Life-changing surgery saves Belarusian girls from institution

TWO disabled Belarusian girls destined for a life in grim mental institutions have achieved their dream of walking — thanks to 14 corrective operations carried out by Irish surgeons.

The lives of Olya Mikita and Krystina Nikitsionak changed forever after a chance meeting, in 2006, with a warm-hearted Cork carpenter.

The girls were just four years old and, at the time, were in the Vesnova Children’s Mental Asylum in Belarus.