The orphanage website has recently posted some new photos. I'll share them with you here. According to the brief description, the children were treated to an outdoor 'picnic' this past week. Here they are roasting колбаса over an open fire, in the side yard of the orphanage. D is front and center,of course, and still in the hat, coat, jeans and tennis shoes I bought him in October 2010. Glad they still fit!
Here are a few other shots of the outdoor 'picnic'. Do you recognize the sweetheart in pink? I cannot wait to have her in my lap again. Also, some of you may recognize some coats, hats, gloves and scarves you sent over!
Looks like they all enjoyed themselves very much, especially the little ones' group, featured below:
Next, they posted photos of an indoor event held on 2/23 that was described as an 'anti-narcotics' campaign. With the rate of drug use among children aging out of the orphanage at almost 90%, I am glad they are starting to address this problem within the system now. This is a very new venture for them. There were tug-o war games....
Dressing up in costumes...
and a visit from the local authorities (lol)...
I'm guessing that that is the new Director standing behind V And L in their army costumes. I have never seen her before, and she appears in a few other photos on the site now. They also, sadly, removed most of the photos of the old Director and even the ones she had posted of her family.
Anyway, it was great to see some new photos. (I even see one of the dartboards I bought them hanging up behind them in the last photo.) I've also heard from both Natasha and Vanya that D is doing ok, that he received the 2nd package I sent him and that he knows I am still coming for him 'when the rules change.' -- his words. Thank God he understands.
What great pictures! I am sure they are water to your thirsty heart. Praying for the process in Russia to improve and for D to keep his hope and faith alive. Blessings on you and your family today.
ReplyDeleteThere seems to be a lot going on there. Didn't realize there was a website for the orphanage- is this unusual? I'm glad you have had a little word about D.
ReplyDeleteOh, I love these! I remember seeing people outdoors like this, shopping at an outdoor market in below zero temps, when I was there. How do they do it? And seeing D in tennis shoes in that weather! Oh my!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for sharing the photos! The kids look to have really enjoyed their sausage roast! It always cracks me up how it can be 20 below outside and it's so blazing hot inside the kids are in shorts!
ReplyDeleteDon't you suppose that was their Maslenitsa party? They are usually outdoors with the burning of the straw figure, and the samovar and so forth. My boys were waxing sentimental about these parties the other night and swearing the food they got was out of this world! I think they may even be writing some letters of thanks to the cooks, since they realized how hard it must have been for those ladies to make all of those blini! Really! Both of their orphanages were HUGE - more like 500 children in Sergei's and 250 in Ilya's. And they had blini outdoors for Maslenisa. Also, according to them ALL the food was good (I do know at Sergei's school orphanage, they always had a mid-morning break with warm homemade bread and tea - I wish I had that every day)....but alas! There was never enough of it.
ReplyDeleteI also have to say that, though the style is not American, there seems to be great effort to make at least the common rooms in these places attractive and pleasing to the eye. I took photos of the walls in a few of my kids' orphanages because they were really pretty! Tried to replcate the idea in Anastasia's room. Interesting to see almost an Asian influence there.