Russian Missions in Orphanages

Goodbyes

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 22:26:06 GMT

Entry 14 Russian Mission Blog

Goodbyes

Each year we spend two weeks with 20-30 different children. People being people, there is always the chance of becoming attached to one another. This year has vivid memories of the tight group of five older boys (Timur, Arxan, Sarxan, Sergei, and Ilya or little three year old Nina who ran the whole house and learned to say "monkey". It was great seeing my friend Masha again after eight years. (Masha is from the town of Tel’ch’e and now works at the children’s center.) This year though I want to tell you about Beatrice.

Last year when I met Beatrice, she was a small framed 11 year old who was part of a close knit group that was together from beginning to end and included her older brother Sasha. The group did everything together from pick-up soccer games to watching Harry Potter until late at night. Beatrice was the youngest of the group, but was just as involved in the decision making process as her brother and older peers.

My last recollection of her from last year was on my last night when her father showed up and asked to take them home. Russian law is quite complicated, and he evidently had the right. Beatrice was ready but Sasha did not want to go. Again, Russian law allowed Sasha to have some say in the matter. According to Valya, he fully understood the gravity of the situation at home and did not want himself or Beatrice to be exposed to the unchanging conditions at home. But after about an hour of begging and tears, he gave in to Beatrice and they went home. After they left, Nastya, the oldest of the group, turned to me and just said "what a nightmare". I guess that was all that could have been said.

This year I arrived on May 30th. Russians have a holiday called Day of the Defense of the Child which is always on June 1st. We packed the two vans with the children and headed to Mtsensk, the small town located about 15 miles from Tel’ch’e. There in the city park were some rides that were free for the day in celebration of the holiday. Valya had made the comment that four more children were to meet us at the park. Among the four were Sergei, whom I knew from last year and Beatrice. Her hair was cut short, but she was still the small slight little girl from a year ago. After a double take, I recognized her and she me. She did not want to be there and her bottom lip was shaking and tears were about to run out her eyes when I went over to talk to her. She loosened up a bit and enjoyed herself on the rides, but she really lit up when I invited her to walk with me to get my pictures developed. (I know Mtsensk fairly well and Valya lets me go as I please about town.) We talked about the past year and about her brother who is now working. Her younger sister was being checked out at the hospital and would be joining us a few days later.

We all returned to the children's center where the walls were starting to bulge from all the children, now 28 in total. Over the next few days there was quite a bit of turn-over and Beatrice ended up being the oldest girl at the center. About four days after Beatrice arrived, she turned to me while we were watching cartoons with the other children and started to rattle word after word… in ENGLISH! "Floor, window, door, boy, girl…" I was shocked. We would practice and learn new words like pumpkin and monkey. She would recite her new words during volleyball and was able to form sentences by the end of my stay. Truly a very smart and hard-working girl. But what set her apart from most 12 year olds was her love for her younger sister, Margarita. "Rita" was three years old and had some very serious problems. She would stand and rock herself and cry until Beatrice would come and hold her. Beatrice went to her every time and without hesitation, even if it meant missing out on other activities. The care for her sister came first and the love was obvious. Eventually Ksyusha, a beautiful 7-year old girl, was able to serve as a surrogate to give Beatrice some breathing room. The whole dynamic was quite impressive and just solidified my respect for Beatrice.

We colored, played volleyball, went for walks, watched movies and practiced English. Each evening would end with a hug and a kiss as she went to bed. And as my last day came to a close, it was time to say goodbye. I said goodbye to the younger children first. The slightly older ones understood that I was leaving, and there were many tears. I hugged and kissed about twenty-five and went outside to the six older kids. The boys all gave me a big hug and said goodbye. When I turned to Beatrice, she was crying. I held her for a few minutes and she me. Finally it was time for me to step on the van. I did not realize how close we had gotten until that moment. I gave her a final kiss and said goodbye. I’m sure Valya will do all that she can to have her there when I return next year, but the fact is that I will probably never see Beatrice again.

Intro to My Travels

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 22:42:15 GMT

First, let me introduce myself. My name is Scott Marchant. I have never done a blog before, so excuse any faux pas that may violate the rules of blogging. This blog was generally written at 6:00 am Moscow time in the main hall of the children's center in Tel'ch'e, Russia over a two week stretch. It chronicles many events that have taken place in my travels to this small villiage located 200 miles south-west of Moscow over the past 9 years. At the very least I hope you find it interesting, but it is my wish that it will create a spark that will lead you to do something for the children of the world, wherever God leads you.

Ten years ago, my wife Donna (a United Methodist pastor) went to Russia on a mission trip with a Methodist group from North Carolina. When she returned, she told me that I would have to go the following year so I could experience what she did. I told her that if we were to go, I wanted to learn some of the language. So we found a tutor at NC State and took lessons. That following summer we went with another Methodist group out of South Carolina and ended up at the children's center in Tel'ch'e, Russia. The people, workers and especially the children left such a mark on me, that I have returned seven times.

I will try and make sure that all postings are done in the order in which I wrote them. If I go out of turn, I will make a note of it. I also want to thank the following people: My wife Donna for introducing me to the children of Russia and to a new way of thinking about things; my children Sergei and Natasha for all their help with the Russian language; Steve Darr of Peacework out of Blacksburg, VA for helping put together all these trips, the Fayetteville District of the United Methodist Church for helping fund this important mission; Haymount UMC, Cotton UMC, Corinth UMC, Antioch UMC, Raeford UMC, and Hopewell UMC for the fundraising; The Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. for providing me the opportunity to carry on this mission; my parents for sending much needed clothes to the center; and for all those whose prayers and thoughts go out for the children.

And make sure you click "Older Entries" at the end of entry 10 for a few more posts. :)

The War

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 22:33:31 GMT

Entry 7 Russian Mission Blog

The War

The little village that we go to each year is located between Tula and Orel, about 200 miles southwest of Moscow. The village, Tel’ch’e ended up in German hands for about two years and was basically the front line during World War II (or as they call it, the Great Patriotic War.) After the German offensive in the Kursk pocket in the summer of 1943, the town was retaken by Soviet troops in July of that year. The village was the scene of two fierce battles and a brutal Nazi occupation. The stories told to me by the soldiers and survivors are both harrowing and inspiring. One such story was told to us by Mr. Melnikov, a veteran, on the 61st anniversary of the liberation of the town.

Paraphrased from celebration July 2004:

" The Russian troops were attacking the town from the northeast and were entering from just beyond the school. The fascists were pushed back into the village and taking up positions around the school. As the first Russian troops entered the town, some children greeted them with flowers. As the children were handing them the flowers some German troops opened fire from the school. A mortar round landed next to the children killing 5 of them and 3 soldiers. One of the children killed was my nephew. That is why I built this memorial on this spot."

The three men are veterans of WW2 and the women at right survived the German occupation.

Mr. Melnikov

This year I had the privilege to talk/listen to another veteran of the war Mrs. Palovna. She was 17 years old when the Battle of Kursk took place and she was a nurse on the front line. Three of her brothers were killed during the war and she talked at length how she and all of her siblings served.

Paraphrased from a discussion with Mrs. Palovna June 2007:

"I was 17 when I began my service in the Soviet army. I was stationed outside of Kursk in a field hospital. The most terrifying moments were when the German planes would drop phosphorous flares at night. The sky would become bright as day and we knew that the German bombers would be next. Once my good friend Tanya and I were moving a wounded soldier on a stretcher when the bombs started to fall. Tanya was in front and I was behind. Suddenly there was an explosion in front of us and we all fell down. The soldier on the stretcher was killed and so was my best friend who had the top of her head blown off. I was only slightly wounded and was able to continue working at the hospital. I still remember that day like it was yesterday. …You see the battle of Kursk was a very large tank battle, and there were a lot of soldiers coming to us who were injured in tanks. The wounded from the tanks were just…" At this point, she began to cry and was unable to complete the sentence, and the interview ended on that somber note.

Mrs. Palovna with her granddaughter and great grandson

The Children

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 22:32:33 GMT

Nina

Entry 8 Russian Mission Blog:

The Children

When I walk into the bedrooms of the children’s center at bedtime, every arm gets outstretched towards me. They want to be held, kissed, or simply just a little bit of personal attention. The few minutes that I am in the room are filled with "ME, ME, ME!" or "You only kissed me once!" or "I want to be the last before you leave." These children are smart, talented and fun. But they are all lacking one thing: personal attention from a loved one, and they are craving it. Especially from a male "father" figure.

Yesterday 6/07/07, a journalist from the local paper interviewed me about our work and experiences here in Tel’ch’e. The questions about why Tel’ch’e and why children were typical of most conversations I would have with friends and family. But one question stood out. "Children are children all over the world, but what makes the children in the Russian orphanage system different from the others?"

I sat for a second to think of the words in Russian, but it wouldn’t come to me. Then I tried in English, but had the same result. After a minute or two of trying to piece together a coherent sentence( I was suffering from laryngitis ), I finally said "They seem to share the same soul." When one is hurting, the others seem to know exactly what to do. The workers at the center do a great job of taking care of the children, but when it comes to comforting a child who has just been ripped from their home, they rely on each other. The support is usually without words. Maybe a favorite (or only) toy is offered or the opportunity to sit on a sympathetic lap. I’m sure shared or common experiences are part of the equation, but one visit to the children’s center in Tel’ch’e and you would understand that there is more to these children than shared experiences and that a collective spirit does exist.

The children at the center are smart, artistic, creative and appreciative. All the children of school age go to the local public school while they are living at the center, and the preschoolers attend kindergarten. Most Russian children, including those in the children’s center, have an appreciation for education and are quite proud of their math skills and knowledge of classic Russian literature and prose. They are keenly aware of the world, even outside their own country and love nature with all it has to offer. The arts are always emphasized and most of the children have no inhibitions when it comes to singing or performing for an audience.

PICTURES

Except for a very small percentage, most of the children want to return home, even if conditions are less than desirable. The few houses I have visited with Valya would be considered condemned rat traps. But mama is still mama and no one can take her place. Last year a little girl arrived and she would cry "Mama! Mama! Mama’s coming!" over and over. Valya told me that there is no way she can go home. This year a family of three boarded a van to go home to mama. The children were very excited. As they pulled away Valya turned to me shaking her head and said, "They will be back." She had a tear in her eye and she did something that I have only seen her do a few times, she turned away and said nothing.

And these children are just a few examples of the hundreds of I have lived with for two week intervals every year for the last nine years. Their short lives have been hard at best and a nightmare at worst. What will become of them when they turn 17? They have no money, no possessions and a bleak future. So why is that I always seem to go home with so much more than I could possibly have ever brought to them?

The Situation

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 22:38:16 GMT

Valya, the director, is standing on the left in the back with some of the children from the center.

Entry 4 Russian Mission Blog

The Children and the Situation:

We have been coming to Tel’ch’e, a tiny village 250 miles SW of Moscow, for nine years. Moscow has grown and become one of the most expensive cities in the world. We have seen Orel grow and even the little city of Mtsensk change. More and more cars are crowding the streets, and cell phones are everywhere. But with all this growth, the money tends to stay in tight circles and most Russians have not benefited from capitalism. And unfortunately at the bottom of the capitalism ladder are the elderly and the children. A side note here that this is not a problem restricted to Russia. One can travel within one’s own area and find abundant examples in our own backyard. We have been led to Russia by God or by chance if you will, but nonetheless, there we are.

Some of the children singing in the main hall of the center.

Now why are there nearly 1 million children in the state orphanage system? Of all the children we have stayed with, most are there because of alcohol abuse in the home. Vodka! It is plentiful and cheap in a country that witnessed a change so fast that it left all but a few privileged and corrupt behind. With the collapse of the Soviet Union and its associated military machine, most factory workers lost their jobs. And with little infrastructure in place, a large portion of the population fell into despair and turned to alcohol. The orphanage system saw an almost immediate surge(tidal wave) of children. The tiny village of Tel’ch’e was no exception, and in 1996, a small children’s center was opened to handle the immediate area. The children’s center is state run and the director, Valentina Petrovna, has been at its helm since the beginning.

Up until three years ago, Valya only told us of the situations where the children come from, but now she takes me to a few homes each visit. All have had one thing in common; vodka. If Valya sees that the child is not being properly cared for, she steps in. She initiates the legal paperwork to have the child removed from the home and put into the care of the state. What is great about Valya is that she not only takes care of the health and education of the child, she tries to get the parents help as well. Alcohol abuse is widespread in Russia, but few have access to treatment programs. She says it is wonderful when she can actually get the children back in the home with their parents. I don’t know what her success rate is concerning reuniting parents with the children, but I have met a few families where this is the case and Valya is quite proud of this achievement. If after 3-6 months she doesn’t see any improvement in the home, she begins procedures to have the parental rights terminated. After the courts terminate the rights of the parents, the children are moved into a large orphanage until they are taken in by another family member or adopted. At seventeen they become adults and are released from the orphanage on their own.

One can hope for a fairytale rags to riches ending, but unfortunately in a world that tends to look after only itself, fairytale endings are the exceptions.

Sveta trying on some new shoes!

The Russian Language

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 22:29:56 GMT

Entry 10 Russian Mission Blog

The Russian Language

10 years ago, when Donna and her father went to Russia, one of the things she introduced me to was the Russian language. When she returned, she taught me my first word (excluding da, nyet and vodka ), sobaka… dog. I told her that if we were to return the following year, I wanted to learn a little. So we found a tutor at North Carolina State University and started taking lessons once a week. I quickly began to realize that learning Russian is a lot like getting a root canal – you don’t do either one for fun. Russian is a language with a different alphabet and a grammar structure straight from heck. ( I hear Finnish and Hungarian are worse, so we will leave Russian in heck.) It has six cases which means that every noun and adjective changes spelling and pronunciation depending on its location in a sentence, plurality and gender. It is quite complicated.

Like I said, no one learns Russian for fun and when the time came for us to set out, I was pumped to try out my year of hard work. So we landed in Moscow and boarded the train for Tel’ch’e. When we got to the train station in Mtsensk, we were greeted by Valya. One of our translators told her that I had been studying Russian and when she turned to speak to me, I just stood there. Nothing!!! I understood NOTHING she said. I thought that maybe it was the jet lag. So the following I set out to try again. With Valya… Nothing. Ira… Nothing. The children… Nothing!!! I began to wonder if I had been studying Russian at all. As the trip went on, Valya and the children pitched in and really worked at teaching me Russian. What I learned was that I was pretty good at reading and writing but seriously lacking in the speaking and listening skills. Most of my learning up to that point was in the reading and writing field, but speaking and listening require even more practice.

The main thing I came away with on that trip was that in Russian, pronunciation is everything. English words can take a certain amount of mangling and still be understood. If you mispronounce a word in Russian, you get a blank stare and a "shto?" – "what?" When Donna and I moved to Fayetteville, NC in 1999, I enlisted the help of two Russian students studying at Methodist College. One was my grammar coach and the other my pronunciation coach. Zhenya and Natasha sat with me twice a week and really accelerated my speaking and listening skills.

In 2001 Donna and I adopted two children from Severodvinsk, Russia located about 600 miles north of Moscow. Neither one spoke English so Russian was the dominant language in the house for a while and propelled me to the point where I am comfortable in Russia without a translator. Learning Russian is not for the faint of heart, those with no time to practice, or the lazy. But if you still want to learn the beautiful language of Tolstoy and Pushkin, I highly recommend it.

Click "OLDER ENTRIES" for more.

The Building

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 22:37:22 GMT

Entry 5 Russian Mission Blog

The Building:

The children’s center in Tel’ch’e is a large white single story cinderblock building split into 2 parts. The main part is for the children who live there, the other is a small kindergarden. Our first trip was in 1998 and we installed/painted the playground equipment that still exists today. Most of our early trips consisted of painting (with lead-based paint, unfortunately) playground equipment or the outside of the building. But this did very little in the way of helping take care of the needs of the children. By 2004, when we traveled with a sizable group, the floor was full of holes, the windows were broken, the heating system did not work and the beds the children were sleeping in were rotting. During the winter the children would all sleep in one room together to keep warm. Our group decided to pitch in and start with the heating system. The problems were many:

1) Neither of the pump motors worked

2) The contactors were falling apart

3) The piping was corroded

4) The thermostats and pressure relief valve did not work (very dangerous!!!)

We tallied up the total $ to get it repaired and everyone chipped in. Valya made sure that the work got done with the funds we left behind. In March the following year, I got a note from her saying that everything worked out and that the children stayed warm all winter. The next year when I returned, it was time to fix the remaining holes in the floor that the children were falling through. Valya let me know that the state takes care of the basic needs like food and medicine, but with the upkeep of the center, they are on their own. So we took care of the flooring, doors and windows. My goal for the future is to work in the bathroom where the piping and facilities need to be completely replaced.

The heater pumps we purchased in 2005.

The new hot water heaters we purchased in 2005.

Let's Begin

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 22:40:56 GMT

St. Basil's, Red Square, Moscow

Entry 1 Russian Mission Blog

Most of our adventures to Russia begin in an airport somewhere. This year was no exception. Instead of the usual delays and long lines that tend to start a mission trip our story begins with a page over the airport intercom system. While Donna and I were sitting in the airport lobby, an announcement came on from the USO looking for someone to drive an officer back to Fort Bragg. Donna volunteered and a captain met us at the information desk. Donna said the ride back home was really interesting and that they talked the entire time. I went through security and boarded the plane for New York. In New York I had about an hour layover and my flight to Moscow took off on time. I got to Moscow with no problem. I sat on the very last row with a young Russian woman studying at the University of Utah. The attendant in our section was an American woman who spoke Russian fairly well. She was in a pretty foul mood most of the trip and had no problem scolding someone in either language. Although she came across as rather nasty, she was dealing with stupid people who can’t follow the rules. I made sure that I behaved myself. Oh yeah, my bags arrived with me!!! J

I met Tanya, my sponsor, in the area just outside of baggage claim. She was supposed to be in Estonia defending some Russian citizens that had been arrested by the Estonian police. They were protesting the removal/relocation of a monument to Soviet soldiers who defeated the Nazis during WWII. (See Time or Newsweek if you are interested in this story). When I arrived in Moscow, it was about 93 degrees. Although Tanya’s car had air, it was still blistering and the traffic just crawled. Moscow has grown and changed so much over the past 9 years, it is unbelievable, and it is considered the third most expensive city in the world. A cup of coffee costs $3.50 at a café now whereas 9 years ago I couldn’t even find a café or a cup of coffee.

The first thing I had to do was register my visa. In order to travel to Russia, one must have a sponsor and an official invitation. Registering is very important and if you don’t within one or two working days, there can be difficulties exiting the country and very steep fines for your sponsor. Well, I arrived on a Wednesday and the visa offices are closed on, you guessed it, Wednesdays. Since I was going to be leaving Moscow later that afternoon, I had to make copies of my passport, visa and registration card and leave them with Tanya. Russians love to stamp documents, and in years past, I was used to having my officially stamped registration card on me at all times. Tanya assured me that everything was fine, because the laws had changed and that I would have no problems at passport control when I left. Since she is a lawyer, I took the leap of faith and proceeded to the train station. I bought my tickets and said good bye to Tanya. The train ride was uneventful and my roommate slept the whole way to Mtsensk. Due to the jet lag, I couldn’t sleep and when it was time for me to get off the train, I had been awake 30 hours. My roommate helped me with my bags and we said goodbye. Valya and Sergei, our driver, arrived as I was getting off the platform with a group of older children from the center. It was wonderful to see everybody, but it was time for me to crash. Day 1.25 done!!!

Just a Thought

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 22:27:26 GMT

Entry 13 Russian Mission Blog

Natasha

While talking to Natasha (a former translator of ours) in Moscow, we were discussing our respective jobs. She was quite unhappy with her current work and was thinking about finding new employment. When I mentioned my gripes and thoughts of doing something different, she reminded me that Goodyear has made it possible to help the children of Tel’ch’e. I guess I need to keep that perspective the next time I receive an emergency call in the middle of the night.

Valya

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 22:28:31 GMT

Entry 11 Russian Mission Blog

Valya

By now you have read about the director of the orphanage, Valya. Valya would be considered a country girl in the United States and has lived her whole life in the countryside. She will sing a folksong at the drop of a hat, and picnics in the woods are always in fashion. But despite her country girl exterior, she is a person in complete control of her surroundings. She was once a Communist party member and commands a lot of respect within the village and immediate area. Everyone, except her husband, converses with her in the formal case (Russian has both formal and informal cases) and when she walks into a home or the children’s center, everyone stands a little straighter. Her mission is the care of the children who come under her responsibility, and she considers every child in the Mtsensk region her responsibility.

In 1996 the children’s center was opened and she was placed in charge. With the fall of communism came the fall of the socialist system that would have supported the children’s homes throughout Russia. With the meager funds supplied by the government, she managed to turn the center into a place where the children could truly be looked after. In 1998, Donna and I started our work with the children of Russia. My first trip was to Tel’ch’e and I was immediately impressed with what I saw happening at the center. The children were being educated, fed, and under constant supervision by the workers. All financial transactions were handled above the table with a receipt for all expenditures. Everyone in our group was treated like they were family and very well cared for. And always under the watchful eye of Valya.

When Donna and I returned to the States, we decided that Tel’ch’e was where we needed to continue our work. Valya has invited us back every year. Over the past few years, Valya has really made the most of our donations. Here is a brief list of our/her accomplishments:

New hot water heater

New central heating system

New refrigerator

Floors replaced

Windows replaced

Doors repaired

New furniture

A DVD player

New wallpaper

New paint

Two years ago I called Valya and asked her what she needed the most, and her answer took me by surprise – clothes. The children arrive at the center with no possessions, not even clothes. So the center must supply them with clothes, shoes and toiletries withno help from the government. Right now she uses about half the donation money to buy clothes and shoes.

But Valya’s work extends beyond the center. She is often the first governmental official to enter a house where there is a child in need. She has the legal authority to make the call to the courts for an order to remove a child from the home. She will enter a house uninvited if necessary and confront the mother (fathers are usually non-existent) about the situation. She will ask to see the sleeping quarters and any food stores. She takes note of any alcohol or if the mother is inebriated. And of course she will ask to see the child. Some confrontations become quite heated, but she always stands firm and informs the parent of the gravity of the situation. If she deems that the child is in danger, she makes the appropriate calls to social services and the courts to get the documents for removing the child.

After a visit I made with her last year, she turned to me and said " I can’t believe that this is my job of gathering children that have been thrown away. I see this everyday." Now Donna and I could travel to other orphanages and do our mission work in different places each year. We could help a lot of centers a little. But working with Valya, we know we are helping one corner a lot.