ROOF projects

ROOF's objectives in orphanage programmes and at its Post-Orphanage Education Centre are to promote increased motivation, self-esteem and responsibility levels through:

• Instruction in basic school subjects;
• Instruction in life skills and skills directly related to employment;
• Improved quality of education provided in orphanages;
• Sponsorship of programmes that aim to break down prejudice toward orphans and social orphans;
• Provision of educational opportunities outside the institutional environment;
• Stimulation of creative development through non-traditional teaching methods and outlets for artistic expression;
• Location of jobs for our older students;
• Provision of career training and counselling, especially for our older students.

Specific Goals: To pass a wide knowledge base on to our students, keep them from falling behind in school, widen their horizons and support them socially and psychologically.

Results

• 12 Post-Orphanage students have gone on to higher education including: Moscow State Pedagogical University, Patrise Lumumb Friendship of the Nations Institute, The Russian Academy of Sport, Moscow College of Business Studies, Moscow State Social University, the Tax Inspectorate Institute, various legal institutes.
• 6 more Post-Orphanage students have completed their upper secondary education (11th grade).
• 23 students have completed their lower-secondary education with ROOF at the Post-Orphanage Education Centre.
• About 30 of our approx. 100 college-aged Post-Orphanage students are from psycho-neurological orphanages where they were given no education; after being deemed unteachable by the state, about 20 of these students are working steadily through their primary education, others through their middle-school education, and one has already reached the 10th grade (of 11).
• In an average year at the Post-Orphanage Education Centre, more than 10 of our approx. 100 students will advance by 2 or more years in school.
• 8 of our Post-Orphanage students from psycho-neurological orphanages have had their diagnoses of 'oligophrenia' or 'weak-mindedness' removed, giving them the right to work and to receive housing from the state (like their orphaned peers without such diagnoses). If ROOF had not helped these young people remove their diagnoses, they would have been condemned to a life of institutionalisation.
• ROOF has the overwhelming approval of orphanage directors with whom we work.
• It is common for our orphanage students to complete more than a single grade/class of school in one 8-month school year when working with our teachers; this means that children who have fallen behind are, indeed, catching up with their own age groups.
• 48 children from a psycho-neurological orphanage (in Belskoye-Ustye, Pskov region, 700 km from Moscow) who would not otherwise receive any education, are being taught the normal school curriculum by ROOF teachers. 17 more children from this orphanage participate in a weekend foster programme started by ROOF, and 6 'graduates' from Belskoye Ustye have moved into a 'social hotel' opened by ROOF, instead of being transferred to adult institutions.
• As the news of ROOF's work spreads, so too do the demands for ROOF programmes. New orphanages are waiting to work with us; we can only consider this possibility if we raise the budget to start programmes in these orphanages. Click here to explore some of these opportunities and become a sponsor or member.

 

ROOF Projects in Orphanages

ROOF programmes in each orphanage are designed according to the needs and desires of the children and with the intensive participation of the orphanage administration - particularly the director. From two to nine teachers work in each ROOF orphanage team; each team is lead by a curator, who is selected by the ROOF administration from among the team of teachers. The curator is responsible for maintaining relations with the orphanage administration and for constantly adapting ROOF's programmes to meet the changing needs of each orphanage. Lessons are usually held in small groups, although some classes are as large as twenty. ROOF teachers meet the following needs in nine orphanages:

• Non-mandatory instruction / tutoring to support students in their work at neighbourhood schools
• Mandatory classes for externat students in which ROOF teachers are the main teachers for children who have already been removed from neighbourhood schools. Such children (mostly teenagers) are enrolled in external schools (hence, 'externat') from which they are supposed to collect assignments and work by themselves
• School class teaching in 'internats' (orphanages inside which the children also study)
• Special classes that prepare teenagers who are already behind in school for entrance into ROOF's Post-Orphanage Education Centre, where they will in future years complete secondary school and decide whether to continue with further study. At the centre they will also receive help in finding employment
• Excursions to sites which have historical or literary significance, scientific or natural significance, to other towns
• Organising participation in seminars, sporting events and various clubs (including ROOF's English Club)

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