Foster Family Support for 50 Children in Russia

Dear friends,

We are grateful to you for your support of our work and your trust. We are sure that every child should have a family, loving and understanding people, and warm childhood memories.
We are happy to share our latest news which is great! Due to our work and your support and participation, five children obtained their new home, family and parents.
Here is one of the stories we would like to share with you.
Ivan is 17. Now he has a room of his own, a computer, and a dream to become a programmer. Until recently, he was living in a boarding school where children own nothing. The boy’s only wish was to find a loving family.
Ivan was with his mother only for the first three weeks of his life. Afterwards, the woman was deprived of her parental rights, and he baby was taken to the babies’ home. The boy had medical problems right from his birth, and unfortunately, he had to grow up in an orphanage.
Marina, a graduate of our School for Foster Parents found Ivan’s questionnaire at a specialized website for potential adopters. She contacted the institution, and Ivan began to visit the family as a guest, and several months later he officially obtained new parents and family. Marina and her husband had three children in their marriage, and they did not care about the age of a new child. Ivan was almost 17.
“At the initial meeting, Ivan was nervous a lot, and I was also worried about it”, said Marina. “But I told him “Do not be afraid, as I always do what I am afraid of”.
In the orphanage, Ivan had a diagnosis of mental disability. The boy finished ten years of an adjustment school. He was given an education certificate that only allowed for learning the simplest professions, including a cleaner and a dish washer.
Fostered by the new family, Ivan took the required medical tests and examinations. The status of “mental disability” was waived. This September, Ivan will go to the 7th form of a regular secondary school. Now he is working hard to improve his Mathematics and English skills. He is planning to complete nine years and enter a college to learn a profession related to programming.

Wholeheartedly, we are wishing happiness and wellbeing to Ivan and his wonderful family. And we are thankful to you for supporting our project!

In October, a new SFP training cycle will be launched. During the summertime, the project staff members were interviewing and counseling potential foster parents. We are sure that SFP graduates will bring happiness to children who lost parental support, and we will please you with new stories.

Dear friends,
Thank you for being with us! Thank you for your trust and support of our work! We are convinced that every child should have a family, close people who understand, and warm memories of happy childhood. In order to achieve this goal, DTC Foster Family Project staff members continue running the School for Foster Parents and supporting the prospective foster parents to take a child in their family.
We are happy to share our project news with youth.
In March, a new cycle of the School for Foster Parents was launched. This is the 57th School conducted by the project staff. We are proud of the fact that our school is attended by people who care – those who want to foster a child, learn to better understand children and gift a happy future to them. This is the first time after the pandemic outburst that we are conducting the school in a face-to-face format, which is pleasure both for the trainers and trainees.
A total of 15 people were enrolled in the training. Prior to the school, all the candidates were interviewed by the project staff members. Over one and a half months, the participants were developing new competences, discussing new topics, sharing their experience, and posing questions to the experts.
This time, a request for training was received from Anna and Vladimir who did not take a final decision on fostering a child, and wanted to see if the school would help. The couple wanted to become happy parents and help the child find a family, but doubted if they could and had a lot of fears and myths on fostering that prevented them from moving on. The sessions, small group discussions, talk s with other participants and consultations provided by the staff helped them clarify their motives and reinforce their decision. Anna and Vladimir decided to foster a child under 3 years old.
“We were discussing this important step with my husband for over a year, – shared Anna. – Despite we both wanted that, and agreed, we were worried and had to overcome many fears. Participation in the School helped us obtain answers to important questions. I came to an understanding that any problem could be resolved, and we would get through. We found a lot of important and useful information, received recommendations and support”.
Now the psychologists are providing consultations to the participants to make up certificates on their eligibility for fostering. This is a mandatory document for obtaining permission for taking a child to the family.
We are wishing good luck to all our graduates! We hope that a number of children will find their families soon.
Thank you for supporting our project!

Dear Friends,

We greatly appreciate your valuable support and participation in our project! Your important contribution helps us continue our work to improve the lives of children who lost parental support. Together with you, we are working to make sure that more and more children could find their families.

Season’s Greetings and best wishes for the New Year!

We are wishing health and wellbeing to you and your families! May your life be filled with joyful moments and good works!

Let the coming 2022 bring you only pleasant events, inspiration and new achievements!

With warmest holiday wishes,
Doctors to Children

Dear friends,

Thank you for supporting our work and all of your help to children!

We are pleased to provide you with the Foster Family Project updates.

There was one joyous occasion this summer. One of our School graduates became a foster mother of two adolescent boys. As you know, as children grow older, it is harder for them to find a new family. Therefore, every event like this is success for us. This result was impossible without participation and professionalism of the project staff members, huge hearts of people who fostered the children, and of course your support. We wish happiness, luck and good health to the brothers and their wonderful new family.

In August, we started the selection of participants for the new 56^th School for Foster Parents cycle which will launch this September. Presently, the project staff members are interviewing and meeting with the candidates, explaining the rules and terms of participation in the training. Due to this program, more children will find a family.

Wholeheartedly, we appreciate your support of our project, and we are sure that there are more happy and wonderful stories ahead.

Dear friends,

Thank you so much for your participation, trust and support!
We are happy to tell you some news of our Foster Family project.

In February, we launched a new anniversary cycle of the School for Foster Parents. We are proud that this is the 55th time that the school has opened its doors for people wishing to become foster parents and take a child to their family.
A total of 12 people from 9 families were enrolled in the training. All the candidates were interviewed by the project staff members. Over one and a half months, the participants were learning, discussing specific and complicated issues, sharing experience, and asking questions. Due to the pandemic, part of the sessions were conducted online, but it was not a challenge neither for the trainers nor for the trainees who were effectively learning all the important topics of the school.
One of the SFP sessions was devoted to child-raising. At this session, the trainers talk about the reasons of behavioral difficulties, positive discipline rules, and inadmissibility of violence against children. One of the participants shared to the trainers that after the sessions he completely reconsidered his views on discipline.
Now the Foster Family project staff members are interviewing the participants in order to prepare psychosocial eligibility opinions. This document is mandatory for obtaining a permission to become a foster parent.
We are wishing good luck to all of our graduates! And we hope that more children will find a family soon!

We want to tell you a wonderful and happy story of the School graduates.
In winter 2020, the School for Foster Parents was contacted by a married couple. Elena and Dmitry had been married for over 6 years. Unable to have children on their own, they were thinking of adoption. Upon starting to attend the School sessions, they met a 12-year-old Sergey. The child with a hard life touched Elena’s and Dmitry’s hearts, and they became a host family for him: the boy used to come over, staying with them for weekends. It is surprising that in the family such a “troubled” teenager turned out to be soft and vulnerable. In a short while, Elena and Andrey made a decision that upon completing the School they would adopt Sergey. Shortly after that, Elena learned about her long-awaited pregnancy. Despite these circumstances, the couple continued to attend the School sessions and meet with the boy. After they successfully completed the School and did the required paperwork, the boy finally found his family. And in autumn this family was expanded by a daughter.
Elena and Dmitry are thankful to the Foster Family project for the new knowledge and support which they find very helpful in raising children.
Wholeheartedly, we appreciate your support of our project.