At the end of 2018 in Voronezh, a unique project support single mothers approached the official final. The program was implemented with a grant from the President of Russia and lasted a year. However, the charity fund “Dobrota” is confident that their initiative will live on.
The project’s history began in 2017, when the head of the Foundation, Alexander Zhukov, launched an initiative to implement a program that has no analogues not only in the Voronezh region, but also in Russia. The project was supported and personally blessed by Metropolitan Sergius of Voronezh and Liskinsky, and the Presidential Grants Foundation allocated more than a million rubles for the implementation of the idea. This money helped the Dobrota Foundation create a training program for women with a professional psychologist, and also purchased high-end sewing equipment, where mothers learned to make clothes for themselves and their babies with the help of a technologist. At the same time, the chain of good went further – women began to make things for children from social centers and for residents of nursing homes.
More than 200 women received assistance and were trained in the project. Thanks for the help of a psychologist, they were able to become more adapted to modern realities, and sewing lessons helped to gain the skills of a new profession. In addition, the Voronezh initiative was named the best at an international conference in Geneva. The third stage was successfully completed at the end of
November 2018, but, according to the head of the Dobrota foundation, Alexander Zhukov, the project will certainly continue to live.
– This very project is not for a year because, unfortunately, there are always women who need help. I am very glad that we managed to implement this project, that now the mothers can do something not only for themselves, – said Alexander Zhukov.
In December and January mothers continued to be engaged in a sewing workshop and sewed dozens of sets of bed linen and other products. Things were transferred to a shelter located at the Temple. By the way, all the equipment was purchased with the help of the fund, and in the future it will be used by the parishioners of the temple and mothers who need help.
-The project is very expensive, because not every eparchy, not every temple, has a place where moms can learn sewing. This project, the result we see now, can be compared to a child we carried out and who is learning to walk and even run already”, said Alexey Spitsyn, head of the diocesan department of child protection and motherhood.
The psychologist who worked with women continues to advise them online and the technologist conducts classes in sewing.
-The creative process turned out to be impossible to finish overnight, do women really wanted to continue to work and to do something useful and it was very gratifying. And workshop should, of course, live, the equipment must work, – said Elena Ermolaeva, technologist.
As for the charity Fund “Dobrota”, the plans of administration are to continue the development of the idea of the helping to single mothers. Now, according to Alexander Zhukov, there are ideas for new programs.
– We will make every effort, will continuously support the Church and women will take most direct part in all activities, – said Alexander Zhukov, head of the Foundation “Kindness”.