2002 Annual Report to the Trustees of Ecologia Trust
From Liza Hollingshead
Executive Director
Activities of Ecologia Trust during the year October 2001 - September2002
Social Work and Therapeutic Education Training at Kitezh Children’s Community
The 4-year Social Work and Therapeutic Education Training funded by Charity Know
How is now completed. A final evaluation report by Social Worker and Russian specialist
Dena Domminney in October is available. This documents the learnings from the entire
training programme over 4 years, and is an excellent testimony to the work done by all
members of the training team. Her impression was that Kitezh has absorbed most aspects of
the training that have become fully integrated into their work with children. Those
aspects that were not fully addressed have been added to recommendations for further
training and will be implemented in the next phase. Charity Know How accepted our report
and released all remaining funds. A further follow-up grant from Charity Know How provides
Kitezh with four consultation visits by David Dean OBE. The start of this project begins
in Spring 2003.
Developing the Capacity of Kitezh Children’s Community: a 2-year project funded by
the UK Community Fund to run from 1st April 2002 to 31st March 2004.
The size, scope and responsibility of setting up and managing this large project
has made it the focal point of Ecologia Trust’s work this year.
The aims, set out in our contract with the Community Fund are as follows:
The project will achieve the following Benefits:
- By the end of this grant (2 years) 15 families at Kitezh Children's Community will have
the capacity to give stable homes to 70 children who have been moved out of existing
institutions; in the longer term, 30 families will give stable homes to 200 children.
- The capacity of the Kitezh Community will be strengthened enabling the expansion of the
village. The Information Centre in Moscow will secure funding from within Russia to ensure
the long term future of the Kitezh community.
3. As a result of the social work and therapeutic education
training, documented by the training manual for foster families, staff at Kitezh will
become professional in their work with children. Kitezh will become a leader in this field
of care, leading to the establishment of a specialist institute there to provide training
for carers from all over Russia.
In the first year, to start on 1st April 2002 we will achieve the following
tasks:
1. Register Kitezh Information centre as the official foreign representative of
Ecologia Trust in Moscow, working in close cooperation with Kitezh Children's Community
and open an organisational foreign currency bank account in Moscow.
2. Establish the Kitezh Information centre as the public relations, networking and
fundraising presence for the Kitezh Children's Community, with its office in Moscow.
3. Produce a promotional video in Russian and English to raise public awareness of
conditions in children's institutions with Kitezh as an example of a positive solution,
and highlight foreign companies' charitable giving as an incentive to others, particularly
to Russian companies.
4. Set up and implement training for Russian staff in public relations and fundraising
skills by Russian fundraiser and with training in London at the Directory for Social
Change.
5. Continue the social work and therapeutic education training by UK experts
concentrating on training the life-story worker, adoptions officer, and social work
supervisor; organise 2-week study visit to the UK to learn how UK fostering and
therapeutic education organisations work with children in care.
6. Collect and compile, edit and translate materials for the draft of a training manual
for foster families living inside and outside Kitezh.
Results and opportunities offered by the Community Fund grant:
The following has been achieved thus far:
1. Kitezh Centre is registered as a Russian Autonomous Non-Profit Organisation,
representing the interests of Kitezh Community and Ecologia Trust in Moscow, with a hard
currency account in HSBC Bank and Russian roubles bank account. This structure is best
suited to the purposes of the Centre and it is allowed to receive and transfer tax-free
donations to Kitezh from within Russia and abroad.
2. The Kitezh Centre is established in Moscow with an office and staff. Public
Relations work to disseminate information about the work at Kitezh has started with
presentations to the public, existing and potential donors, and a monthly Kitezh report in
a popular newspaper. Fundraising within the foreign business community has begun, with
some success. Significant donations from within Russia were a new minibus from HSBC Bank,
Moscow; winter coats for all donated by a Russian clothing distributor; funds to finish
the first floor of the Guesthouse from a Moscow company particularly interested in
supporting the Kitezh Community in its efforts to generate funds for its own
self-sufficiency. The Guesthouse was opened with a celebration in October 2002.
3. A promotion video was completed in English and in Russian, in two versions: 7
minutes and 18 minutes. Both have received positive feedback and are being distributed to
interested donors and others in Russia and abroad.
4 & 5. Training in Fundraising and further Therapeutic Education training is
planned for year 2 of the project in consultation with the Social Work and Therapeutic
Education team, according to the needs and opportunities for training as they arise during
the course of the project. Community Building Trainings are held annually at Kitezh, and
the input of an experienced Therapeutic Education consultant continues to be valued and
welcomed by members of Kitezh.
6. Two draft versions of a Guide for Foster Families based on the 10 years work and
experience of Kitezh Foster Families were written by Dmitry Morozov and translated into
English. Feedback from the UK Training team and Trustees of Ecologia Trust was
incorporated into the content. A preliminary edition of 500 copies will be published in
Russian to test public and professional response. This forms the basis of a further
publication for a wider audience, now in process. This book forms part of the
project’s strategy to disseminate information about the work at Kitezh more widely.
It replaces the originally planned ‘Training Manual’ as it serves the needs of
foster families more closely.
Progress on the Benefits as set out in the Community Fund contract:
- Currently 11 families and 45 children live in Kitezh (including the students who study
in Moscow and Kaluga). From the 2002 summer camp for orphans 4 new children joined Kitezh
families and 3 children are awaiting documents to allow them to move to Kitezh. A new
Family House was completed in 2002. With funding from the Build Trust the Pyramid House
will be completed in 2003 giving a home for a family of 6 children with a computer
classroom and art room. Another Family House for a family of 6 children is planned for
2003 if funds are raised.
- Even in its early stages, the project has had a beneficial effect on the management
structures within the community and has strengthened its management capacity in order to
prepare for further expansion. In addition to addressing the stated tasks for this year,
this project offered Kitezh the opportunity to develop its management structures in order
to come in line with the funders’ requirements for accountability and transparency.
This has been extremely valuable and has resulted in a more stable, structured financial
management system at Kitezh. The assistance of a competent and experienced Accountant,
made possible by funds from this project, has enabled Kitezh to plan and budget for the
future more accurately.
- The results of the social work and therapeutic training are set out in the evaluation
report of the training. The Guide for Foster Families further documents the results of the
training. Interest in Kitezh was expressed by the Minister for Social Welfare, Matveyenko,
and her intended visit resulted in the road from Baryatino to Kitezh being paved by the
local administration in preparation. Good relations between Kitezh and the Moscow
Pedagogical and Psychological Institute and the Moscow University Faculty of Psychology
have been established.
Additional benefits of Kitezh Centre for the children: the
Kitezh Centre has provided a home for a Kitezh student starting her first year at
University, and it became the ‘home base’ for others who are studying in Moscow.
Several families made use of the Kitezh Centre to give their children the opportunity to
visit Moscow and give them an experience of life in the city. Previously this was
difficult to achieve economically and practically.
We look forward to the next 18 months of the project, where the rewards of the hard
work put into setting up the project will become evident. The Kitezh Centre staff is
enthusiastic, committed, creatively involved and keen to learn and to produce results.
They have the full cooperation of the leadership and members of the Kitezh Community.
In addition to raising funds to build Kitezh, the Kitezh Centre aims to raise public
awareness of the unique work that is being done with children there and to make this
expertise more widely known and available to families who do not live there. Kitezh Centre
has plans to develop into a Family Counselling Centre. Here Moscow families may consult
with those from Kitezh about problems with their adopted or natural children. A small
number of children from Moscow families will be accepted as boarders at Kitezh to take
advantage of the therapeutic education opportunities there and who will contribute
financially. The Guesthouse will accommodate their parents when they visit. Kitezh Centre
also aims to develop a special form of family ‘ecotourism’ to bring guests and
income to Kitezh using the accommodation now available in the Guesthouse.
Building work accomplished in 2002:
- The Play House was completed and furnished (funded by the World Childhood
Foundation) with a Play Room dedicated exclusively for Play Therapy sessions and
comfortable accommodation for visiting professionals.
- The Guest House interior finishings, bathrooms and furnishings were completed on the
first floor. A reception area and 4 double Bedrooms, each with its own shower and toilet,
is ready for guests.
- The Surakhanyan family’s house
was completed and furnished.
Kitezh-Agro, the farming company associated with Kitezh, made a substantial investment
in the Farm and gives considerable in kind support to the community. Breeding cattle, pigs
and chickens bring free produce for the residents in addition to a small amount of cash
income in the first year of operation. This initiative, the impulse towards developing
sustainable methods of survival for the community in the long term, is most encouraging.
Godparents scheme
Godparents contributed £4,500 to Kitezh children. Letters, gifts and emails flow
freely in both directions, bringing love and interest to the children and to the
Godparents and their families. It is a successful and satisfying aspect of our work with
Kitezh.
Volunteers
An increased interest in volunteering at Kitezh was shown this year, 25 volunteers
in all, indicating that volunteers are becoming a natural part of the society of Kitezh.
The volunteers manage to adapt to rural village life and Russian customs remarkably well,
and the children’s fluency in English is a tribute to them. A production of My Fair
Lady in English was a triumphal testament to the hard work of the volunteers over the past
year. Those who came to Kitezh with an interest in improving their Russian language were
satisfied to leave speaking quite fluently. There is no better language school than to
live and converse with native speakers, especially children.
The system for receiving background checks for all volunteers is now in place.
Introduction and Preparation information is constantly updated and improved to increase
volunteers’ effectiveness and to enrich their experience in Kitezh.
Funders in 2001/2002:
Charity Know How
The Community Fund (formerly the National Lottery Charities Board UK)
The Build Trust
World Childhood Foundation
The Paget Trust
Margaret Adams Trust
HSBC Bank
Many individuals in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and
Russia.
Our heartfelt thanks to all donors and volunteers for your continued belief in the work
of Ecologia Trust with Kitezh Children’s Community in Russia.
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