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!
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.
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.
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.
St Gregory’s has funded Anna Cîșlaru, lead therapist at Rain Kids, Chișinău, Moldova, to strengthen her professional skills. She co-ordinates the therapy for children with autism and other developmental conditions. She explains how these sessions vary with the age of the children.
With children like Alex, who is nearly two years old, the focus is on stimulating his development across a range of areas including physical co-ordination. He needs help to learn to focus and concentrate, and Anna is laying down a foundation for communication and independence. All this is done through guided play in a way which is enjoyable for them both.
Meanwhile, with five years old Iulian she is helping develop some of the essential skills he will need for school. Together they are strengthening his communication, his ability to manage his emotions, and learning to follow instructions.
In both cases, their progress will be closely monitored so that an individual programme can be adjusted to their particular needs. Both Alex and Iulian and doing well!
Do you remember the musical Oliver Twist, with the song: “Who will buy my sweet red roses? Two blooms for a penny”?
Those words defined Lyuba’s childhood. From evening until morning, she walked the busy streets of central Tbilisi, selling flowers that had to be sold that day. Rain, wind, snow, or heat — she repeated the same call:
“Sir, please buy roses for your beautiful lady.”
Lyuba lived in a small basement with her sick mother and four sisters. Sometimes they had no home at all and spent nights in abandoned buildings with other homeless children. Later, they were taken to a shelter by Mkurnali. The famous Georgian writer Akka Morchiladze wrote of them:
“I could write complete horrors here. You wouldn’t sleep at night. Truly, not even for an hour. But I will not, because these boys and girls have no sense of personal tragedy. Perhaps they do — but this is life, teacher.”
Despite her hardships, Lyuba dreamed of a better life for her daughter Christina. At five, Christina discovered trampoline gymnastics and, with the support of friends, mentors, and journalists who shared her story, she joined coach Roza’s team. Christina went on to win every competition — multiple Georgian championships, the World Cup, the Champions Cup, and a bronze medal at the World Championship.
This Mother’s Day, we honour mothers like Lyuba, whose courage and love turn struggle into hope. You can help children and families like hers escape hardship and achieve their dreams. Every contribution gives them a chance of an education, shelter, and a brighter future.
Donate today and make a difference on this Mother’s Day — because every child deserves a chance to bloom.
Late in January a sewage pipe serving not only the Mkurnali homeless shelter but three other houses failed. Unfortunately, to say the least, when this happened the waste water gushed out into Mkurnali’s yard. The volume of water was so much that it 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. Finally, they only hired an excavator for two hours, so Mkurnali volunteers worked through the night with shovels to dig up the street so a new pipe could be installed. After all this, they still had to complete work within our yard to reconnect us to the main drains.
This drama has taken its toll. While Mkurnali were appealing to the authorities for help, one of the children living at the shelter had to be hospitalised because of an infection. The leak also caused damage to the property. A kitchen wall partially collapsed and still needs reinforcement. The steps to our property also washed away and urgently need to be fixed. Unfortunately, Mkurnali are responsible for the damage to their property, even though it wasn’t their fault. It will cost £4,100 to make the essential repairs. Can you help?
