St Gregory's Foundation

The summer is a busy time for our Russian colleagues as nearly all those working with children lead summer camps. Each of these is specially planned to meet the particular needs of the project’s clients, and none more carefully than the Warm House camp.

Warm House is an extraordinary club for families in which at least one of the parents grew up in an orphanage. These young parents have problems on all fronts: practical and emotional. They have no experience of looking after themselves in the orphanage, let alone seeing positive parenting in action. As a result they struggle to bond emotionally with their babies and to meet their physical and developmental needs. The parents’ club is a lifeline for these parents and significantly reduces the risk to the children of neglect, abuse, delayed development and abandonment to orphanages.

This year Warm House organised two summer events: a family hike over two days at the beginning of June, and a summer camp from 3rd-20th June.

The hike was particularly ambitious with children as young as two taking part, and everyone staying overnight in tents at the mid-way point. As well as five families from the club, three more stable families also took part. Orphanage graduates tend to stick together and have little connection with mainstream society. The shared activity of the walk meant that they quickly made friends, and were surprised to find that they were met with kindness and support. They were also able to see at first hand how normal, happy families get along with each other and some of the different ways parents have of interacting with their children.

The simplest purpose of the summer camp and hike was to show parents the importance of taking holidays as a family. Most of the families have never left the city and the children loved exploring the woods, splashing around in the river, and having friends to play with. The parents were encouraged to share responsibility not only for the domestic chores, but also for organising games and activities. For the first time their children saw them in this role as leaders and their delight was a very positive boost to the adult’s confidence as parents.

In the special setting of the summer camp, the specialists are able to witness how the parents handle daily routines such as bed-time with their children. This means that they can work with them in ways which are impossible during the weekly afternoon meetings. Routine is something which these parents struggle with, so the camp is important in establish good habits. By the end of the camp, most parents were even reading their children bed-time stories, which is great progress. Although it takes place over a short period, it is expected that the intense experience of the camp will lead to long-term changes in the families that took part.

St Gregory's Foundation is celebrating the establishment of a sister charity in St Petersburg called Pomozhem Drug Drugu or Let's Help Each Other. Its board brings together the leaders of our key projects which we have supported over recent years, opening new possibilities for co-operation. They are also taking on more responsibility for deciding priorities, and now for the first time have the legal right to fundraise locally. As a larger organisation we hope to be able to attract serious local funding.

Another advantage of bringing together a group of smaller charities and organisations is that they can share the considerable regulatory burden imposed by the Russian government. Our excellent accountant and legal expert in St Petersburg will ensure that all the work carried out in compliance with the law and in the most efficient way possible.

St Gregory's Foundation will continue to work very closely with Let's Help One Another, offering financial support, essential contacts and a valuable "outsider's view" of their activities, based on our long experience both of Russian conditions and Britain's long tradition of charitable work.