Along the road to Lake Baikal- we made our sacred site stop... (there are many many in Buryatia).  This one is the mountain by-pass. People stop and ask the spirits to guide them on a safe journey. (Once Diane and Andrei were in a rush and did not stop... sure enough they had a flat tire ½ mile down the road!) We set up a little table with vodka, and appetizers (Zakuska) We had a little picnic and shared our food and drink with the spirits. We then tied pices of a ceremonial tie on the branches and made a wish. The wishes are moved by the wind, and delivered to the spiritual world. FYI: May 29^th and snow in Siberia!!

HOPE

Three years ago on a cold fall morning, Andrei, Diane and Kim sat at Kim’s kitchen table and wondered what could be done for the vulnerable orphans that age out of the orphanage. So we thought and thought and came up with Help Orphans Pursue an Education-HOPE. With the recommendation of the orphanage directors (there are 8 in Buryatia with orphans graduating high school) we could find the kids with the best potential and aid them to complete their collge education. In Russia, orphans have certain rights to education. The state pays tuition, gives the orphans housing plus a $8.00 stipend per month. This program has not been utilized because the kids can not survive on the stipend. We saw our opportunity! Beginning in the summer of 2007 we sent our first group of students to take the enterance exams for University. The entrance exams are very difficult in Siberia, especially for orphans. Most children are groomed from a young age to prepare for these exams. Of the 14 students who originally sat for the exam only 10 passed. So our inaugural class of 10 began at several Buryat Universiies in the fall 2007. The children are all pursuing a 4-5 year college degree. Unfortuantely during our first year three students failed to complete the course.

Sponsoring families in America support the students with a allowence of 5,000 Rubles ($200) per month. This money allows for the students personal expenses..clothing, books, supplies etc. For our students it is the difference of being able to attend college or not. We also hope that it allows them to be more accepted as typical children without the stigma of  “the poor orphan.”

In the fall of 2008 we cooperated with the local medical university and supported 2 students who were already registered students but unable to continue due to lack of financial support.  We also had 5 students begin at the University level.

Last night I had the pleasure of meeting all of the HOPE Students.  We currently have 6 from the original group (one girl did not return because she had a baby), 2 medical students, and 5 from the second group. 13 in total. We have two students who are still in need of sponsorship- if possible please contact Kim at kkipp@comcast.net.

 

 I was so touched by the sweetness and appreciation expressed by the students. (Mom and Dad, Lulov needlepointed the most beautiful piece for you!) and I have many many photo books to send to the sponsoring families.  The kids wanted to hear all about the families who sponsor them in America. (Lynne, when I told Vitaly about you and your 5 lovely children (my nieces/nephews) he said  “and I am number 6!”  It was very cute.

This spring there are 85 graduating high school orphans at the 8 facilities. The Ministry of Education  told us they only expect 3 or 4 to pass the enterence exam. We will know in late summer if we are in need of sponsors for a few.

These next two boys are available for adoption... more news to follow!!!

Malyeshok

We arrived at Maleyshok and were royally greeted by Helena. First we enjoyed a beautiful performance by one of the groupas. Malyshok is home to typically 80 children aged 4-to 7. They currently have 100 and cannot accept any new arrivals. The entire facility is divided into groupas of 12 who are arranged by age.  The kids put on a beautiful show, sang, read poetry and danced for us. They had on there Sunday bests with the big beautiful bows!  We then toured the facility and spoke at length about the current needs list for the orphanage. All the budgets in Russia have been cut by 20% due to the crisis and drop in oil prices.

The promotion of Foster Families has been very successful in Russia. Last year Malyshok placed 70 kids in Foster Families.

The director of the Kamenesky drove down a couple hours to meet with us. We currently have three students in the HOPE program from this orphanage that has children 7-18. We talked about the challenges the director faces and the immediate needs of the kids.

Overall though I came away with a feeling that these children are well taken care of and the Nanny’s seem to truly love the children. To be born with a disability though is very very hard for these children. Russia has a much more advanced system to take care of her orphans than Mongolia does.

Operation Chance…

In 2008 Elena made a unique request of BRAFF: Could we help three precious children living at Malyeshok who were designated to be sent to the orphanage Byangol if they were not adopted soon. Byangol is an orphanage in northern Siberia that houses approx 300 severely disabled orphan childen. One half of the kids are bed ridden and incapable of caring and feeding themselves. This is the last stop for these children, there is no hope of ever leaving Byangol once you are sent there. There are no therapies, no education, or hope. It is the grimmest facility Diane snd Andrei have ever seen. Elena cares so deeply for the children under her care at Malyeshok that she coud not sit idly and let these three childen who are in perfect mental health but have physical disabilities that effect their ability to communicate.

      Kristna is a 4 year old girl who they estimate has 10% of her hearing.

      Sasha is a 5 year old boy who is deaf and mute.

      Anna is a 7 year old girl who was born cleft lip and palate. Because she is unrepaired palate she does not speak very well.

BRAFF obtained visas for the three children and lined up doctors in America who would give us an opinion on the childrens' medical conditions and potentials. Our ultimate goal was to find families for these three children where they could receive the medical care to reach their fullest potential.  

During the next months that ensued BRAFF worked tirelessly to try to locate families that might be interested in meeting the children when they came. 

Our prayers were answered beyond our hopes when we found families for all of the children! A young  couple in southern Illinois who have a lot of experience with hearing  issues have almost competed the process to adopt Kristina AND Sasha.! While a family in Wisconsin is pursuing the adoption of Anna..they have six children already!

Russia is one of the most expensive countries to adopt from and these will requires two trips to Ulan Ude. Both families have requested that we use the funds raised to bring the children here to be put toward the ADOPTION COSTS. All Opertion Chance Funds were divided in three and distributed to the families.

I personally feel that this is one fo BRAFF’s finer moments!

Photos::

1- Here is Kim with the three children at Malyeshok.

2- Anna looks at the picture book of her new family with Julia.

Buryat Traffic Jam!!!!

Dedsyatnikovo Village- The “Old Believers “Village- In 1760’s during the reign of Katherine the Great, a religious split occurred in the Orthodox religion. The “old Believers” were loyal to the old ways and refused to convert to the modern orthodox. They do not believe in the Holy Spirit but only the Father and Son. They cross with two fingers instead of the traditional three. The Old Believers  were exiled to Siberia from Moscow. They traveled by foot and it took approximately a year to reach their destination.  Some of the old believers settled in Alaska at the same time. The are known there by the name “Starovere.” The village we visited has a population of 800 and are self-sufficient. No electricity, no mechanical devices, parents make all decisions for their children- like arranging marriages..

They served us a wonderful meal, sang for us then we advanced to a prearranged marriage for Kim And Andrei! Note- The bride cried and the groom was scared to death!

After a very long night including a rousing game of crazy 8's at 1:30 am for Kim, Dylan and Jack, we took a tour at the famous Budhist Temple -Datsun. It is about a 45 minute drive and our timing was perfect as we were there to enjoy their morning chantings. About 150 monks were beautiful in their harmoneous chanting.  It is very cold though, and actually snowed this morning. You have to LOVE Siberia!!!

Evolgensky Buddhist Datsun Temple

Buddhism philosophy was brought up to Buryatia from Tibet via Mongolia about 1250 as Ghenghis Khan’s armies swept up into Russia.  As the Buryat tribes already had their “pagen” beliefs, Buddhism melded together with these beliefs and – eventually – Buryatia became the Center for Buddhism in Russia in 1906. 

During the Stalin Repression Period (1935-38) there were 37 temples around Buryatia.  At this time Stalin purged the area and destroyed the majority of datsuns and kept some as “gulags” for the prisoners exiled to Siberia to work on the building of the TransSiberian Railroad.  Over 1500 lamas/monks were shot and a few escaped to China and Mongolia. 

The Evolgensky Datsun was allowed after WWII to be open but NOT operational.  After periostroika the Dahli Llama came twice to Ulan Ude to work with the local llama. China now refuses to let the Dahli Llama visit Russia or they will discontinue trade.. Datsun is the largest Temple  in Buryatia and has a school for monks, a healing center and numerous temples for the Buryats to come for consultations and chanting.

Nancy, Jessie and the boys retired to take short naps while Kim, Diane and Andrei met with the “Director of the Agency for family and Child Matters.” This agency oversees all matters that relate to mother and child. The orphanages as well as the education of all children fall under this department.

Larissa called in three other employees to join Julia and us in our discussion. We gave a brief summary of BRAFFs work in the orphanages as well as the HOPE ( Help Orphans Pursue Education Programs.)

There are 8 orphanages for children from 7-16 in Borates. Of the graduating High School student that could be considered by HOPE for college sponsorship there are only 3-5 that will be able to qualify by passing the very difficult entrance exams to the University. There are 83 children graduating High School.

The officials were very excited about our HOPE Program and asked if they could join us on Thursday night when we all get together (our current 15 students) and they also want to invite the press.

 The orphanage director’s report to this agency. Communication will now be enhanced between BRAFF and the directors and the potential students as candidates. Our goal is to have the directors recommend the most viable candidates for our sponsorship and prepare them for the exams from a much earlier time.

Dom Robunka’s children used to have use of three dachas out in the country that they rotated the children through so they could all benefit form the countryside and fresh air. The government has taken one away and Dr Natalie is worried they will loose the other two. Government officials are “ eyeing” the cottages.

The immediate needs for the orphanage are for diapers, antibiotics and liquid vitamins. We will be receiving a detailed 3-year plan in the next couple days.

Here are some general pictures of the beautiful children and facility.

We visited the three-year-old children and spent a lot of time just playing. There are two children that the staff believes will be available for International adoption.

1.)   Kirril- He is a beautiful 3 year old boy whose diagnosis is his right leg is 5 mm shorter that his right. His mother’s rights were terminated 6 months ago. I have a  video clip of him walking.- No limp noticeable.

2.)   Vikta- Beautiful 3 year old little boy with Cerebral Palsy. Mentally his development is on target. The director highly recommends Vikta for adoption. His favorite phrase is “ I want to do it myself!”

We visited the children under 12 months of age. The rooms are old but very clean. The Soviet government sets a curriculum for the children and Dr. Natalia is very commited to primarily early intervention techniques and BRAFF donations are very evident. Here are some pictures of the children. These kids are not eligible for International Adoption, as they remain available to the Russian population for either adoption or fostering. There are three children that it is safe to assume no Russian would be interested in and they are

Vitally- orange blue tights. He has been diagnosed with a “congenital brain issue’s” As is common with Russian Medical records terms are unfamiliar to western medicine. The nurses all believe he is reaching all age appropriate developmental stations and he is absolutely beautiful! Under 1 year old.

We had time to stop at the hotel, drop off our luggage and make our 11.00am meeting at Dom Rubonka. Dom Rubonka (house of children) is called the ‘little stork .‘ This orphanage houses children age 0-3. There are currently 118 children living at the orphanage. In the past several years the Russian government has placed a high priority on moving children out of the orphanage and into foster care situations. The government pays 8000 Rubles/month ($266) n the surface this seems like a very good idea but they do not have the internal controls to monitor it. This is considered a lot of money a Doctor earns on average in Ulan Ude   12,000 Rubles/month ( $440.) The current system allows for 5 foster children per home and is being abused in multiple ways… Dom Robunka divides the children into groups of 12 depending on age. Dr Nina and Natalia gave us a tour of the facility. We started with the special needs room. The children suffer from primarily mentally debilitating conditions. There are two children living with the group whom the staff believes do not have significant mental deficiencies but rather only physical disabilities.

Sergia and Natasha are the two beautiful angels. Diagnosed with “Deficiencies”

 

The children are all exposed to a lot of early intervention type stimulation to determine if “potential” exists. It is at this young stage that the first separation of the children occurs. 

Few of these special needs children will be allowed to continue on to the regular orphanage system while the majority will be sent to Byangol where it is little less than a death sentence.     

We arrived safely at the Ulan Ude Airport in South Central Siberia. Jessie took a photo and was quickly told that it was not allowed! Julia and Dr. Margeita (head of BRAFF volunteer committee) were amongst the group at the airport. We are exhausted…this time the jet lag really seemed to get us!

 

"Let the wild rumpus begin."

We awoke this morning and visited the Kremlin/Red Square.  Unfortunately it was a Monday and non of the museums/attractions were open.  The pictures are as follows::

1&2- Entrance to the Kremlin with the General Zhukov statue.

        Germany got within 15 km of Moscow while holding St. Petersburg under siege for 900 days. Russians valiantly held off the Germans during brutal conditions. Zhukov was extremely popular with the Russians and this concerned Stalin greatly.  After the win over Germany in WWII, General Zhukov  never received recognition for his great accomplishments.  In 1945, Zhukov rode at the head of the parade waving the German battalion Banners in Red Square . Stalin then sent Zhukov to fight Japanese forces in Mongolia and Machuria. In 1960's Zhuki finally received his recognition with this monument.

3- Lenin's Tomb (& yellow parliament building behind)

4- Lenin's Library from inside the square

5- Me and the boys in front of St. Basil's

6- Jack and Dylan with "Ivan the Terrible"

After two very "civilized" days in Moscow, we are at the airport awaiting our night flight to Ulan-Ude, Siberia.  We just checked our luggage to a rude awakening.  Russia allows luggage to be 40 lbs to an international flight, but only 20 lbs for a domestic flight.  The Kipps were over 90 lbs over the limit- 60 of which being Jelly Belly's for the orphanages!  So after paying the equivalent of $366 in fees, we are off.  We will be traveling 5 times zones and arrive to a busy day of tours and meetings immediately in Buryatia.

BRAVO, BRAVO

Jessie and I attended the Bolshevik production of Swan Lake this evening. It was Fantastic. The original Bolshoi buildoing has been under construction for many years so the shows have been put on at the “new stage” across the street.  The dancers are incredible athletes; the costumes and stage decorations were phenomenal but most admirable were the flawless production! The music and performance were perfect! It is uplifting to see so many men standing and cheering and yelling BRAVO for their favorite ballet artist! Andrei says it is because Russian men are confident with them selves and their masculinity!!!

 

What a wonderful day…late Monday we fly the red-eye to Ulan Ude Buryatia. Just when we were starting to get the hang of this time zone we loose another 8 hours.