The dry after I after my Christmas vacation five days was back in Minsk, it was already back further:
After Надешда (GV "hope") along with seven residents of the home Novinki adults and seven other volunteers at the winter camp of
Kanikuli . Надешда is actually a convalescent home for children from the heavily contaminated by radioactivity Areas is good and the middle of nowhere 80 kilometers from Minsk. The planning of the winter camp was taken over Dasha, we were only involved when shopping for the camp.
Before we start, however, could we had to pick up participants from the home in Novinki, they were almost all ready-coated with their little bags in the yard, waiting for us, others passing by asked "ride into the camp?" and was told always a joyous "Jaaaa. All participants were provided a ride and we even got to a little "extra" a babushka.
Once in Nadezhda we moved into our first once a small house, always volunteers and residents from Novinki. In our house lived as a volunteer Hannah, Vika and I and then mixing and Karl.
The next week we spent with talking, drinking tea, painting, walking, eating (three times daily Belarusian means (warm rich) food ...), moreover, we were once in a ceramics workshop and once we have developed a large male painted. Twice a week, it was also once a massage and aromatherapy. Very beautiful was our visit to the disco for the children in Nadezhda, Hannah, Elias, Tim and I then attended an evening with Oleg and Karl.
Karl, although deaf, but seems to still hear some sounds or rest in any case the Perceived bass, so he then was totally fascinated midst of these children (which also all have the same size as it were, since it is very small) and just danced with times and had total fun. Or Oleg, who has his dancing skills at the same time Hannah and I tried.
Karl saw in our little house that it was never too quiet, for he liked to tell us the day's experiences with many gestures and sounds, we could suggest a few days quite well. It was great to be particularly accessible derogative grinning head shaking when we showed him that he should go to bed.
Mischa turned out after a short time as an artist, most of the time of the day painting, smoking and drinking tea (the tea had to always be very very very black, otherwise it was not a tea). His favorite subject was the Virgin Mary, he was painting during the day in all sorts of colors, I also liked very well, this picture that he has given me and that now hangs in my room on the wall:
All in all, the camp was a good time, which provided for the residents of the homes a wonderful change from the dreary home life and created for us volunteers a lot of fond memories, like were we noticed yesterday, when to Elias, Tim, Hannah and I were talking at a party with Karl's gestures, which the others could not understand, of course.
I'm looking forward very much to the second adult summer camp, and especially with the children from Novinki that even be in the summer.
Nevertheless, I have a lot of the camp for thought, I often had the thought in mind that the children will later end up on my station even in the adult home. In addition, Dasha study several times to me about my plan special education and I talked it had to promise very well to think again.
The last week I was finally back in all my projects and am also glad to now have life again and I dedicate all my projects to full again. My work is still fun and I can finally just as good Russian, that I do not always rumstottere and keep me can already times, I find it much easier. This week I was accompanied by another German volunteer Novinki, as they currently analyzing a new project to show her all the stations and then to see how bad it is but that is not a volunteer there, I was encouraged that I will be happy by moving my projects over time so that I can do it even one more day to go to Novinki. To what extent I time, however, creates, I see. Thursday I had even then also met the new director in Novinki, who welcomed us very friendly and has also enjoyed it, maybe get a new volunteer, who knows, maybe he also changes other things in Novinki.
I've actually done so, introduce gradually all the projects and I've still not managed to introduce Novinki also, I want that now make up for that yet. The text I wrote for my project report.
The children's home in Novinki:
The project found that I have prepared in advance, the biggest headache is the now that makes me most: The "home for children with special features in the psychophysical development in Novinki. Novinki is now turned my detes village on the outskirts of Minsk. In the home are approximately 200 children, with children in the fall usually means more children and young adults. The residents all have different disabilities, the severely mentally and physically handicapped of mild impairments to developmental delays that have been reinforced by the home life. The home consists of five stations: girls, boys, clothes Santander children, lying and the station for people with severe and multiple disabilities. The division is largely incomprehensible to the small children's ward are the children no longer really young children, the youngest are four or five and the oldest 20 years old. The classification is based on well together at all the degrees of disability, so that children who are only physically disabled, with severely mentally handicapped children. Individual support is thus no longer possible.
I work on small children's ward. There are approximately 40 children. There are three bedrooms in the front two children are housed, all of which are still relatively fit, only a few of them are the most time in bed, while the children in the back room of the station permanently in bed. On the small children's ward there are two classrooms and a "relaxation room". The children all have different disabilities, there are children with Down syndrome, autism, mentally handicapped children, but children also have the only light physical disabilities.
Most of the time I spend with the children from the front part on the rooms or in the classroom, where I try to occupy the children, which usually go down in the rather chaotic classroom. Now I know most children already know what I can do well with them or what they found particularly fun. I was also fortunate that the small children's ward is a nice teacher works that gave me first explain what I do with individual children, and that recently the German Organization Gumpo eV was with two physiotherapists in Novinki who gave me then shown again, what can I do with the children, the most time in bed.
When I come in the morning, I will usually greeted by the children, which are washed ready and dressed and waiting in the corridor to the teachers. in these children a child is talking, that can, I usually answer the first question, whether I come back the next day. During the day I will answer that question yet often. If then there are the teachers, I make sure that the children had to stay in the rooms and decide then if I have first to these children or go but am just going to class. Instruction is often no real lessons, because teachers are often concerned only with individual children, the others are simply ignored, but at least there is in the classroom as opposed to the other room and the hallway toys and the classroom provides a little variety to stupid Everyday life in the room where the only distraction is the television. How is the course looks like depends always on the working teacher, there are very dedicated, but also those left by the children themselves. Some useful things to be practiced in everyday life, such as grasping or. Otherwise, it can also happen that the TV is turned on and the are children from "parked".
In the course of the morning I try to deal with all the children to at least briefly. With the few who can talk I talk, I play with Andre, with many I have things now, which I know they like them. Xenia, for example, likes it when you talk to her, many times I tell her simply things in German, as they are always very pleased when she kindly responds. Pasha, I release usually choked once from its straitjacket of a nasty tights he wears because he would otherwise put his hands in the neck to him, I then look for a toy to which he responded, or do finger games with him, so that his hands are distracted and he did not put in the mouth. Speaking with Jascha I practice, it is one of the few children who have learned to speak and, in contrast to the other kind, he speaks clearly and total comments, the whole time all he sees. So the time is up to the "Poldnik", a kind of snack made of pureed apples, fast clock by 11 and then is usually around then also sometimes attend if the weather is nice we walk or sometimes I sit with the children in the room and occupy me with them. Counter shortly after 12 are then built up in the hallway there are two small tables and lunch. Vadim's where I often help with eating, or feed one of the children, who can not even eat. After lunch, the children moved out and put to bed and I say goodbye, not without a few more times to answer the question, when do I get back, and why do I now have to go. Usually I am then, even though it only four hours were made and I am glad to get back into the fresh air, away from the stench, but often sad because I can go easy, but the children must remain in the home. Even if has done in recent years, much in Novinki and the home is mainly outside now renovated and has many playgrounds, it is a sad place. The children are totally excluded from society, the handling is rough in the home, loving touch or is it too little speech. The sisters are not educated, they work in 24 hour shifts work, permanent bad mood or stressed out and because they are usually responsible for three of 20 children is a do not address the individual needs of children possible. By living in the home worsen the disabilities of the children and many of them develop ticks to calm herself, she swings back and hurt themselves or are completely apathetic and not react or start to cry when you approach them. The visible are the moments that make me Novinki always very sad, I draw my motivation then more of the children. To see how they greet each other when dealing with employs them, or sometimes just sitting there with them on her lap and talks to them. All in all, but I'm happy to Novinki because I work with children is fun and scary because the kids show me again and again directly to why I'm there and my work has a meaning.
