Project idea
“Everyone Needs a Buddy” is an initiative aimed at helping children from orphanages in Krasnoyarsk by selecting and training mentors. The main goal is to provide at least 20 children with mentors for support and assistance in their lives.
To achieve this goal, the project implements a broad information campaign that reaches out to the region's residents and attracts potential candidates for the role of mentor. Children from orphanages are prepared before the meeting, learn who a mentor is, and formulate their preferences regarding them.
Candidates undergo special training aimed at understanding the behaviors of troubled orphans and developing communication skills. After this, psychological interviews are conducted to determine their readiness and motivation.
The next stage is the selection of “mentor-pupil" pairs. Here, the preferences of both parties and the recommendations of psychologists are taken into account. After forming a pair, regular meetings begin, aimed not only at helping with studies or life issues but also at developing the children’s social skills.
The entire process is accompanied by psychological support for mentors and monitoring of the project’s effectiveness. The results of the monitoring allow assessing the program’s effectiveness and adjusting where necessary.
Ultimately, the project sets an ambitious goal to help at least 20 children from orphanages in Krasnoyarsk find mentors who will support them for a long time.
Relevance
According to the “To Be Precise” portal, 1,114 children were identified in the Krasnoyarsk Region in 2022 as being without parental care. Research shows that such children face difficulties in establishing stable relationships, obtaining education, finding employment, and leading independent lives. This indicates the need for additional support for the socialization of these children.
Mentoring, as the second most effective form of socialization after family placement, has proven effective, especially in Krasnoyarsk. This is confirmed by both practice and the decree of the Government of the Krasnoyarsk region supporting such initiatives.
The key indicators of successful social adaptation for graduates of orphanages are education, stable employment, sustainable relationships, and having children of their own. The presence of a close adult, the expansion of behavioral scenarios, and the ability to make choices influence the achievement of these indicators.
Project support is especially important for older children with low chances of family placement. They need additional help and support in the process of socialization and preparation for independent living.
Social effect
Socialization of children from orphanages living in the Krasnoyarsk Region through building meaningful relationships with competent adults
KPI
KPI
Project Results
Children from orphanages in the Krasnoyarsk Region, who find it particularly difficult to find mentors, from the category of “hard-to-place in families,” with challenging behavior, living in district orphanages, have gained older friends, mentors, experienced healthy relationships with a close competent adult, broadened their horizons, and engaged in social trials.
The children from orphanages participating in the project experienced qualitative changes in the emotional sphere: “Learned to discuss all difficulties and resolve conflicts with words,” “became less aggressive and developed a more positive outlook on life,” “became kinder, understood the purpose of living,” “became braver” - this is how the kids responded to the question of how their lives changed thanks to their mentors.
Thus, the children partially compensated for the deficits in emotional and social development characteristic of orphanage residents. Moreover, many children expanded their horizons and engaged in social trials outside the institutions: they went to the cinema, bought tickets independently, planned routes, played bowling, and went barbecuing. All this allowed the children to gain new social experiences and feel more confident outside the institution.
Project progress after CSS funding
“Everyone Needs a Buddy” is a strategic long-term project for the Center, aimed at increasing the number of mentors to support children from orphanages in the Krasnoyarsk Region. There are plans to expand the project to remote areas and the entire region, as well as to involve residents from children’s psychoneurological care facilities in mentoring. The project is expected to be funded through donations collected at fundraising events, from donors and business partners.
