St Gregory’s Foundation has always avoided specialising in one particular area of need. Rather, our approach has been to identify exceptional individuals and organisations in the former Soviet Union and to enable them to extend or improve their work through training, resourcing, networking and administrative support. This page gives a brief summary of our ongoing projects arranged by topic. More information on individual projects can be found on our news pages and also in our newsletter.
SGF introduced physiotherapy to Russia as an accepted medical specialty with funding from the British Government’s Know How Fund. This is now taught in medical colleges in Russia and physio posts exist in hospitals. We continue to support physiotherapy by funding the writing and translation of textbooks and training for carers, volunteers and disabled people themselves.
state-of-the-art diagnostic machines provided by SGF have enabled the introduction of objective testing of new born babies’ hearing at the Early Intervention Institute and neonatal units of St Petersburg hospitals, thereby ensuring early treatment. Over 8,000 babies have been tested so far. We also fund the EII's deaf club where young children with impaired hearing and their families take part in play, music and communication therapies.
The Early Intervention Institute also runs an integrative club for disabled and non-disabled pre-school children. Play and socialisation are combined with seminars for parents about raising disabled children and defending their rights to education. SGF also assists the communication department in publishing materials for parents.
Parents from the Early Intervention Institute in St Petersburg worked together to open a school for children with multiple disabilities to ensure that their severely disabled children received an education. We provided part-funding for a stair lift and adapted the toilets to enable the school to function.
A programme of skills exchange centred on a well woman clinic in a poor district of St Petersburg, backed up with the provision of equipment, translation and free distribution of The Pregnancy Book and distribution of vitamins and food supplements through a local charity. During the first ten years of our activity the abortion rate in “our” district fell from 2.6 abortions per live birth to 2 live births per abortion. Perinatal mortality in “our” district fell from 10.6 per thousand in 1993 to 6.0 per thousand in 2002. (The average for the whole of St Petersburg in 2002 was 8.0).We are now hoping to re-print The Pregnancy Book.
With a grant from the EU we created a life skills course for children in orphanages to teach essentials such as personal hygiene, cooking, budgeting and applying for jobs. This is now a compulsory part of the curriculum in orphanages across St Petersburg and the Leningrad region.
In orphanage 51 in St Petersburg we have provided equipment for a photography club and renovated a theatre space for a drama club. Both clubs do valuable work increasing the children’s confidence and emotional development.
The St Basil’s Centre in St Peterburg provides the only available residential course for young offenders on probation in the absence of any state-funded programmes. This gives an intensive course in social skills and aims to get the young men into training or employment, giving alternatives to a criminal lifestyle. SGF fills certain gaps in funding and finances a club for course "graduates", which supports them in their new, responsible lifestyle.
This church/state run organisation provides a temporary home for street children caught by the police. They are pioneers in developing fostering and local adoption. Over 10 years, only two of their children have had to go into orphanages at the end of their six month stay. We help fund an after-school club for teenagers who are at risk.
Based in Tblisi, the capital of Georgia, Mkurnali aims to give local street children a future. The charity teaches trades such as metalwork and car mechanics for boys and sewing for girls. Street children are particularly vulnerable in the criminal justice system. SGF has helped to fund lawyers to ensure that they have access to legal representation.
This Orthodox parish has a lively children’s programme, workshops to provide employment and rehabilitation for alcoholics, ex-prisoners, the disabled and others on the margins of society, a soup kitchen for homeless, with additional provision in the summer for the poorest children recommended by the social services, and a small-holding to provide the vegetables, meat and milk for this. Our deep and long-lasting support for their charitable activities makes this one of our core projects. The Friends of Kondopoga is a UK-based support group which all well-wishers are invited to join.
Girvas is a tiny town in Karelia. SGF encouraged locals to start their own community organisation and paid for them to renovate a derelict canteen to create a community centre. This hosts a packed programme of events: regular table tennis and skiing in the winter, soft toy making classes, aerobics classes, concerts and parties. In addition, we helped the local library start an IT centre and a social club for pensioners.
The local biology teacher runs a forestry club providing education in ecology and a vocational training for local children. They learn forest management and plant many thousands of trees. We fund a summer camp and some activities through the year.
Suoyarvi is a very remote and depressed town in Karelia. Here we have helped a new Orthodox parish build a children's theatre and provide summer and winter camps for local children.
This St Petersburg charity provides care in the community services for 30-40 poor elderly or disabled people who have no family. They also run the first charitable old people’s home in St Petersburg, which has space for 8 residents.
We provided basic items such as commodes, food warmers, nighties and slippers to one of the geriatric wards at Psychiatric hospital no. 2 in Prokhorovo in the Moscow district. In addition, regular visits have encouraged staff to provide more care and stimulation for the residents most of whom are permanent.