Today was a day I will never forget.
Anja took us to visit an orphanage (or ‘internat’) for adults with disabilities.
There we met a wonderful group of men and the fantastic staff who look after them. Under the attentive eye of a new director the internat had undergone 6 months of transformation. Bed ridden men are now taken from their rooms and put in wooden pavilions outside to enjoy the fresh air (for the first time in years); the more able bodied men have been taught to make beautiful bead trees and generally there is an atmosphere of mutual respect.
This has been done on a tiny budget – most buildings are shabby and the men dressed in scruffy clothes but considering staff members are paid a pittance (the full time Psychologist working there only gets 40$ a month) they have made a huge effort to improve the lives of the patients.
We were all charmed by the gentle inquisitiveness and enthusiasm of the residents and they seemed charmed by our visit so everyone had a great time!
FYP is hoping to raise funds to complete the ‘family style’ home (like the one at Kalinovka) there. Only £3000 would complete two rooms!
Later on in the afternoon we returned ‘home’ to help the local village kids decorate the FYP bus ahead of our parade tomorrow to promote the ecological-social project we are working on with Anja.
Below the children enjoy a break on the FYP Maharishi bouncy castle.