It’s hard to believe that the summer is already over, the leaves are falling from the trees, and that the long, Russian winter is just around the corner. We have already had the first snowfall – it didn’t settle, but we only had three snow-free months this year – June, July and August. As always we try and make the best possible use of the summer months, organizing lots of outdoor activities and trips. Thanks to generous donations we were able to organize two rafting trips, a residential course and a number of camping trips for Perm’s most vulnerable children and young people. It is hard to describe what a wonderful effect such trips have on the kids – they learn so much about themselves, how to communicate and work as a team, how to look after themselves in Russia’s wild nature. Also, many of them wouldn’t have otherwise had a chance to get out of the city all summer.
We’d also like to thank those of you who responded to our Summer Appeal – we managed to raise over what we needed for vacations for young, vulnerable families! These are young people who have come through the Love’s Bridge program and are showing real signs of success; their reward was a week-long vacation in the countryside with their children and toddlers.
Some Valuable Insight
There’s a system of rewards in our Love’s Bridge Centers, enabling the kids to receive ‘dobriki’ (bonus points) for helping around the center and similar positive actions. They can then trade in their ‘dobriki’ for a range of different items – clothes, toys, stationary, personal hygiene items – or for some time playing computer games or using our roller blades (in-line skates). This scheme teaches our kids the value of hard work and good behavior, whilst making sure that they don’t get used to a life based on ‘hand-outs’.
One of our teachers, Yulia, was recently inspired by an event in the Love’s Bridge Youth Center and wanted to share it with our supporters:
What do kids want?
Toys, candy, a carefree life, to hang out with their friends until way past bedtime, never go to school and just play all day… Are you sure?
It was an average day in the Youth Center, approaching closing time… Alyona* wanted to clean the whole center in order to get as many dobriki as possible. She spent a long time cleaning the class and corridor thoroughly. I wondered why she was so keen to earn dobriki, so I had a look in the cupboard where we keep the toys and fun things which we exchange for dobriki – there was nothing new or particularly exciting, just the usual hair bands, bracelets, notebooks and pens. What could it be?
When we had finished cleaning the center, Alyona came up to me and asked “Has the kitchen already been cleaned and locked?” When I told her that it had, Alyona looked away, saying “That’s a shame; I wanted to trade my dobriki for some bread to take home.” I decided to ignore the usual rule, that no one’s allowed back into a room that’s been cleaned. We went to the kitchen and I got a loaf or bread out for Alyona. She took it, pressed it close to her cheek, and a big smile spread across her face.
So, what do kids want? Sometimes they just want to feel full…
The Love’s Bridge Olympics
Did you get excited by this year’s Olympic Games in Beijing? You must have at least watched some of it on TV, right? But did you actually get to compete in the Olympics? Well, for our kids this dream became a reality when we hosted the Love’s Bridge Olympics!
The kids each created their own countries which they then represented in the events. We invited international guests who thought up traditional events for the children to take part in, such as Scottish dancing and sumo wrestling. Some visitors from China talked about their culture and what the Olympics mean to the Chinese. There was even an opening ceremony, complete with an Olympic torch, and everyone who took part was presented with a gold medal for their own particular talent.
The Olympic spirit is all about fair play, achieving your best and respect for your competitors – great qualities that can be put to use in all kinds of situations in life. It was fantastic to involve our kids in such a global event, and teach them the true meaning of the Olympics.
Helping From the Inside
The Perm Region has one of the highest rates of juvenile delinquency in Russia, and the lack of a properly structured rehabilitation program for those coming out of juvenile detention centers means that the re-offending rates are extremely high (officially, somewhere between 70-90%). The overwhelming majority of children who end up in trouble with the police come from poverty-stricken backgrounds, and many have spent parts of their childhood in state care.
Love’s Bridge has always worked with this category of children – street kids survive, in part, by stealing – and we know many kids who have ended up spending years of their young lives in prison. Unfortunately, street kids sometimes view crime as the easiest option for survival, and they eventually get caught.
We have already had successes in our work with juvenile delinquents after they have been released. Some have taken part in the Independent Living Course, and have gone on to make very impressive changes in their lives; others have come to us for specific help in getting a job or finding a place to live, and are now living an honest, independent life. This year we decided to start a new program – running a course in youth detention centers to prepare kids for life after prison.
It took several months of negotiating, and at the end of the summer we started running a course in the main regional youth detention center for boys. Our teachers currently teach a class every week, covering a range of topics which will help the teenagers take their first steps in the right direction after release. Also the boys now know about our full program of services and activities, and now have a place on the ‘outside’ where they can go to for help.
We have already seen some promising results from our new program, and we are planning to expand into other youth detention centers. The local government has been very impressed with our work, and they are planning to work closely with Love’s Bridge to create a proper rehabilitation plan for Perm’s juvenile delinquents.
And Finally…
Lisa Wasserman left her position as Project Manager this summer after years of hard work and dedication to the role. Fortunately for us she will continue to take an active part in Love’s Bridge and recently became a member of our board. We’d like to thank Lisa for her invaluable contribution to our projects – she has made a big difference to the lives of many of Perm’s street children, and she will be remembered by them always.
Have you felt strongly affected by something you’ve read? Got the urge to organize an event to raise awareness and funds for Love’s Bridge? Want to let us know how you feel about our projects? Then get in touch with us and share your thoughts – we’ll be very happy to hear from you!