What is Kitezh Children's Community

Since 1992 Kitezh has functioned as a non-government, non-profit Partnership of Foster Families who offer homes and education for orphaned Russian children in a rural area 300km south of Moscow in Kaluga region. Despite harsh economic conditions, this dedicated group has built a thriving rural working eco-village community that provides an education and a home with foster families for orphaned Russian children from extreme social situations. Kitezh is already a viable alternative to the institutionalised care provided by the state. At the moment there are 45 children and 20 adults living in Kitezh. In time Kitezh will become home to 200 children in 50 families. Ecologia Youth Trust supports Kitezh by raising funds to support the development of Kitezh, to build houses for new families, the school, the church, a community centre, dining hall & other educational facilities. One house means a family home to 6 children. We also help Kitezh to connect with people from all over the world, sending volunteers and visitors to Kitezh.

Kitezh is an exciting place, in contrast to some gloomy messages about Russia sent to the west via the media. It is a place of happiness and joyful refuge for Russian children who have been abandoned or orphaned. The Kitezh way of fostering and educating children in Kitezh has already proved to be a real alternative to the Dickensian State system of orphanages and childcare institutions. Education is the main focus at Kitezh.

At present 10 families live as a community in Kitezh with 35 children, most of them adopted, some their own, on 100 hectares of land, some agricultural, some wild forest, with a lake nearby. All year round volunteers and students come to Kitezh to help with building, work in the gardens and with the children. Kitezhans aim to live in harmony with nature, in an ecologically aware, natural lifestyle. They are warm, openhearted and believe that by serving others, they will serve themselves. They have built 10 houses, a schoolhouse, a communal dining hall and a church. Kitezh School is recognized by the State.

Now we are building a second village, Orion, based on the Kitezh model. The vision to build children’s villages all over Russia is beginning to become a reality!

Kitezh is also connected with a wide circle of intellectuals concerned with consolidating their efforts to bring about the changes needed in Russian society today, in economic, social, political, environmental and educational spheres.

Several highly educated people are involved with Kitezh and find it a receptive environment to share their knowledge: artists, poets, writers and journalists, scientists and scholars. Teachers come from Moscow State University to offer special courses and programmes. For them Kitezh provides a vast field for new experiments in education, in cordial surroundings, and with sensitive children who are eager to learn from them.

One day, in the not too distant future, village communities of foster families based on the Kitezh model could replace all institutionalised orphanages in Russia. This is our dream, to give loving, secure homes to ALL children.

A letter to Lena Lukyanov, foster mother at Kitezh, on 3 January, 2000 from Valya Kanuchina (11 years old)

Kitezh’s website can be accessed at: www.kitezh.org

Email: kitezh@kaluga.ru

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