moment. Igor and I were afraid to inform our relatives about our decision to take adopted children. I was especially afraid of my mother-in-law’s reaction. But the wise woman listened to us and said briefly, “As much as I can, I will help.”
— Kids call you mom and dad?
— Younger almost immediately began to call, and older a little later. One day I happened to see that on mobile phones we are recorded as mom and dad. I mean, the elders didn’t talk, but they thought we were their parents.
— Are there any traditions in the family?
— At dinner, we usually solve all the “global” problems. One bad grade at school received, another called someone or broke something, and someone urgently needs to buy a new one. Of course, seniors want expensive mobile phones or fancy jackets. In order for children to know how much food and clothes cost, we take them with us to markets and shops. At first I was shocked by the price. In the boarding school, the pupils get everything ready. But today they are well oriented, where you can buy better and cheaper, and even give us advice.
Children, except for school, attend the gym, a dance circle (and boys also go with pleasure), sections of martial arts and kickboxing. Those who want to register somewhere else or, conversely, want to change their passion, are also discussed at dinner.
— You have more boys in your family. I wonder how they feel about their mom?
— At first I was afraid to sit on the couch. For example, if Kostya, my own son, stumbles into my leg and watches a movie like that, Pavlik accidentally touches and immediately moves away. And now they can sit on their heads! Boys love to see me from all sides, and I will pat each of them on the head and praise. They are really good, kind, hardworking. The older sons secretly show pictures of their girlfriends, ask my opinion. I think we all lived together from the first days. The children admitted that I remind them of their mother, whom they loved very much. And when I saw the picture of their deceased mother, I was amazed at how similar we look.
We maintain a rural house where children used to live. We have to keep it. Maybe one of them will bring their family there later. We all go to the cemetery and take care of our parents’ graves. We will definitely go there on these Easter days.
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Orthodox stories from life
