МИР » Humanitarian Aid

Summer Pavilion by St. James team

Masha — Mon, 07 Jun 2010 13:19:08 +0000

St. James’ building team has successfully completed the summer pavilion building project at camp Elama. In spite of weather change, mosquito bites, health issues, struggles with the local saw mill it is done and done! As John Bull formulated it at good bye dinner, Allen Amason as a team leader and Mike Cantrell as a visionary put together a group of “good people” who honored God not only in the amount of work being done but also in the way they treated each other and everyone around them.

This pavilion is 100 square meters and will seat up to 150 people once the seating spots are available. The smaller building is summer kitchen. The picture shows it in progress of being built.

A lot of things were done for the first time: the first team of foreign volunteers actually staying in the camp through the week. The first team I’ve hosted at Elama without Mike and Olga. The first new building being build from scratch.New Elama pouring out all over. A great house-warming event for the new summer season, a very smooth and natural way for me to accept Elama as a part of MIR’s work and take more ownership over it.

This building project was a wonderful way of integrating many different ministries around children camp ministry. Through the time such ministries and group of people as St. James, Street Cry, Crimson Sales, MIR, Love Russia, Bethel Rehab Center, Christ to the World Church put the efforts together to make it all happen. Some were actively involved in building, others were facilitating different parts of the process directly or indirectly.

What really mattered in the midst of all that was happening was it all served the final goal of getting ready for children camp sessions in July.

As Allen summed it up: “This is the way it is supposed to be”.

The Back-to-School Elves Pay a Visit to the Fairies

Katya — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:33:39 +0000

Last week, the kids from orphanage #32 had their shopping trip. As you may have read in our last report, MIR, with the help of private donations, is able to provide an opportunity for the counselors of the “Fairy” group to buy things which the kids choose themselves.

Our friendship with this particular group has been going on for 4 years now. When I first got acquainted with the “fairies,” we had English lessons and cooking class and celebrated the birthday of each child.

Now the girls are growing up and their needs are changing; it’s really important for them as teenagers to be able to wear clothing which they choose themselves, and which feels right.

The “fairy” group has always consisted of girls, but 3 boys recently joined the group. Hmmm…what will the group will be called now?

As for shopping, the girls got their new clothes before September 1^st, and last week it was the boys’ turn. They chose sweaters, turtlenecks, slacks, sweatshirts, and mittens.

The counselor only took two of the boys to try on clothes, as the third boy is still little and would have had a hard time walking around the market for hours.

Here is what the counselor says about the two older boys: “Maksim is the favorite boy in the group. A very sweet, shy boy, he studies well. Gena is a trustworthy, affectionate child. Both of the boys are 9 years old.”

Friendship with the kids from #32 is really important to us, but our level of involvement depends on what resources we have available. We invite all those who desire to participate with us in the lives of these children.

Katya’s update: Get ready for school year!

Katya — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 13:57:16 +0000

Before September 1 there was a lot of work.

First, a new big threefold window was bought for the orphanage #4 in Pavlovsk, instead of broken old one.

Then a new purchase of medicine was done for Tanya, a girl from the orphanage #2 in Peterhof. Tanya lives only by means of this medicine and it was a big deal to by it all in time.

We continue buying clothes for the orphanage #8. Recently two beautiful dresses were bought for girls graduating from the orphanage. It is a very important moment for all children, but unfortunately the orphanage can`t afford them to buy such expensive dresses. The girls picked up dresses themselves according to their tastes.

August 31 was a shopping day for the orphanage #32. During four hours four children and a teacher together with our Mir stuff were preparing for September 1. They bought dresses, shoes, flowers, school supplies and everything needed for a new school year.

The kids wear these clothes during the whole year. They themselves picked up the most beautiful and stylish clothes and by the end of the day were really tired and hungry. Donuts with tea after shopping returned them to life and gave strength and joy!

Update: Hosting, Short-term teams, Humanitarian Aid

Masha — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 01:52:40 +0000

New Horizons

We continue our hosting program; twice a year we send Russian orphans to live with American host families for 4-6 weeks. Twenty five children and four adults safely arrived in the USA on June 25. This is our second trip under new regulations the administration of the city placed on hosting programs. Gladly, the preparation for the trip went very smoothly, the permits and visas were issued a week before departure.

New Horizons enters a transition period this August as our current coordinator, Ms. Sveta Kouzyakova (far left, with Olga Cantrell), is retuning to her calling: teaching at the International Academy. It has been a blessed year and definitely God’s provision to have Sveta on staff with MIR. We trust that the new person God sends for this position is going to be a good fit with MIR staff and an enthusiastic and productive worker.

We also are looking for new groups of children to work with:

• Inviting creative groups for performances (dancing, singing, sports, crafts): orphanage directors would like to see children learning new things and getting various skills, so they encourage a more intensive program of events. Also, if creative groups of children can be hosted, more opportunities for fund raising events for the program might come up. We hope to expand into this new area.

• Hosting children from Russian foster homes is another area we’re investigating. Crimson Sails, a Christian foster care ministry for orphans in St. Petersburg, is investigating the documentation needed to send their kids to families in USA. These kids would already have Christian influence and adjustment to family life, and we think this would be a great addition to our hosting program.

Short Term Teams

Disabled children and adults were in the focus of recent short-term teams and individuals coming on MIR invitations this June. Pavlovsk orphanage for disabled children and several facilities for disabled adults were visited by volunteers. MIR’s role in the work of these teams varies at times, depending on the need. At the least, MIR issues official invitations and registers the volunteers, but this time MIR was more involved in communication

with directors and learning about new medical requirements for short-term volunteers. Medical tests are now necessary in order to approach children at state orphanages. We are investigating the quickest and least painful way to get medical documents for future teams.

Camp Druzhnikh will host two teams from San Antonio this summer. The MIR staff is looking forward to camp fun and making new friends this July.

Humanitarian Aid

May and June traditionally are the months kids finish school, pass tests and leave to camps for the summer. We were glad to supervise the purchase of a large amount of summer clothes for children at Orphanage #8 and a graduation dress for a #8 graduate.

Instead of just getting what they were told to wear, kids picked their clothes themselves and promised to take better care of the the clothes that they took initiative in choosing.

Tanya at Peterhoff Orphanage #1 (at right) and Natasha at Zelenogorsk Orphanage #69receive regular support from donors partnering with MIR. Tanya is in constant need of enzymes to help digest food, and we’ve been able to supply them for the past few years.

Medicine, transportation expenses and surgery aftercare were provided to various orphanages. Also, the Lomonosov Baby Home received financial aid for reconstruction of the facility.

Cooking lessons

Katya — Sun, 01 Oct 2006 10:33:12 +0000

Lately we have begun conducting cooking lessons in the “Fairy” group. These girls are learning how to make sandwiches and salad, and they enjoy the lessons very much.

And what is their favorite part? They can EAT what they make!!! So now if you visit the girls, they may offer you their famous sandwiches made of bread, butter, garlic and tomatoes.

The food provided by the orphanage is already prepared, but now the children know how to cook some of it themselves.

They are learning skills such as how to use knives and other tools in the kitchen.

As part of the lessons, they also have to figure out themselves how many ingredients to buy in order to feed 10 people.

Having these valuable cooking skills will serve the girls in the future.

In the following picture: These pans were given to the “Fairy” group by the friend who helped us to start the cooking lessons.