Funding Education Centre for Russian Orphans

“This is me, Danya, and my best mate, Nikita.  We’re both nine years old and we’ve been in Kitezh for almost half a year.  It was a bit scary at first but it’s a cool place.  We get to do music and sports and I like learning maths and history, and Nikita’s dad’s got a really cool fluffy husky dog called Nora.”

In September 2014, Sasha, one of last year’s graduates from Kitezh, entered Law School in Moscow.  He returns during his holidays, to see his family and to help run the role play games which take place here for lots of children, every holiday.  In 2006, Sasha was just the same age as Danya & Nikita when he came to live in Kitezh. Like all new children, he too was frightened, in a new environment, amongst unknown people. He had lived in an orphanage for some years, and before that he lived on the street with his alcoholic mother. But he was a plucky youngster, willing to try anything, a skateboard, model-making, new parents. As he grew older, he became a role model for the younger children, inspiring and encouraging them to study at school and develop their capabilities. Education has been the key to Sasha’s success.

Without the support of our many friends, our work would be greatly limited.  Life for us here in Russia has become a little harder with the current crisis. Many say that this will be worse than the economic crisis of 1998 when the banks closed and the rouble devalued to an all-time low. Now we need all the help we can get to finish our new Education Centre, to give Danya and Nikita and many other orphan children the opportunities we know we can offer to achieve their potential success in life.  At this moment, we have built one third of the Centre.  With new funding, before next summer, we can finish and equip these five classrooms and an office, and turn the spacious foyer into an indoor activity space.  From the beginning, we have gone forward in the faith that we will receive what we need; so we sincerely hope to receive sufficient support to lay the foundations and begin building the next unit this year. Your support will, as always, be much appreciated.

Links:

• Ecologia website