The moment the orphan graduates from the “Boarding School” life, he/she is confronted with a number of basic but difficult challenges that he/she must overcome.  One of which is the lack of quality education; another is the lack of material resources with which to live a comfortable life.  Many children don’t even know how to apply for a job, and aren’t adjusted to living by themselves after living their whole life in a collective-like setting.                                    

The education provided in the boarding school [or orphanage] is very minimal, not uniform, and does not provide adequate experience for the children in how to create constructive relations with others (professionally, socially, economically) in society.   Frequently, the children are so used to receiving everything from the state, that they don’t understand the importance of saving, planning, and spending; they’re raised with a mentality of taking, but not giving.

But how can a person become the successful, participating citizen if they do not learn to give? ...and not simply to give, either, but to give with pleasure.

Thus, one of primary problems we try to solve for the children is to help them become confident in embracing the world as their own, and to establish goals/aspirations that they are confident in pursuing.  Through our camps and programs like “Children to Children”, we direct the development of important skills like dialogue and personal responsibility.                                       

When the kids are able to see and help those who are in a lesser position in life, their outlook is changed and they are able to, even from a young age, generate a perspective that forces them to observe the variety of opportunities and lifestyles that are present around them.  By giving them such exposure, we are hoping that the vicious cycle of loss that so commonly plagues these kids is interrupted, and that they can better cope and adjust when given independence in their late teens. 

In these pages you can get acquainted with the various projects in which our children work as volunteers. Here you’ll see how they help look after other kids in children's homes, paint walls in hospitals and boarding schools; also, how they learn to be a clown and celebrate holidays with others.

Children's Homes (of Toddlers and Infants)

Over the past several years our pupils have done work as volunteers in children's homes. At first we only went to the childrens' home situated in the neighboring region of Moscow called Malakhovka; now  we work in partnership with the Moscow children's home № 10, and other children's homes in Fryazino, Vidnom, and Kratova.

For our kids it is very important for them to see how the children from Children's homes live in comparison to their older 'Boarding School' home in the heart of Moscow. Many of them have lived in the same places earlier themselves, but they were too little to remember it.  Seeing the smaller children, our kids begin to develop questions, like why the little toddlers ended up alone, without parents to hold them, and they really can empathize.  We hope this experience teaches them early on to not further the Looking on kids, they start to think of a question why they appeared one, without parents, sympathize with them and, probably, this experience will help them in avoiding committing the awful mistakes that their own parents did.

You also can  help these smaller children, as we make routine donation trips to the Children's homes; we are looking for clothes, shoes, toys, and most importantly -- the thing these children need the most -- DIAPERS and HYGIENE PRODUCTS (creams, soaps, medicines).

Children's Home No. 10

Quite close to our studio, on Novoslobodskaya Street, is Children's Home No. 10, in which our guys periodically serve as volunteers.  For many years the director of this facility was a wonderful woman Adel Vladimirovna, for whom we are very grateful because she gave permission for us to come in and care for the kids.                          

Children's Home in Malakhovka

Within the last two years we with the children have gone to the Children's Home of the Malakhovka region many times.  We looked after the small kids of this home, took walks, fed them, changed their clothes, and painted on their walls.  Besides this, with the help of our center, sponsors were found for the purchase of a washer and dryer for the children's clothes.                                

Unfortunately, after this many of the kids became ill with dysentery, and the whole territory of the Children's home has been quarantined; we have lost the opportunity to visit them for the time being, but we really hope that it won't be forever. 

Children's Home in Fryazino

Near Moscow, in Fryazino, there is a specialized Children's home for children with psychocological and neurologic frustrations. Actually, fortunately, these children are far from rehabilitation, but they simply were born into families that did not care for them in infancy and youth, and they are feeling the effects of it.  Due to the remarkable people working in this Children's home, kids have a chance that they will still develop more completely and fully. Certainly, employees of Children's home are not capable of replacing the family, but it in no way should one underestimate what they do for children, there are just some things out of their control.                                                

Thanks to them for allowing us to go and visit their children, and we hope that the mural painted on their wall brings pleasure to the home!