“Homes4Orphans is an opportunity for orphans to contribute to their critical need for future housing through sweat equity.”
As our staff travels and meet kids who we have known for a number of years, we find many are adapting well and are thriving. Unfortunately we encounter young people who are truly struggling.
When orphans leave the orphanages, most of them go to technical schools where they stay in dormitories for 2 – 3 years. Not too different from our youth in the U.S. but what happens later, after they’ve graduated from these technical schools? It would be a rare exception for an orphan to get a job after tech school that would actually pay the rent. A lot of graduates face the dreaded but inevitable return to their “families”. After all the abuse they suffered there which resulted in them being placed in an orphanage in the first place they return to these same families that, as a rule, continue living the same destructive life styles. But for many it’s the only alternative. Some, those who don’t have anywhere to go, may get very lucky and receive a free apartment from the government.
This past February George spent a day with Luda Isakova, a girl who accepted Christ at one of our summer camps back in the 1990’s. Luda is quite a good artist, but couldn’t figure out how to make a living with her art. Hence, she’s a baker. This year she was evicted from her one room in the dorm and spent most of her limited resources on an attorney to defend her rights. (She was evicted because the apartment building was condemned). Luda had nowhere to go and was paralyzed with fear. Because we knew some people who befriended her almost 15 years ago, we were able to provide some temporary assistance to get her through this difficult time.
Housing is a major challenge throughout Russia. It is expensive for everyone, but for orphans who don’t have family to help with a down payment or inheriting a place from a grandmother, it is a major obstacle. Many that I know live in a one room dormitory, sharing a communal bathroom and kitchen. Frequently, these dwellings aren’t adequately heated and are contaminated with mold.
Last year we helped one of the young families in Kostroma put in a toilet and bathtub in their own room so they didn’t have to share with four other families. But without a formalized program, we can only respond to a small number of requests on an annual basis, and typically when there are special situations. Orphan’s Tree is testing a new program called Homes4Orphans. Using the working title of H4O, this program would have the following benefits for Russian orphans:
• Provide a safe, healthy home enabling the establishment of an independent life and the potential for building a happy family.
• Older orphans would invest into their future home by manually working on their apartment and having the opportunity to choose some of the colors, wallpaper, etc.
• By investing their time, they’ll have a sense of accomplishment and pride of ownership.
• Based on the experience of Habitat for Humanity, owners would be required to take a course on home ownership, including budgeting.
• Legal advice would be provided to ensure that any home being renovated would be legally owned by the orphan.
• By having their own home, they begin to build equity in their future family.