Get involved in 2026

Posted on By Sarah.SGF

Visit Moldova and Romania with SGF

We have just a couple of places left on our fundraising trip to Moldova and Romania this June (17th–23rd June) — don’t miss out!

Find out more about this fantastic trip

Coming up

Register your interest in an evening with Anna Pasternak, acclaimed
author, columnist and journalist.
Anna will speak about her remarkable family, including her great-uncle, Nobel Prize–winning novelist Boris Pasternak, author of Doctor Zhivago, and her great-grandfather, the Impressionist painter Leonid Pasternak. She’ll also share the story behind her book Lara: The Untold Love Story That Inspired Doctor Zhivago.
Email Julia Ashmore so you don’t miss out on tickets!

Previous story

This Summer’s Urban Activities: Building Family Bonds

Posted on By Sarah.SGF

We’re all looking forward to the warmth of summer, but the long days can be a challenge to families, especially those with social and financial difficulties. The cost of living crisis will make the summer holidays tough this year for our families in St Petersburg.

This year Sunflower have taken the decision not to run their usual rural summer camp for parents who grew up in orphanages and their children. This is partly because of cost, but also because the families in their current group would find the journey and change of environment stressful. However, Sunflower is always adaptable. Instead they will use the time to develop the skills needed for families to spend time together well in St Petersburg without spending a fortune.

Continue reading This Summer’s Urban Activities: Building Family Bonds

How Training Transforms Therapy for Children with Complex Needs

Posted on By Sarah.SGF
Young boy goes down slide with enthusiastic encouragement from his therapist.

Our Moldovan partners, Rain Kids, work with children with complex needs that affect their communication skills, concentration, ability to manage their emotions and more. The charity has a multi-disciplinary team working with the children so that they can provide specialist attention across the different areas of their development. This also means that they need to keep up-to-date across a range of specialities. Knowing how few professionals are equipped to support autistic children in Moldova, we have made training the focus of our support for them.

Continue reading How Training Transforms Therapy for Children with Complex Needs

Impact of Your Donor Support on Children with Autism

Posted on By Sarah.SGF

Our partners at The Wish, based in Călărași, Moldova, thank you for equipment bought with a grant from St Gregory’s. Here’s what they bought:

  • balance boards
  • an elephant-shaped busy board
  • therapy balls
  • ambient light lamps
  • educational activity booklets
  • tactile materials (hands, footprints)sensory toys (tactile balls, mats)
  • speech therapy tools
  • coloured hoops for relaxation activities
  • a multifunctional table and more
Continue reading Impact of Your Donor Support on Children with Autism

Our summer appeal: essential repairs to Mkurnali’s shelter

Posted on By Sarah.SGF
Concrete steps showing damage to the supporting layer.

Late in January a sewage pipe serving not only the Mkurnali homeless shelter but three other houses failed and waste water gushed out into Mkurnali’s yard. The great volume of water washed away a set of steps and part of the kitchen wall collapsed.

Getting the sewer fixed was quite a saga. It took two companies and one failed fix to discover that the problem was actually not on Mkurnali property. It took three weeks more to finally fix the issue. First they had to persuade the company responsible to come out, then it took them several teams to locate the problem.

Continue reading Our summer appeal: essential repairs to Mkurnali’s shelter