We hope that you’ve all enjoyed a long, relaxing summer! It has been a busy period at Love’s Bridge, with many faces, old and new, coming to the centers. As the weather takes a turn for the cold, we truly understand how much the kids need our facilities – a warm greeting at the door followed by a hot cup of tea and an afternoon of fun activities may not seem much, but as time goes by we really see how the kids learn and change their attitudes towards the problems that life throws at them.
It is thanks to you, our supporters, that we can continue our work with Perm’s most vulnerable kids, so we hope that you enjoy sharing our successes and look forward to hearing from you at any time!
Starting Life Afresh
We’d like to share some good news with you about Denis, a young man who used to live in our shelter. Denis has had a difficult life – after his mother died he was left to be brought up by his alcoholic father, who took little interest in the fate of his son. Denis ran away from home at a young age and was soon addicted to glue and toxic substances. After meeting volunteers from the Love’s Bridge centers Denis moved into the shelter and spent several years beating his addictions and getting an education. Things were looking positive, and Denis was even reunited with his aunt, who took responsibility for his upbringing as if he was her own. Then in the winter of 2005 Denis suffered a relapse and returned to the streets, and on one freezing night he was beaten up and left in the snow at the central market. As a result of the severe frostbite most of his fingers and toes were amputated.
Sadly, since this incident Denis became a very successful beggar at the same market where he incurred his injuries, and became the main “breadwinner” for the group of teenagers with whom he was living on the streets. For some time now we have been offering Denis the opportunity to escape this life and start a rehabilitation program at one of the centers in the Perm region, and this summer we were delighted that he finally agreed to make the first steps and we prepared him for his new beginning.
Denis has now been in the rehabilitation center for almost three months and we are delighted at the changes that have taken place– he has broken his addictions to substances, alcohol and tobacco and has been learning skills that will help him return to the city with a purpose. He is learning to rely on his own strengths to resolve problems and has met many inspiring people who will be able to support him make the steps back to an independent, healthy life.
Denis said to us when we last visited him:
Since moving into the rehab center I have completely given up all my bad habits, including swearing! I now feel as if I never once sniffed glue, never once abused alcohol or drugs. I feel as if I have been like I am now all my life, like I’ve been born again. I’m glad that I’ve been given another chance.
The rehabilitation process is now half way through, and we hope that in the next three months Denis will develop many more much needed skills to help him prepare to come back to the city and start afresh. We are currently looking for funding to pay for Denis to continue his rehabilitation, and would like to invite you, our supporters, to help Denis get back on his feet. A week at the rehabilitation center costs $50 – a small price to pay for a young person to turn their life around.
Rapper’s Delight!
On the opening day of the center on the 1st September we were delighted to give the kids a special surprise – a popular and famous rapper from Perm came to meet the kids at Love’s Bridge and present us with two new computers and a donation for the project! The kids didn’t hesitate to ask their hero questions, get autographs and have photographs taken. He and his musicians told the kids about their own childhood experiences and how they made it in life:
Marina*: Where did you study at university?
Rapper: I still haven’t been to university. I understood that music was my calling and wanted to go and study, but the course I wanted to do was in Moscow and I couldn’t move there at the time… But I want to say to you all that it’s really important to stay in school – never forget that having an education will help you have a happy adult life!
We were delighted that the musicians found the time and energy in their busy schedule to come and hang out with the kids, to share their life experiences and values, and most importantly, to say to the kids that a life which is free from addictions really does lead on to great things!
A New Project
This summer we made some big changes at our day shelter, which has been in need of a revitalizing renovation for some time! We teamed up with voluntary organization Memorial to find a group of international volunteers, including Love’s Bridge teenagers, who were willing to do the job. We also got the huge majority of materials free from local construction companies.
As you know, the direction of the project here in Perm has been gradually adjusted, as the numbers of street children have been falling over the last decade. Our day shelter operations have now been reduced to the bare minimum, and we are using the property to run courses and training programs for teenagers and young adults who are having problems leading a healthy and independent life. Together with local government institutions such as the shelters, prisons, police departments and social services, we will be able to reach out to teenagers who would otherwise be at high risk of ending up in prison or on the streets.
We’d like to say an enormous thank you to the Memorial volunteers who did such a wonderful job of the renovations and all those who contributed materials to the project! Now the center is ready for action!
We are currently looking for funding to begin educational programs at the new consultation center – if you would like to help a vulnerable young adult turn his life around, please send us an email containing the text “Consultation Center” and we will send you more details on how you can help!
Freaky Fun and Ghoulish Games!
Halloween has firmly become a favorite holiday with the kids at Love’s Bridge – it’s a great chance for everyone to relax properly and go a little wild, our staff and volunteers included! The kids went round trick or treating the staff in our center, playing games in all the different rooms. They helped make and devour a Halloween feast – witches’ fingers and eyeballs!!
Now we’re starting to prepare for New Year and Christmas, and putting lots of work into making the festive season a time to remember for our kids. We look forward to sharing some more news about that with you in our next news update!
Thank you for your support!
* Children’s names are changed to protect their identity.
