Ah, Consumerism

Everyone claims to not be a big consumer. Ben and I certainly try not to be. We drive old cars. We don't have cable or fancy gadgets. We live below our means. We basically try to minimize the stuff in our life and spend our energies on what we think is important.

But we're still American.

We pack light when we travel--1 carry on and 1 checked bag max between the 2 of us. We pack, pare things down, and pack again. But, we think, it's still important to be prepared. For our trip to Russia, we brought clothes to span many occasions (though I must say we weren't prepared for rock climbing in the village). For footwear, I brought a pair of flip-flops for inside the orphanage, some sneakers for physical activities, summer canvas shoes for every day, and a pair of nicer shoes for Moscow. All, I thought, pretty reasonable.

On the day we went to the history museum, Katya came in my room. She noticed my Moscow shoes, then investigated the rest. She counted . . . "Adeen, dva, tre . . . chetirye?!?" Four?!? she asked me. I was mortified.

It's not so much that I wish Katya had more shoes (though I am sure it would be nice). Russian culture is rooted in collectivism, much like the disciples in Acts who shared what they had. The orphanage has a shoe-shelf, and kids grab a pair as they need them. This is their culture, and it works, to a degree. (Notice Stas's shoes in the photo above--they're two sizes too small and purple.)

But Katya makes a point--no one really needs four pairs of shoes, let alone the ghastly number most of us have in our closets. While we can easily justify buying them, and different cultures have different requirements, this illustrated the fundamental excess and entitlement that is a part of our culture.

I see it in the way we give as well. Americans love to give stuff--I do. And, with our place at the top of the world market (at least for a time), this is good--we have a responsibility to share what we have. But abandoned children don't crave stuff. They crave human contact, committment, someone to look them in the eye and tell them they matter. They yearn for deep and abiding love.

Among all the wonderful gifts we brought to the orphanage, nothing brought more excitement than letters. Thankfully, the most primal needs of food, clothing, and shelter are met at Sovietsk, though that isn't true everywhere. Still, times are tight, and the staff was thankful that we eased some financial burden by bringing both necessities and extras. But they were absolutely delighted to hear that each child received 3 letters.

I can't exagerrate what your love can do for these children. Financial generosity is wonderful, and very much needed, and everyone is grateful for it. But the love in and around the giving goes so much further.

History, Part I

We think it's important to speak from a broad perspective as to why there are so many orphaned children in Russia and why their circumstances are so dire. So, to add a little bit of historical perspective to the current dilemma, here goes...


The Marxist philosophy of politics and economics, to which Lenin and his comrades adhered at least in the beginning, extended to family life. Under Marxism, gender roles are considered hypocritical. Tasks that were put on women's shoulders in Imperial Russia were, in an ideal socialist society, given over to the public. So things like cleaning, cooking, and childcare would be carried out as a sort of co-op.



What happened in the Soviet Union as a result of applying this bit of Marxism really caused some trouble. According to Marx, marriage and family are unnecessary and so divorce becomes very easy. A piece of Soviet legislation called the Family Code of 1926 attempted to make these practices into law. Civil marriage replaced religious marriage and a divorce could be obtained simply by informing the other partner. As a result, during the 1920s divorce was on the rise in the Soviet Union. By 1926 the divorce rate was at about 50 percent.



The impact of this sharp rise in broken families meant that the state had to look after the children who were abandoned by these dissolved marriages. In the first two decades of the Soviet Union's existence the streets of cities and towns throughout the country were flushed with hundreds of thousands of orphaned and abandoned children.



The sudden appearance of so many orphaned children cannot solely be blamed on the Family Code of 1926; most of the responsibility should be shared by the civil war (1918-1921) and the forced collectivization of farms that took place under Stalin in the 1930s. These two events devastated the population through death by war, disease, and starvation. Some of the children living on the streets were taken into state-run orphanages, most of which were poorly provisioned. Others became the foster children of farming families where they worked as agricultural laborers--an exploitative situation for most kids, no doubt.


For further reading, I would suggest Geoffrey Hosking's Russia and the Russians: A History

Check back later for Part II...

Visit Dan's blog

Please visit my brother Dan's blog at http://danieljclark.typepad.com/

He works for Children's HopeChest.

For the next 8 posts or so he is going to do a day-by-day reflective journal of his recent trip to Uganda. His visit represents the next stage of Children's HopeChest's efforts to expand their care for children in Africa.

What a Difference a Year Makes

On our trip, we gained some perspective on what our sponsors and donors have done for the kids at Sovietsk.

Thanks to Sovietsk Supporters, we delivered:

-A year's worth of school supplies: notebooks, pens, clay, paints, drawing pads, craft paper, glue, markers, and more

-A year's worth of hygiene supplies: shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, more

-Important life-enhancing and educational items: a globe (featuring Indianapolis!), a guitar, soccer balls, volleyballs, puzzles, games

-Some fun: movies, cake, and ice cream :)

-Enough extra $ for bikes and skis--transportation and exercise

-Home supplies for recent graduates: tea kettles, pots and pans, desk organizers

-Thank you gifts to the wonderful orphanage staff

-Handmade, personalized hats & scarves--2 for each child!

-THREE LETTERS for each child! This was by far the most exciting delivery.

Over the course of the last year, based on sponsor support:

-Over half of all kids at Sovietsk have sponsors who provide financially and write regularly.

-Two older boys have obtained driver's licenses and have even worked and saved to buy their own cars. Their job prospects are now exponentially higher, and they are very proud to be 'members of society,' as Galina has said.

-One girl has spent the year traveling to Kirov City for special classes. She has just entered medical academy--unheard of for an orphanage grad!

-Sovietsk students have succeeded in soccer competitions and music competitions, lifting self-esteem and building relationships with children beyond the orphanage.

-The children have new tutors and learn new skills: cooking, gardening, cleaning, maintenance. They have extra adults in their life and are now better prepared for the outside world.

-The orphanage gained a psychologist and speech therapist to assist the children. Insitutionalized children have often experienced great trauma and loss in their little lives, and they are often severely delayed. Galina shared a story of a 9 yr old boy who came to the orphanage last year with severe Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, often dissociating into a catatonic state or melting down in certain situations. By the end of the year, he had found a home at Sovietsk and greets Galina with a huge hug when he sees her. There are still strides to go, but they have come so far.

So, THANK YOU, from the kids. Your impact is greater than you will ever know.

Fishing trip

On the morning of our fishing trip I was filled with anticipation and trepidation. It was my first time really going off on my own there without Sarah there to give me constant moral support. As I've alluded to in previous posts, conversation doesn't flow freely from me, so Sarah is always keen to encourage me to strike up a conversation with these kids even if it's about something rather mundane.

After breakfast, Misha and I headed down to what I thought would three or four teenage guys waiting for us in the bus. But it was only Andrey and the bus driver, Vovo. I asked Andrey if the other guys were sleeping. He said that they couldn't come because they were working (chopping wood and other odd jobs around the village). As it turns out, the other boys were sleeping. No one had woken them up. I don't know if Andrey had anything to do with it or not, and I didn't press the issue later after I found out.

After about a thirty minute bus ride on Russian country roads we got to a small lake with a surrounding village. We had three fishing poles and four people so I chose to observe at first. Andrey and Vovo had their own poles so Misha and I had to alternate. Vovo caught a fish almost immediately, and he pretty much kept up that pace the entire time. A few minutes later Andrey caught one, too. Misha and I didn't do so well--we didn't catch many fish and the ones we did catch were too small to eat. Vovo told us that the orphanage cats could eat what we caught. I knew this was probably a joke at my expense, but since I like cats I decided it was a nice thing for me to do.

When I wasn't manning a pole I just sat there and took in the nice view. I can see why people like to fish--it's pretty relaxing and fish are yummy. But the best part of our morning came when Andrey caught the biggest fish out of all of us. When he started to pull it in Vovo nearly tripped over his own pole getting there to lend a hand. We all made a big deal about it and I could tell that Andrey was quite proud. The next day, Misha and I overheard him telling someone the story of how he caught the biggest fish.

Maybe that's why Andrey didn't wake the other boys--he wanted all of our attention. It might sound base but it's perfectly understandable considering that for most of his eighteen years he has been ignored and abandoned by adults. Even though I was disappointed that I didn't get to spend more time with the other guys, I was glad that Andrey got to feel important for a morning.

Unexpect the Expected

Daniel, Ben's brother, leads trips to Russia frequently as part of his role with Children's HopeChest. His mantra is 'Unexpect the Expected.'

Yes, when traveling in Russia, Expecting the Unexpected isn't enough.

As this was our 3rd visit to Russian orphanages, we were pretty confident of what to expect: reserved children and caregivers, regimented schedules, and somewhat vague expectations from our Russian hosts. We received Sovietsk's schedule ahead of time, and it resembled a typical orphanage day:

9:00 Out of bed

9:30 Breakfast

10-12:30 Programming

1:00 Lunch

2:00 Nap

3-5:30 Programming

6:00 Supper

7-8:30 Open

9:00 Bedtime

We thought we would have 15 kids (the rest were away at summer camp) ages 9-18. So, we planned accordingly. We knew programming was ours to fill: crafts, letter-writing, outings, even a mini-olympics complete with team flags and opening ceremonies. We knew to be flexible, but we knew we had to be prepared. We sent our programming ahead of time for Russian approval. We had our plans A-Z ready to go--we thought we had unexpected the expected.

And THEN, just before we left for the airport, we learned we would only have 8 kids and 7 of them would be over 14.

Balloon soccer would be a major flop.

We knew we would have to do some serious revamping and improvisation, but we were in a pinch. Thank God for Galina!

Upon arrival in Sovietsk, Galina, the director, called us into our office. She informed us that our plan wouldn't work (we knew!). No talent show. No caregiver's tea. No movie night. No cafe visit. But, she seized on our request to have the children teach us something they know. What followed was among the most remarkable week of our lives--far beyond anything we could have even unexpected.

Galina was a lovely combination of organized and laid-back. She created unforgettable experiences for us and the children. Even our translators said we could hardly have had a more Russian experience. We had craft lessons with the kids and their teachers. I had cooking lessons. Ben went fishing. We visited the local history museum. We had full Russian banya. And of course, there was mushroom hunting and the trip to Dolbiylova. We shared such wonderful memories with the children laughing on the bus, playing darts, and watching movies before bed (I must say Hairspray in Russian is quite interesting). Our surprise schedule was such a blessing.

If we had stuck with our plan. . .

. . . we would have never sparked connections with the older boys--notoriously the most difficult group to engage.

. . . we would have missed the chance to get to know the caregivers. They are the warmest group of people I have ever met in one place, and they have such an impact on the children. Supporting and encouraging them is among the best we can do.

. . . I would have been too busy to sit and really listen to Galina. The children are her heart, and she shared so many details about how the last year of support has made an impact on the children. When we left, she said I was like a daughter. What an honor.

Thank God for the unexpected!