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[email protected]://www.friendshousemoscow.org/AVP and Draft Counselling
Striking out in new directions
Newsletter August 2013
The volunteer facilitators of the Alternatives to ViolenceProject (AVP) have been extending their work to new parts ofthe former Soviet Union. As well as running workshops inseveral regions of Russia, this year they also visited Baku, thecapital of Azerbaijan, and Tbilisi the capital of Georgia.Baku lies on the shore of the Caspian Sea with themountains of the Caucasus behind it. It is a city built on oil,which has been extracted here since the 10th Century. Thesurrounding land features white salt flats with natural pools ofoil seeping to the surface. At Yanar Dag (burning mountain)natural gas vents are continually aflame. Appropriately, aZoroastrian or Hindu Fire Temple is a local tourist attraction.Some time ago, AVP Russia facilitators met a psychologistfrom Baku who was visitingMoscow. She offered to helporganise AVP work inAzerbaijan. This summerthey were able to make a tripand start this new project.While there they gave aseminar at Baku SlavianskiUniversity on "Tolerance:communication skillswithout violence".They also talked withhospital doctors on "stress",and ran workshops on"Resentment and Forgiveness" and "Personal strategy ofchoosing a partner". Here is a comment from one participant:
Aerial view of BakuPhoto by Khortan (Wikimedia Commons)
Meanwhile the "For Our Sons"advice office, which gives help onmatters relating to illegal armyconscription and alternative service(conscientious objection), is dealingwith 30 to 40 consultations eachmonth.Most enquriies come from Kazanwhere the office is located, or fromsurrounding areas of Tatarstan (east ofMoscow). But they sometimes comefrom much further afield, for exampleNovosibirsk and Barnaul in Siberia,and Samara in the Volga region: areach of more than 2,000 km. In onerecent week they gave long-distanceconsultations to people in Tumen andProkopievsk (look them up on GoogleMaps). The word keeps spreading...
Kazan, Novosibirsk,Samara...
"I understand it's very important to communicate, and tocommunicate properly: not using interpretations, but facts.It's important to hear and also important to be heard. Youhelped me look at my relationships from the otherperspective."
FHM funds essential running costs for AVP Russia and the"For Our Sons" advice office. All work is by volunteers.
Дом Друзей в МосквеFriends House Moscow
From Baku the facilitators from AVP Russia wenton to nearby Tbilisi in Georgia (photo on right) for afriendly meeting with their Georgian counterparts(one of whom is a Quaker) and a discussion of possiblefuture collaboration.
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In Europe:Donations Secretary, FHMBrynmawr, Westbourne DriveLancaster LA1 5EE, U.K.
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FHM is funding three projects aimed at givingfostered and adopted children a better start in life, andpreventing family breakup.The very successful Foster Care School in Dzerzhinskhas now completed its third year of operation. A majorsuccess is that no children have been returned fromfostering or adoption back to orphanages.Meanwhile in Moscow, FHM has sponsored theeducational charity "Big Change" to research the needs offoster and adoptive parents, and identify gaps in provision.Findings show a key wish is for advice on how to map outthe best educational path for their children. Big Changeplans to launch a professional Information Centre to fill thisneed, starting from September 2013.
Supporting foster carers and orphans, keeping families together
New life for families and kids
In Russia, the vast majority of children in stateinstitutions are "social orphans" who have at least oneliving parent. They are there because ofdisability or often because of familycircumstances, abuse orneglect.A pilot project in Dzerzhinskby a group of psychologistsaims to prevent familybreakup, by supporting parentsand helping them to give updisruptive behaviour. The project workers offeredworkshops and special events for parents and children,helped to prepare documents, and even went to the courtto support parents there.As a result several families regained custody, as the courtdecided not to deprive the parents of their rights. Two
At the Foster Care School
Fixing broken familiescases against parents stopped at an earlystage, and children came back home,because of the obviously positive dynamicsin the families.Unfortunately it is not always such a goodstory. Some parents just cannot stopdrinking, or find the effort to turn theirlives around. But the number of cases ofdepriving parental rights, which used togrow year upon year in Dzerzhinsk, hasstabilised in 2013. This is a first sign thatthe project may be working.As well as funding the project, FHMsponsored a research exercise to evaluatethe results, led by professionals from theBritish Association of Social Workers andfrom Worcester University. We await theirfindings with interest.Russian doll photo by James Jordan via foter.com
Can you volunteer to help?Can you spare some time to help publicise the work of FHM and raise funds?Please email [email protected] - we would love to hear from you! Thank you!
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