We've just received a wonderful letter from a staff person at Tech School #18 in Kirov, Russia. Children's HopeChest began offering discipleship and mentorship programs there in early 2008. An orphaned child's time at a tech school is critical. They have grown up in tragedy and in institutions. They are ill-prepared for independent life. This sets them up not to be a success, but to be a statistic. Within two years of leaving the orphanage, many of these children will take their own lives, begin abusive and addictive behavior, and get involved in crime and prostitution. By linking churches to sponsor orphanages and build holistic and long-term relationships, and then by intervening and supporting the grads during their transition to adulthood, we are seeing lives revived. Read the following letter:
Technical School # 18 worked together with Nadezhda Fund in 2008 academic year through its disciplers: Ekaterina Kosnyreva and Roman Ponomaryev. They worked with the students of Technical School that resided in school dormitories through lectures, seminars and training sessions.
The purpose of these activities was to help students better understand their career goals and life objectives. The disciplers tried to create all the necessary conditions to help these students acquire new social experience in order to have a better knowledge of themselves and to find out their strengths and weaknesses as well as personal inclinations and interests. This was best achieved through group sessions and interactions.
The disciplers came to school on a regular basis, every week. Both Roman and Ekaterina showed themselves as very capable instructors: they used effectively contemporary teaching methods and materials. Various visual aids that they resorted to during their classroom time helped get and keep the students’ attention and interest. Teaching content was age-appropriate as well as interesting. They raised problems valid for the students which stimulated the listeners’ thinking and problem solving skills.
Moreover, Roman and Ekaterina managed to establish and maintain friendly and trustworthy relationship with the children which broke the initial “ice” between them. They were great assets to us and to our students.
On behalf of the school administration we thank Nadezhda Fund for making this cooperation and support possible and we certainly hope to continue working with Roman and Ekaterina in the future.
School Counselor
Y. R. Koshpajeva
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