Last month I was informed by Ira that she has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The outlook is not very good and the doctors have suggested that she may only have a few months left. This is especially difficult to take for us involved with Dnipro Kids as Ira has been a part of Dnipro Kids since our very first visit in 2005, where she acted as translator during the handing over of gifts to the children at the TB Sanatorium.

Since that day she has been an integral part of the charity, and the organiser for so many events and tasks in Dnipropetrovsk. She has been a tower of strength for us, and often had to stand up to the red-tape and bureaucracy to ensure nothing got in the way of organising trips and events for the kids.

It has been down to Ira that our sponsored kids have had so many enjoyable excursions and birthday trips over the years. Ira has been at the heart of the planning and organisation of the many trips and birthday events that have been organised, right down to the shopping required to ensure that each child received the exact birthday gift that they wanted.