The postbox of 11-year-old Ivan cannot contain all the letters he has recently received. The postman visits the family daily, each time bringing new correspondence. They are extremely surprised, saying, “We’ve never known anything like it.” Over five hundred letters have been sent to Lesnaya Street in recent weeks.
It’s much more fun to read letters with his sister Alenka
Vanya is opening letters with the help of his sister: some have stamps from Norway and others have come from France. Greetings from all over the world have been received! “My son is autistic and he loves receiving postcards. His birthday is on December 31st and I asked people to give some time to Vanyusha, sending him a postcard would make him much happier,” his mother said, adding that, initially, she was unsure whether she should post on social networks. “I could not imagine people’s reaction but I worried in vain: there are very many kind people out there,” said Lilia Strungaru. The first letter arrived from Veronika, from Molodechno. It read: ‘I wish to congratulate you in advance as, on your birthday, I’ll be in hospital’. “We later learnt that the she had given birth to her son born on December 31st, like our Vanechka.”
Children have also responded: fourth grade pupils from class G, from a Moscow school, sent greetings with drawings. Similar kind letters were received from Belarusian boys and girls: from Mozyr’s second-grade pupils.
A lady from Lithuania sent her picture and a man from St. Petersburg surprised Vanya with a rare 1975 postcard.
The boy reads his English language letters independently. His autism has not yet been diagnosed: Vanechka attends an integrated class at school, gaining good results. He is also a musical school pupil, learning the accordion. His parents learnt that their son was autistic when he was three. They were told that the situation was hopeless, as these children live in their own world and it’s difficult to bring them out. They were not convinced of this and numerous consultations with doctors and psychologists followed, as well as classes with horses and dolphins, contributing to his progress. Moreover, his younger sister, Alenka, is a key figure in his life, her eternal and sincere love gives Vanya no opportunity of plunging back into his own special world.
Letters from all over the globe also help. Every evening, the boy gathers his family members together to read a new letter. They then begin preparing responses and have already established a friendship with some of the writers. Dear reader, you can also do a kindness and please Ivan Strungaru. His address is: 222321, Belarus, Minsk Region, Molodechno District, Chist village, 1a-9 Lesnaya Street.
By Kristina Khilko
