Nadya.

Надія (Nadya) is also considered one of the malankas (like Olya, below). She is six years old, and, like Olya, looks much younger than her actual age because of her extremely small size. Nadya prefers to play by herself, and often ignores people (staff, the older girls, as well as Miri, Jessica, and myself) who try to communicate with her. She seems to be non-verbal - although I could be wrong, I might not have been around to hear her. She occasionally laughs, and when she does, she's all smiles. Those big toothy grins are rare but beautiful!

Nadya is independent, and is often fascinated by the tiniest objects that are usually overlooked. Some examples are string, scraps of paper, or what parts are left of a broken toy. The picture above displays this! She seems to be happiest when she is outside playing at the Internat park, or when one of the older girls swings her upside down. Maybe we will be able to coax Nadya out of her shell a bit by the end of the summer.