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| Newsletter - December 2003 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Read our other Newsletters There's only one word to describe our latest trip... FANTASTIC!
It goes without saying that all the work completed in June at the Kingisepp Orphan House No.2 could not have been accomplished without the dedication of all our volunteers. It was a great team effort and the Charity is profoundly grateful to you all for the your unselfish contribution to the improvement of the happiness and well-being of the children at the orphanage. Finally, we hope you have all enjoyed the summer since your return from Russia . Here's a breakdown of what we achieved IN JUST TEN DAYS we stripped out and completely refurbished two bathrooms with new WCs, three new wash-hand basins, new tiling, painting, mirrors and shelving. We also completed four new shower cubicles with fixed shower heads, thermostatic water controls and, not least of all, some privacy for the children using them. Twelve children's bedrooms and the adjoining hallway were stripped back to the bone, completely re-decorated and finished off with new vinyl flooring. A children's homework room was also refurbished and fitted out with three brand new sofas donated by two of our volunteers - Dave Moody and Dave Doran. Just weeks before the trip these two enterpising gentlemen held an auction in their local pub to raise £650 to pay for them. Whatever they raised was matched by BarclayCard! Outside, we provided the cash for the laying of a brand new asphalt surface for their basketball pitch complete with posts and nets. To cap it all Martin Hartley, together with his team of Mike Ferrier and Dave Moody managed to construct an exciting brand new adventure playground. Called to the Town Hall
A few days after we started work at the orphanage we received an invitation from the local Mayor to visit the town hall and explain to him and his colleagues something about ourselves, the charity, and its objectives. The Mayor was very interested in what we had to say and impressed that we had come so far to help the children in his town. Several local journalists were present and we answered their questions freely. We explained our reasons for being in Kingisepp and told them what we hoped to achieve. Later, they printed our story in their papers and before long the whole of Kingisepp was aware of our presence. At the end of our stay we were again invited by the Mayor to an evening gala to celebrate the completion of our work schedule. Lots of food and drink was laid on for us, and after we had partaken of the generous hospitality and had our fill, we were called upon to make speeches on behalf of the charity. It all went very well, but what we didn't know was that the Mayor had arranged for a local Russian Folk Group and Dance Troop to entertain us with their singing and dancing. It was their way of saying thank you and the perfect end to a delightful evening. Lots Lolly from our Lovely Lada Lads
A bigger picture... It was clear that our work this year fulfilled the expectations previously voiced by some volunteers - the desire for a 'bigger project'. Kingisepp proved to be just that and employed our skills to the utmost which many of you found very rewarding. But there is still a lot more work to be done. The orphanage only has funding of about $50 a year for maintenance! How bad is that? (It sounds even worse in ££s!) So we plan to return to Kingisepp again in the summer of 2004. To continue our work we'll need funds! Lots of funds! So start raising cash now and keep your eyes open for potential sponsors - the more materials and equipment donated to us at no cost, the more we can accomplish. Last June Dulux helped us enormously (see our 'Thank You' column) - they not only supplied us with a ton of paint at no cost, but also wrote an article about us in their company Newsletter which we have attached for your interest. How are we doing? - Pretty Well! For those of you interested, we now have over 120 volunteers on our database - and we distribute over 200 of our Newsletters to interested parties, and our website is up and running. Since last year we have had a considerable number of new volunteers which is a healthy position to be in for the future of the Charity. We would like to thank you all for your on-going support and point out that if you have friends who would like to join us, get in touch with HQ for database forms. Also, let us know as soon as you can whether you want to come with us on our next trip to carry on the good work. And if any of you have any bright ideas to improve the work of the Charity, get in touch with us so that they can be discussed by the committee. THANK YOU! THANK YOU! It goes without saying that every volunteer deserves our heartfelt thanks for their continued support of the Charity. THANK YOU ALL.
But we think you will all agree that special thanks should go to: Colin Pethick who single-handedly tackled the seemingly unending plumbing problems. Martin Hartley and his team- mates Mike Ferrier and Dave Moody for their tireless work, both before and during the trip, in the organisation and construction of the new adventure playground. Dave Doran and Peter Annetts (both now Trustees) for heading up our works committee along with Bob Muir and taking some of the load from Ken's shoulders. Bob Muir's help and hard work was again invaluable. With his son Ben they gave up their free time to drive our well-loaded Charity van out to Kingisepp and back again to the UK . Michael Krupinov for his continued help in the organisation of our trip - and those willing local helpers who interpreted our words and leant a hand with the painting - Sasha, Natasha, Genia, Tanya and Ira. The Dulux team - Rebecca Franklin, Vicky Randall,and Chris Ward - who helped us so much and so generously gave us gallons of their excellent paint for our decorating. And finally, our thanks go to...Dayle Foreman who came all the way from Australia to supervise the feeding of the five thousand, she saw us all well fed and happily watered. There was no dispute about sending her home with the much-deserved 'Achiever's Award'. STOP PRESS At the Richmond May Fair we raised the princely sum of £250. We didn't get everything right, but despite the wind and rain and our mistakes, we learnt a lot and next year we will do better. Gift-Aid' is an Inland Revenue scheme which allows us a tax-free bonus of 28% on all donations. We are now registered. Kingisepp Orphan House No 1, for children between 1 year and 8 years old, was not forgotten. The toys, games, dolls etc that you had collected over the past year were piled into our van and delivered to the kids. They were overwhelmed with the gifts which were gratefully received. Prestlands School , Pennington, Nr Lymington, Hants, have nominated our charity for their year-10 pupils fund-raising this year. We hope they do well and we appreciate their efforts on our behalf. Looking forward Ken and Sarah Neale are going out to Russia in early December to visit the St Petersburg Regional Hospital and the orphanage at Kingisepp. They will check on how the work already done is faring and ascertain what new projects will be possible for execution next year. They also want to finish the filming for our promotional video. Our first AGM will be held on Saturday January 7th at 12 noon in the upstairs restaurant above the Britannia Pub in Brewer's Lane, George Street , Richmond , Surrey . All volunteers are welcome. Please let Ken know if you wish to attend. Our 10-Year Anniversary and Re-union Party is likely to be in April 2004. Date to be confirmed. Summer 2004 - We are aiming for our next visit to Kingisepp to be a 10-day trip in June. (Date to be confirmed) |
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Russell, Mark and Keith from Ramsgate, Kent - our 'Lada Lads' bought their Lada for £50 and drove it all the way to Kingisepp. On the way they managed to raise £1365 for the Charity! A superb effort. 
