Trip for Kids in a Russian Orphanage

Two months ago I made a big decision to mentor a Russian boy Serezha. He is 12 years old and he is an orphan in a remote village in Russia. There are 40 kids in the orphanage. Each kid has a mentor who is their pen pal and a person with whom the child can share their thoughts and emotions. Multiple studies show that the presence of a mentor in a child's life makes the child more centered and confident.

Unfortunately, today Russian orphans are looked down upon starting from their birth. As a result of life-long judgment and doubt a LOT of orphans get pulled into gangs, go to prison, and end up doing all kinds of bad things. Fortunately, through such organization as Invisible Children, a lot of these children find mentors who become their life-long companions. The mentors mentally support and trust in the children's inner strength "“ strength that all of us have, but often times need someone to remind us of it.

Serezha, my mentee, lives in a remote town of Severoonezhsk in the far north of Russia 1.5 days away from Moscow. The orphanage is rather small. The most amazing thing is that the staff and kids have strong relationships between each other "“ something that does not happen often in orphanages. Bringing mentors as additional influence on the kids gives these kids a chance to succeed in life. The kids wouldn't have gotten this support if not for the desire and passion of the people running the place - it is truly inspirational.

This summer we (mentors) are organizing a trip for the children to visit Moscow, Russia's capitol (they've never left their village before). The point of the trip is to show the children that life is great and there are many places that we can see - it all depends on us and it is in our power to decide what we achieve.

The trip is of course no cheap affair. We are looking at costs of transportation, staff support, on-the-ground housing, tour guides, food etc. We have already gotten some funds, but need more money.

I am looking to raise funds for the kids' trip and need each of you to consider donating. EVERY dollar will make a difference. Really, EVERY SINGLE DOLLAR WILL MAKE A DIFFERENCE. All accounting is done online and I can personally vouch for the organizers "“ all funds will go directly to the kids. I ask you to please donate any amount that you think would be fair.

5 dollars is a lot of money for us "“ please give any amount you want. THANK YOU!!!