What's New Registered Charity No. 1002469 Every year hundreds of teenagers leave the orphanages of Saint Petersburg. Within a year a third will be in prison, a fifth will be homeless and a tenth will have committed suicide.

Updated regularly, this page has the latest news and appeals from St Gregory's Foundation. St Gregory's wins major grant for work in orphanages Encouraging volunteering in Moscow A new level of care for the elderly St Gregory's wins major grant for work in orphanages For many years St Gregory's Foundation has been practically involved in orphanages in Russia and Ukraine. A major concern of ours has been the appalling prospects that teenagers leaving these institutions have of surviving in the outside world. With our partners at the Korzcak Centre, which specialises in education of children in care, and the boarding school at Siverskaia, we have developed a life skills programme specially tailored to meet the needs of young people in this situation. The European Union has recently given us a TACIS grant towards this work, which is a great endorsement of our plans. With this grant, and with generous donations from our supporters, we will be able to establish a programme of seminars to train teachers working within the care system. However, the grant will not cover a key part of our educational programme at Orphanage 24, St Petersburg, where we have been practically involved for some years. Our aim is to set up a model flat, where the orphanage's residents will stay for short periods in order to gain practical experience in personal care, domestic skills including budgeting and nutrition, official form-filling and social and parenting skills. Further donations are needed to build and equip the flat. Return to top of page Encouraging volunteering in Moscow As those of you who follow our work will know, the energetic, and often voluntary, efforts of local people are essential to everything we have achieved. Nonetheless, for many reasons, Russia simply does not have an established and wide-spread tradition of volunteering, making the efforts of these individuals all the more remarkable. Sergei Matveev, whom we have supported for some time in his social projects, is making efforts to develop a new culture of volunteering in Moscow. He is establishing a school for volunteers, where people of good will can establish the skills and knowledge needed to make a difference in their communities. Students are given a grounding in the major problems, such as drug-abuse, which they will encounter, as well as an understanding of basic issues in psychology and social care. It is hoped that graduates of his evening course will go on to inspire others to get involved, as well as giving them the tools to help others effectively. Return to top of page A new level of care for the elderly Older people in Russia are a group which has particularly suffered in recent years. The level of pensions has fallen below an adequate living allowance, meaning that those who rely on the pension often have to choose between food and medicines. Many still live in dilapidated communal flats, often with aggressive or unfriendly neighbors sharing the flat. Social services are not geared up to support the elderly living in their own homes, and the state institutions for those who are unable to live independently generally offer a low level of personal care. For many years a local organisation in St Petersburg called "Zabota", or "Care", has been organising care in the community for elderly people who have no family to look after them. Four years ago, this project expanded, and a small home was opened, where five elderly women now live. Here the residents can live in a home-like environment, bringing their own belongings with them. Residents are looked after practically, medically, emotionally and spiritually by the warm, caring staff. The first resident declared she thought she must be in paradise; the surroundings were such a relief after living alone in a communal flat. An opportunity has recently arisen to extend the home to a neighboring flat. Eventually the aim being to occupy all the flats on the staircase, thereby providing places for 13-15 more residents. St Gregory's Foundation has provided a loan to enable Zabota, now known as the Semonov Charitable Association, to buy the flat. In time more funds will be needed to renovate the flat ready for its new residents. Return to top of page

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This page was last updated in February 2004. If you have any problems accessing these pages please contact Sarah Dennis