This is Tatiana Ivanivna Valko, Orphanage director at the Znamyanka Orphanage for the severely handicapped. Of the many truly remarkable people I met during my three years working on this project, she for sure is at the top of my list. When she took over the orphanage at the beginning of the 2000s, the building and its infrastructure was in bad shape. Electricity was only available on certain days, the kitchen was virtually non-existent, no medical staff readily available at the institute. She changed all that. Even though governmental grants were hard to come by, she organised volunteers from the village help with structural improvements as well as started a fundraiser through the Orthodox Ukrainian Church in the USA for much needed financial support. And within three years major improvements to the orphanage were implemented, a sizeable medical staff now resides within the building for much needed medical support.

When I learned about orphanages for severely handicapped children from the Chernobyl region, my understanding was that they had to be located within Kyiv or at least another big city for logical logistic reasons such as vicinity to hospitals, access to medical professionals capable of dealing with the most complicated diseases stemming from radiation contamination. But quite the opposite was the case. Since in 1986 Ukraine was still part of the Soviet Union, handicapped children was a topic not talked about by Soviet authorities. Mrs. Valko told me that the Soviet position was that handicapped children were a result of Western decadence, and as such could not exist in the Soviet Union. So instead of admitting that such issue was indeed a prevalent fact, the Soviet leadership kept hiding children with handicaps in very remote locations. Znamyanka is a 2,5 hour train ride from Kyiv in the dead center of the Ukraine. It is a tiny village, probably the most depressed place I have ever seen – a perfect hideaway for an orphanage must have been the Soviet rationale. Also on the day of my first visit to Znamyanka, it rained cats and dogs, the roads were muddy, and the sun a distant memory of a better day.

But once I got to the orphanage, the mood changed. I stepped into a little oasis of love and care beyond imagination. Even though you encounter children with the most unimaginable medical conditions and physical ailments, there was a sense of warmth and mindfulness that made this place a much needed sanctuary. And that was further evidenced by the fact that every kid called Tatiana Valko “Mama”.

Following the Chornobyl accident, one of the most prelevant problems was the small dosage radiation of the biological system of pregnant women. Extensive research into this matter revealed high concentration of radio-nuclides in the placenta of pregnant women throughout the post-accident period. Cesium -137 and Strontium -90 mimic potassium and calcium, hence the placenta willingly absorbs these elements interpreting it as essential nutrients.

Further studies revealed substantial increases in birth defects and profound disfigurements in newborns. These include cleft palates, extra digits and missing digits, deformed or missing limbs, missing or deformed internal organs, ocular tumors, spina bifida, and multiple other birth defects that are mostly inoperable.

Probably the most prevalent cancer form caused by the accident is Thyroid cancer. The statistics speak for themselves: According to a Belarussian study that began in 1966, thyroid cancer was a rare disease. From 1966 until 1986 there was less than one case per year. From the time of the disaster up to the year 2000, 7504 children and adults had received surgery for thyroid cancer. All these new cases came from the most contaminated regions.

What none of these statistical figures are able to document ist the horrible suffering that lies behind them.

Another prevalent health issue is caused through the damage radiation causes to the immune system. Doctors in these territories refer to the depletion of the immune system as the “Chernobyl AIDS”. Strontium -90 closely resembles Calcium, so the body cannot recognize the deception it creates and absorbs it readily into the bone structure of people’s bodies. Strontium is highly radioactive and has a very adverse effect on bone marrow and bone growth in children. It takes about three years before the damage caused by Strontium becomes visible. Because of the body’s damaged immune system, cancer cells that have previously been present are now free to break through.

At my first meeting with the orphanage director, Mrs. Valko stipulated one rule: To portray the kids not as a freak show, as some other photographers have done at other institutions, but to look past their ailments and capture their true essence. The ailments are always there, you cannot look past them, but it should and can not be the characteristic that defines them, but rather their genuine heart, unbroken spirit, and unique personality.

I promised to be respectful of her concern and also suggested to do a portrait shot of every kid in the orphanage, and that i would return with the developed prints at a latter time, which I did. Once she saw the photographs, she had them mounted all over the orphanage for the kids to see. Here are a few of those photos.