Vivian Wright, our longstanding Director and Acting Treasurer, will be retiring at the Annual General Meeting on September 16th. Her invaluable support has been crucial for our charity’s operations and our ongoing commitment to assisting hundreds of children and families from Georgia, Russia, Moldova, and Ukraine. We extend our heartfelt wishes for a joyful retirement to Vivian and remain very grateful for her unwavering dedication and assistance to SGF.
As we navigate this period of transition, we are in search of a new volunteer Director. If you know someone who would be a perfect fit, or if you are interested in taking on the role yourself, please refer to the vacancy details here.
If you have young children in your life, you have probably come across the “That’s not my” series of tactile books. The chances are you won’t have seen them in this format.
This spring, our colleagues at Communication Space have been leading workshops on how to adapt books for those with multiple disabilities. The changes may be as simple as making pages easier to turn, or they might involve translating text into the PECS language of symbols used by some non-verbal people. As ever, the adaptations are simple, achievable and tailored to the specific needs of each person.
28 professionals and parents took part in the course and between them they made more than 50 adapted books.
In the last couple of months our partners at The Wish in Moldova have been supporting 18 disabled children. Each one of them has a personalised care plan and has benefitted from speech therapy, ocupational therapy and specialist education to help them develop their thinking skills. Two thirds of the families come from rural areas. These areas are already poor, but having a disabled child usually makes it impossible for both parents to work. When a child isn’t able to go to school someone has to look after them. Those who live in the countryside also find it harder to access all kinds of services. Where possible, The Wish provides free transport. Very sadly, they can no longer offer this to everyone who needs it, which means some families are missing out.
When Liviu was a baby he was very agitated. At a very early age, his parents noticed that he wasn’t starting to babble like other babies. As a toddler, he didn’t respond to his own name and seemed to be in his own little world. He would often have melt-downs. After some time, Liviu was diagnised with autism, a diagnosis which scared his mother.
Now Liviu is nearly five and he has been attending The Wish centre for a year. He has benefitted from speech therapy, occupational therapy, a psychologist and ABA therapy. At first he found it difficult to join in, but little by little he became comfortable with the staff. He stopped crying and started to be interested in the activities and to react to his name.
At first sight, it might seem as if not much is happening at the Deaf Club we sponsor in St Petersburg. Children play, parents chat. They get together for a sing-song and a chat. It’s a relaxed atmosphere, but something extraordinary is happening. Parents are gaining confidence, and children are learning new skills, skills they might not have had a chance to develop so early or so well because they are deaf.
Recently, the Deaf Club surveyed it’s parents. Grisha’s mum, Anastasia, responses show us just what the Club means to families.
What does visiting our club give you?
We go to the Club with our 2-year-old son Grisha. Coming to the Club with my child, I feel calm. I learn a lot bout child development. I can also talk to other parents and discuss problems. Grisha has the opportunity to socialize from an early age, being with both children and adults in the same place.
This crumpled mess was all that was left of the car Eka was travelling in, when it was hit by a trailer moving on the opposite side of the road. The car overturned and fell off the side of the road. The other driver, thinking that everyone in it was dead, fled the scene. Eka was a former resident at Mkurnali‘s homeless shelter in Tbilisi, Georgia. Without Mkurnali’s legal help, she would never have won the compensation she so desperately needed to pay for her healthcare after the accident.
When talking comes easily to you, it’s hard to imagine finding it so boring, you just can’t be bothered. However, until Pavel started sessions at Communication Space, boredom was seriously holding him back.
Up until last year, Pavel had taken part in various programmes to help him communicate. These even included using alternative communication, since he doesn’t talk. However, the same pattern would emerge each time. He would learn some simple symbols, they would enter his vocabulary, but then he would get bored and stop using them. He was getting quite disengaged with the whole thing until Communication Space tried a new approach.
Recently, the Kondopoga parish fulfilled an ambition to take the older children to visit Staraya Ladoga, the first capital of Russia. Despite hitting a snow storm as they travelled south from Kondopoga, they managed to get there and back in a day, and to see the highlights of this ancient town.Continue reading Exciting trip for Kondopoga’s children
This year our Christmas appeal is in aid of The Wish, a Moldovan charity that is providing rare community support for children with disabilities in Moldova.
Ana’s story
Ana is eleven now, and she has been coming to The Wish since she was five. Ana had a difficult start in life. She used to live in the countryside with her mother, who is disabled, and her grandfather. After her grandfather died her mother couldn’t cope financially or practically. Fortunately, the wider family were able to help and Ana now lives in Călărași with her aunt.
Ana also has Down syndrome. Her aunt is working hard to try and meet her additional needs and brought her to The Wish. When she first joined aged five her language skills were poor, as well as her co-ordination and fine motor skills. The Wish provide her with a personalised programme of therapy including speech therapy. She also takes part in a whole range of activities, both educational activities and social ones. Ana is integrated into a local mainstream school, but she only attends two days a week. This makes The Wish’s support absolutely vital both for her and her family.
Ana is lucky in that in her aunt’s family she feels loved and important as a member of the family. Eugenia strives to educate her properly and to be her mother and close friend as well. The Wish supports her aunt and mother by teaching them about Down Syndrome and about some of the strategies and techniques they use to work effectively with Ana. They are fortunate to have formed a good team with her family – together they can give Ana much more support than either of them can alone.
How to donate today
We are delighted to see the progress that Ana has made, and to see her enjoying our group activities so much. It is very much for Ana, and other children like her, that we are appealing today. It is so important that Ana’s care is not interrupted, and so we are doing all we can to fill gaps in the local funding. Can you help us raise £4,300 by the end of the year so that we can continue to be there for Ana and her family (as well as 29 other children and young people)?
Our November newsletter is out now. It marks a new departure for St Gregory’s, introducing our three new partners in Moldova. All three are tackling the woeful lack of community services for people with special needs or learning difficulties. They also hope to challenge the stigma around special needs in a country where only 26% of the population believe that people with special needs should be included in the community.
You will also find all the news from our Russian and Georgian partners, plus ideas for how you can get involved. You won’t want to miss our art talk from esteemed Hermitage Curator, Alexei Leporc. You are also invited to join us on an exciting trip to Georgia.
