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Samaritan’s Purse beneficiary left Ukraine for USA, but her Christmas gift still brings joy to young girls there

10.08.2018, 10:02
The gift in the shoebox was a Barbie doll. This particular Barbie traveled all the way from the United States to the Ukraine in a special gift shoebox to reach the hands and heart of a little girl living in Kyiv named Nadia Karnatova.

The gift in the shoebox was a Barbie doll. This particular Barbie traveled all the way from the United States to the Ukraine in a special gift shoebox to reach the hands and heart of a little girl living in Kyiv named Nadia Karnatova.

Miraculously, it was exactly the toy Nadia had dreamed of one day having. But given economic circumstances, even a simple plastic doll seemed an impossible dream.

That same Barbie doll, many years later, is still in the Ukraine, passed down to other little girls and still providing joy and play for those in need, according to Karnatova, who now lives in Hilliard with her husband and three children.

Karnatova’s gift was the result of Samaritan’s Purse’s annual Operation Christmas Child drive. Under the program, special pre-printed boxes for either boys or girls are filled with a toy, clothing, hygiene items and school supplies.

The third week in November, boxes are collected then shipped overseas for distribution to needy children.

On the evening of July 20, Nadia Karnatova shared her personal story regarding her long-ago holiday shoebox with an auditorium full of those interested in the program at Liberty Christian Academy.

Growing up in the Ukraine, she was one of nine children. Her father was an “underground Christian minister,” as she put it in an interview prior to her Friday night presentation at LCA.

“My parents struggled because of lack of jobs,” she recalled. “There were no toys because they were focused on the next meal.”

The family of 11 shared two toothbrushes. Still, “We were happy, because some kids didn’t have any toothbrushes.”

Having a Barbie doll enter her life under those conditions was a kind of minor miracle.

“It was exactly what I wanted that year,” she said. She shared her doll with other children.

“I felt very special (to receive the gift box),” she said. “I felt very special because someone somewhere loved and cared for me.”

In 2000, when she was 14, her family was sponsored by American churches for relocation to the United States. All of the family belongings, she said, had to be left behind, including her beloved Barbie doll.

But the doll, she confirmed, is still in the Ukraine, and still bringing joy to young girls there. “It’s still being passed around and played with,” she said.

Settled in the U.S., her father continues to minister and writes faith-based books.

Karnatova is a wedding photographer, but also regularly speaks on behalf of Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child because of the impact it made on her young life. “I believe in it,” she said.

Each year, her family pack their own gift boxes. “It’s an amazing chance for parents to do this with their kids to teach them the power of giving and it impacts an entire family.”

The July 20 presentation was a special one, because she could bring her three children from Hilliard to participate in the presentation.

Wally Ziolo, Columbus East Area Coordinator for Operation Christmas Child, said it was decided to have the informational program in July to capitalize on the “Christmas in July” concept and resulting holiday awareness, but also because this time period is the most advantageous in terms of availability and prices for back-to-school supplies that are one of the key components to the shoeboxes’ gift contents.

Craig McDonald

Newark Advocate, July 26, 2018