A big thank you from one of our deaf club families

Valentina Balobanova, who runs the Deaf Club we sponsor in St Petersburg, was doing her shopping recently when a woman stopped her. This was Nina, who used to go to the Deaf Club with her son Nikita. He is now twenty, but his mama still remembers Valentina and the Deaf Club. The meeting prompted her to write a thank you letter to Valentina, the other staff at the Early Intervention Institute, and to you, the donors who keep the Club running.

Nikita as a toddler
Nikita as a toddler
Read more: A big thank you from one of our deaf club families

“I would like to thank the Early Intervention Institute and Valentina Balobanova for the great help they gave me and my son son. A few words about us. My name is Nina Nikitina and my son Nikita was born in 2004. A year later, I found out that he could not hear and he was diagnosed with hedrocephalic syndrome (which was cured). Well, it would be an understatment to say that it was a tragedy for me. My world simply collapsed. I was raising him alone, and I had absolutely no idea what documents needed to be completed, or what to do with all this. Somehow, by chance, while sitting in the hallway of the audiology center, one of the mothers told me about the Early Intervention Institute. She told mme that they have an excellent diagnostic service there, and run classes. After some time, I realized this meeting was an incredible grace of God. Having come to the center, our family found care and friends with the same difficulties. I found out where to go, what documents to fill out, what benefits I was entitled to, and where to get his hearing aid serviced. Basically, I learned everything I needed here. I have never met such warm people before. We didn’t miss a single class or event that took place at the institute. This became our second home. I want to thank the sponsors who make this possible from the bottom of my heart. You do an incredible miracle for us, such families, children.”

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Adelina’s story

Adelina on the left with her friend Ana

Adelina (on the left in the picture) is 9 years old and has Down Syndrome. She struggles with language and communication, but these difficulties don’t stop her from being eager to express herself and trying to make herself understood. She loves music and will arrange the other children in a circle while she pretends to play the guitar or claps along with her favourite songs. The children watch her and even applaud at the end of the song.

This year our Christmas appeal aims to raise £5,000 to pay for a speech therapist and a special needs teacher to support children like Adelina. Read on and you will find out how the team at The Wish Centre are helping Adelina flourish.

Continue reading Adelina’s story

Sunflower: licensed to train

Sunflower group standing with forest in the background

Quality recognised

Our partners Sunflower have come a long way since we helped them get started 17 years ago. For some years we have been helping fund them to run training courses for social workers and psychologists. Now the quality of these courses has been recognised. They have received a licence as a training organisation and are able to issue certificates for the courses they offer on effectively supporting orphanage-leavers and foster or adoptive families. Their teaching is helping to raise the level of care across St Petersburg, the Leningrad region and beyond.

Summer camps revived

Thank you to everyone who contributed to our appeal to restore the Sunflower summer camp. Their dining area is now usable again after being destroyed by fire in 2023. The summer camps are held in a very special place and Sunflower use their surroundings well. A walk through the forest to the local sand quarry is a highlight of both summer camps, for young families and for the teenagers.

Our colleagues say this about the children’s experience this year:

Continue reading Sunflower: licensed to train

The value of a good supervisor

Since we started working together, The Rain Kids Centre’s goal has been to improve the quality of the therapy they are able to offer children with developmental disabilities, such as autism. St Gregory’s has been funding supervision by an experienced therapist from Romania. She has visited to observe the work of the centre and provide training sessions.

Continue reading The value of a good supervisor

Progress for Gordei

7 year-old Gordei has been making great progress with his communication book thanks to the skilled professionals at Communication Space.

St Gregory’s works in partnership with Communication Space to introduce alternative technology to Russia to benefit people with disabilities. Gordei is one of the children who has recevied bespoke teaching, opening up new ways of communicating.

Gordei has cerebral palsy, which affects his ability to speak. fortunately, his parents found Communication Space, and he is now learning how to use PECS – a language of visual symbols contained in his communication book.

Until recently, Gordei would only use one symbol at a time. He would rely on the person he was “talking” to being able to guess what he meant. The therapists at Communication Space have made some simple adjustments to the way the symbols are arranged in his book, and now he is putting two or even three symbols together in phrases. Recently, in answer to the question, “How are you?”, Gordei answered “bad” and then himself found the symbol for “cold”. It is already becoming easier for those around him to understand Gordei. The solutions may seem simple, but it takes skill, empathy and patience to make this kind of breakthrough. We are so glad our colleagues are helping train others so that many more children like Gordei can express themselves.

A visit to The Wish Centre

The journey from Chişinău to Călărași was just over an hour to The Wish Centre for disabled and autistic children and youths. This centre is a beacon for many local families who are raising children with special needs. Currently it is the only place in the region they can turn to for help and guidance.

Eugenia, who is just over 30, saw her life take a dramatic turn a decade ago when her sister lost her parental rights, and Eugenia found herself looking after her niece Ana, a baby with Down syndrome.

Continue reading A visit to The Wish Centre

Parent praises Deaf Club

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.

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Exciting trip for Kondopoga’s children

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

Our Christmas appeal – a chance to help Ana

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)?

Meet our new Moldovan partners

In Moldova only 26% of the population believe that people with special needs should be included in their community. Like other ex-Soviet countries, Moldova has traditionally relied on large institutions to care for disabled children and adults. This has left communities wary of those who are different, and families with very few support services.

St Gregory’s has a history of championing inclusion in this region. We look forward to working with our new partners to give families access to the kind of support which will affirm their children’s value and help them reach their potential.

On 28th November, Giving Tuesday, there is a great opportunity to help. You can help us win a share of $1,200,000 by donating on that day via Global Giving.

We also have tickets on sale for our online talk on Ukrainian art and architecture from an esteemed curator, Alexei Leporc, at The Hermitage Museum. 

The Wish (Dorintsa) is based in Călărași. They provide therapy and education for children with additional needs in this mainly rural area.

Sunny Corner (Plaiul Soarelui) runs a farm in the Moldovan countryside, where young people with disabilities can get involved in meaningful work and social activities. We are delighted to have co-sponsored a ball for their families, and young people with learning difficulties from further afield, including Ukraine. Parents talk of how the event made them feel visible, and brought great joy to their children.

Rain Kids (Copiii Ploii) is based in Chișinău, the capital of Moldova. The charity provides therapy to children with special needs. Together we are tackling the skills gap by funding additional training for their therapists.