News from Hope Center - March Edition

Here's the latest newsletter from Hope Center (the format may be a bit goofy after I copy and paste):

After School Program 

Early this year we started an after school program for at-risk children and those who needed a safe place to be during the critical hours in the afternoon.  It is focused on boys and girls, ages 7 to 14, from extremely poor or dysfunctional family situations.

The children arrive at camp sometime between noon and 2 pm, when we serve a hot, nutritious meal.  Before lunch they are free to play table games or go outside for other activities.  After they are fed, they return to their classroom to complete any homework with the help of our staff and volunteers.  Throughout the week, this time is also used for individual English tutoring.  Once finished with their classwork, they have free time until our instruction time begins at 4pm.  We use this period for lessons and lectures in English, Bible, psychology, rudimentary economics and other assorted interesting topics.  The children are then given a snack and sent home by 5:30pm.

During their time at camp, their health is consistently monitored by our resident pediatrician Dr. Olga who also administers vitamins and medication as needed.  We also provide coats, clothing and shoes from our humanitarian aid supplies.

In order to fully appreciate the impact of this program it is essential to know a little about the children who are involved.

Masha (14 years old)

Masha’s parents divorced when she was 10 months old.  Her mother raised her in a single parent situation until she was 10 years old, when she disappeared without a trace, leaving Masha parent-less.  Her mother was frequently drunk and it is suspected that this may have had something to do with her disappearance.  Masha now lives in a tenuously rented apartment with her aunt who can barely support them both on her meager income selling fruit.

Masha is frequently sick in the winter and Dr. Olga suspects that it is related to her lack of warm clothes.  We allowed her to choose from our selection of high-quality coats from Sweden as well as some warmer clothes and shoes.

Daniel (8 years old)

Daniel’s family life is as tragic as it is confusing.  He lives with his grandparents along with 7 other children - all of whom are his relatives.  He comes to camp with his uncle Dima, who is 12 years old and also in our program.  Daniel’s father committed suicide last year and his mother died of a blood disorder.  His younger brother is in the small orphanage near the camp because their grandparent can’t afford to raise him as well.  His alcoholic grandfather cannot work as he only has one eye - which has very poor vision.

Daniel is a constant challenge as he struggles with his temper.  He is extremely aggressive towards other children but we have noticed a marked improvement in him within the structure of our program.

Oleg (6 years old)

Oleg is a recent addition to this program.  He is the oldest of his mother’s 3 children and they all live with the father of the youngest child.  Neither his mother nor step-father work consistently and drunkenness is the norm.  Oleg’s mother does not want to stay with this man but is left with little choice with 3 young children to feed.

Oleg is severely stunted in his development.  In trying to teach him simple English, we learned that he didn’t even fully understand concepts like numbers, letters, shapes and colors in Russian yet!  Dr. Olga has prescribed medication for the chronic bronchitis that his parents are both unable and unwilling to have treated.

Denis (13 years old)

Denis is also a child from a broken family.  His parents divorced when we was 2 years old and his father subsequently went to prison for robbery.  His mother remarried but with an ultimatum from her new husband that she would abandon Denis.  She left the then 3 year-old boy with his grandmother and moved to Israel.  She still calls occasionally to talk to him but has no intention of returning for him - even though she has since divorced again.  Denis still loves her very much and faithfully defends her to those who might imply that she is a bad mother.