News

Support not sedatives for autistic boy

Posted on 23rd June 202523rd June 2025 By Sarah.SGF

Nina is 29 and she has an infectious smile and loves talking about her family. We’re chatting in one of the offices at The Wish’s Centre in Calarasi, which her son Liviu attends. He’s here too, a bit wary of strangers, though he sneaks a few glances at us. Since he obviously doesn’t like having his photo taken, it is Nina you can see here.

Liviu and Nina’s experiences expose just how little understanding there is about how to support autistic people in Moldova. Thank goodness Nina found The Wish, where Liviu could get the support he needed.

Vova is thriving with Sunny Corner

Posted on 16th June 202516th June 2025 By Sarah.SGF

St Gregory’s is proud to sponsor Sunny Corner, a charity based in rural Moldova. They provide an accepting community that helps people with learning disabilities or autism to socialise and develop their skills. Vova (Vladimir), 43, is pictured with a violin. He lives with his mother, a pensioner. Vova is a talented artist who plays instruments, dances, and draws. He is neat and meticulous.

Vova attended a regular school, but ‘deviations’ appeared in the 9th grade, and he was later diagnosed with autism. This diagnosis was made at a mental hospital Kodru, in Chisinau, when Vova was 14-15 years old. Due to his progressive condition, Vova left school after the 9th grade and was forced to stay at home, which hindered his further development of communication. Vova had been depressed for a long time, and it was very difficult to help him overcome it.

Lyudmila Shishkina worked in the “Planet of Care” program before “Sunny Corner.” During that time, Vova was involved in sewing, carpentry, and drew a lot. Gradually, the black color in his drawings was replaced by bright colors, as she describes it. Nowadays, Vova actively participates in “Sunny Corner’s” activities.

80 Moldovan families receive food parcels

Posted on 5th May 20255th May 2025 By Sarah.SGF

St Gregory’s supports Rain Kids, a charity in Chişinău, Moldova, providing therapy for children with developmental disabilities. Disability often goes hand in hand with poverty in Moldova, not least because one parent often has to give up work to care full time. With inflation of 8.8%, making ends meet this year has become particularly difficult.

With St Gregory’s funding, Rain Kids has stepped in to provide food parcels for 80 of their families. Food parcels include essentials like rice, buckwheat, wheat and corn flour, canned fish, sunflower oil and more. There are also some treats—wafers, buns, and biscuits—to bring a little joy to the kids. Domestic cleaning products are included, helping families create a healthier space for their children. The thank you letters from parents show just how much this has meant to them.

Kirill can’t stop smiling

Posted on 5th May 20255th May 2025 By Sarah.SGF

The first thing you probably noticed about this photo is Kirill’s smile. He loves being with people, but since he left school he had spent most of his time at home with very little company. The reason is that Kirill has autism and learning difficulties and cannot speak. Fortunately, he is able to attend activities at Communication Space, the charity centre in Moscow that we sponsor. Now he starts smiling as soon as he gets on the bus to go to a session at the Centre.

When Kirill was at school, his teachers had tried to introduce him to the PECS symbolic language, but without success. They concluded that he wasn’t able to tell one symbol from another.

At Communication Space he didn’t seem interested in the pictures to start with, but gradually he learned to recognise the symbols for food, games and other activities. If he got upset, his teachers would introduce the symbol for that emotion, and so he increased his vocabulary.

Mkurnali fights to help Vlad continue his studies

Posted on 5th May 202514th July 2025 By Sarah.SGF

In Tbilisi, Georgia, we continue to support Mkurnali’s legal programme and the shelter that truly feels like home for former street children and families. Inga, a lawyer who defends young people in court, shared Vlad’s story, and Nino, Mkurnali’s director sent us news about the shelter.

Vlad, one of Mkurnali’s beneficiaries, reached out for Inga’s help. He signed up for vocational school but got accused of faking his high school diploma because of missing official stamps and a strange signature. His old school had merged with another, making things harder to confirm.

Change to this year’s summer camps

Posted on 5th May 20255th May 2025 By Sarah.SGF

Mother and toddler daughter painting together

On April 20, volunteers from “Sunflower” headed to Dolbeniki and got to work cleaning up the site, including the kitchen, fire pit, and bathhouse. While there, they ran into a big problem: the small pond that had always provided water for showers, the bathhouse, and dishwashing had dried up. Drinking water was always brought in from a nearby village, but without the pond, there’s no way to get enough water for a group—especially families. Talks are ongoing with the site owners to figure out solutions. One idea is drilling a well, but it’s tricky because water layers are deep in the Valdai Hills, and finding a reliable source could mean multiple expensive attempts.

Sponsors offer wine discount to our supporters

Posted on 5th May 20255th May 2025 By Sarah.SGF

Photo by Kelsey Knight on Unsplash
People clinking wine glasses

Georgian Wine Club, a valued supporter of St Gregory’s Foundation, is offering a special 10% discount for our supporters—use code SGF10.

Georgian Wine Club is an online boutique offering a curated selection of premium Georgian wines, sourced from respected wineries. From bold Saperavi reds to crisp Rkatsiteli whites and traditional qvevri-aged wines, it showcases Georgia’s 8,000 years of winemaking heritage. With a secure online store, they ship across the UK (excluding Northern Ireland), connecting wine lovers with rare, handcrafted bottles which can rarely be found in high street shops.

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Charity Ball in Chişinău

Posted on 5th May 20255th May 2025 By Sarah.SGF

Our very active partners at Sunny Corner in Moldova are putting together another wonderful event to promote inclusion for people with learning disabilities.

On June 8th, they’re hosting a charity ball at the Chișinău Arena. The venue is fully adapted for people with disabilities, and Sunny Corner has invited more than 120 participants, including people with special needs and their peers aged 8 to 45, as well as parents, carers, teachers, and more from across Moldova, Ukraine, and Romania.

Participants’ performances will be accompanied by the State Symphony Orchestra of the Republic of Moldova. Local and national authorities will be attending too. Additionally, for the first time, an auction will be held to raise funds for their “Dream Manor,” which provides training programmes to enhance the quality of life for individuals with special needs.

St. Gregory’s is proud to be contributing to this memorable event.

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St Gregory’s looking for new trustee

Posted on 30th April 20255th May 2025 By Sarah.SGF

Would you like to help shape the future of St Gregory’s Foundation? We are looking for at least one additional trustee to help run and guide our charity as we enter a new phase of our work. We are looking for individuals who share our values of supporting others, and who will enjoy the unique challenges that governing a small charity brings.

Find out more

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