Moscow Orphanage No 6

Where? Moscow, 123423 Karamyshevskaya nab. Bldg. 6. Tel. 191-4366
Who? About 25 children between the ages of 3 and 18, Director: Zoya Solovyova

There are currently 32 children housed at Moscow Orphanage No.6. The director, Zoya Mikhailovna Solovyova and her carers have made the orphanage a really comfortable home, in which the children are loved and cared for. Much emphasis is placed on the children's school studies. ROOF has been helping Orphanage No. 6 with education since 1998-99. 2006-07 marks the second time that classes have been suspended due to lack of finance. The first time was during the 2002-03 school year. The children greatly miss their classes and teachers during times when classes are suspended and we are now seeking a sponsor for this important program, which couples tutorials in all school subjects with a social 'abilitation' program that helps kids learn how to live in society and take care of their own personal needs. (The programme at Moscow's Orphanage No. 6 was previously sponsored by the Ford Foundation.)

Washing dishes History and
Short Description

Orphanage No. 6 has been open since 1995. Amongst orphanages in the Russian system, No. 6 takes a fairly uncommon approach to the children's upbringing; one which attempts to create a sense of family within the orphanage itself. Older children take care of younger children. There is no school within the orphanage. School age children who live at orphanage No. 6 attend classes in mainstream Russian schools with children from ordinary Moscow families. However, a number of the older children no longer attend mainstream Russian schools but are instead enrolled in 'externats'. The philosophy of orphanage No. 6 is that there should be an individual approach to every child. Teachers who work at this orphanage are more than just professional educators, they show parental love to the children with whom they work.

Compassion, creativity and innovation is important here. The orphanage, for example, offers its students classes in computer literacy. The orphanage has a sports club where children can play football, tennis, volleyball and gymnastics. They often also organise outdoor hikes.

The orphanage of about 30 children is subdivided in to smaller, family-type groups, each of which has its own name. Each of the groups is headed by a number of vospitateli who act as substitute parents. One of the groups actually is named 'Family'. Teachers Pavel Alekseyevich and Tamara Grigoryevna are the Vospitateli-parents of this group.

ROOF started working in No. 6 in the 1998-99 academic year. This is really a model orphanage for ROOF programmes because the orphanage administration strives so hard to create a familial atmosphere of support and never shy away from discussing the most difficult problems of any of the children with our teachers. In short, educational programmes here are a model for teamwork success.

In the 1998-99 school year not a single student from No. 6 was held back a year in the neighbourhood school and several of our externat students completed more than 1 year's worth of work, with good grades on their exams. Since that year the good results have continued to roll in, hindered only by infrequent funding gaps in our program.

Back to the previous page

The shortcut web address for this page is: www.roofnet.org/6
(If you wish, you can add this to your bookmarks/favorites)