The Children of the Svirstroy Orphanage

Luke Winghart Returns to Russia

Luke, Alex, and Nick

Six years ago, when he was 11, Luke Winghart ("Sergei") was adopted by an American family from Wisconsin.  Three days before they made their final trip to adopt his two year old twin brothers, the Wingharts learned these boys had an older brother living in the Svirstroy orphanage, about two hours from their baby home.  They asked if they could visit this older brother so they could take some photos and be able to tell the boys when they got older that they had an older brother who they had met.  Instead, they fell in love with Luke, and they decided to adopt him as well.

Luke is actually one of five children.  He and his two little brothers, Nick and Alex, live in Wisconsin.  Their sister, Sasha, was adopted by a Russian couple several years before they were adopted.  And their other brother was adopted by an Italian family.

Luke and Sasha (1997)

Luke and Sasha both lived in the Svirstroy orphanage, but neither knew they had two little brothers.  Sasha and Luke used to spend part of the summer together with Sasha's adoptive parents, but when Luke was adopted, there was no way to find where Sasha was because of strict Russian adoption laws.

For six years, the Wingharts have been searching for Sasha.  In April, armed with a last known address and the memory of an 11 year old boy, we took a little detour from my trip to Svirstroy to see if we could find Sasha.  Though we did not find her, we did find the house where she used to live and the two elderly ladies now live there.  They shared that her parents had divorced, and that Sasha and her mother had moved to Lodeine Pole, the town about 30 minutes from the orphanage.  They also told us which school she attended.

Luke and Sasha (July 2006)

When we returned to St. Petersburg, I spoke with my friend and translator, Lucy, to see if her mother (who lives in Lodeine Pole) could get us the phone number for the school so we could call to see if Sasha was still going there.  Her mother asked why we wanted the number, so Lucy explained to her what we were trying to do.  She asked what Sasha's name was, and she exclaimed, "I know her!"  After a few phone calls, she was able to get us Sasha's mother's phone number.

Jambul, my Russian friend, called her mother, explained who we were and what we were trying to do, and made arrangements for Luke and his mother to visit Sasha during the summer.

In July, Luke returned to the orphanage where he spent six years of his life, he met many of the kids that were there at the time, and he was reunited with his little sister.  It really was an amazing experience for all of us.

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