Child Sponsorship background from Pushkin, Russia

SOS Children's Village Pushkin

The third Russian SOS Children's Village is located in Pushkin. The three hectares plot of land chosen for establishing the SOS Children's Village was given to SOS Children's Villages free of charge and borders a residential area. The children are well integrated into the local community and attend publicly-run schools and nurseries. Children admitted to SOS Children's Village St. Petersburg mostly come from state orphanages, where the situation is devastating as a result of overcrowding and lack of financial and personnel capacity.

The official opening of the SOS Children's Village St. Petersburg took place on 2 July 2000 in the presence of the president of SOS Children's Villages, representatives of the Russian government and numerous other guests of honour.

SOS Children's Village St. Petersburg comprises twelve family houses, a communal building, a multi-purpose hall, a garage, a workshop and houses for the village director and the SOS aunts (who support the SOS mothers and take care of the children when the mothers are on leave). Up to 84 children can find a new home in the twelve family houses.

Other SOS Projects in Pushkin

In order to meet the needs of the growing number of youths who have already outgrown the SOS Children's Village, an SOS Youth Home was established in St. Petersburg in autumn 2003. The youths can stay there during vocational training or higher education and prepare themselves for an independent life.

The Family Strengthening Programmes in Krasnogvardeisky and Admiralteisky offer access to essential services for children’s development (eg. educational, nutritional and health support, social skills) and support families to protect and care for their children. The programmes also aim at linking families with income generating activities and offer help to improve the parents’ parenting skills.

Background to Pushkin

Pushkin, a town of about 200,000 inhabitants, is seventeen kilometres south of St. Petersburg. Pushkin is well known for its important cultural and art treasures, for example the summer residence of the Russian tsars. The town was named after the Russian poet Alexander Pushkin.