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......Newsletter
November 2008 .........................................
...................Current Edition.|.Jan 2008 | Dec
2006 | Nov
2005 | Jan 2004 | Dec
2003 | Oct 2003 | Oct
2002 | Spring 2002 | Dec
2000 |
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Compared
to all the previous trips we've undertaken this
year's was pehaps the most challenging! Not only did we take
on two projects over 30 miles apart, but it was in an area of
Russian where we'd never been before!
Hammered! Our football match against the
orphan boys was a disaster with a score of 8 - 2! Also hammered
was Paul
Hynes, standing second from right in our group pic, He managed to
fracture his ankle which was a double disappointment, but he gamely
worked on with his leg in plaster and aided by crutches.
Our accommodation was in a Russian holiday resort by Lake
Chudskoe sleeping,
eating and entertaining ourselves in log cabins. Each morning at 7.30 a.m. sharp,
two mini-buses turned up to take our volunteers to their allotted workplaces.
We had already organised the purchase and supply of some of the larger building
materials so we could make a start on our projects, and the rest we had to purchase
in the nearby towns of Kingisepp and Slantsy, some 75 and 40 miles respectively
to the north in the Lenningrad Oblast, or alternatively in the small city of
Pskov which was 75 miles to the south. The nearest places to change our sterling
were also in Pskov and Kingisepp
.....Work
Completed
Our extensive workload meant an early start at 7.30 a.m. every
day and generally we worked through until about 9.00 every night. And
on more than one occasion the kids were there to fetch and carry for
us.
In order to complete all our many various tasks as best we could, in
the time available, it was decided by the volunteers to forgo the delights
of an end-of-trip party.
At Yamm, we had planned to rip out and
renovate the old toilet block and nobody was really looking forward to
this particular job. The stench was so appalling that we temporarily
removed all the windows to let fresh air into the building in order to
get the work done! Even so, we were still obliged to wear face masks
to get the job finished. It’s hard to imagine how bad it must have
been for the kids on a day-to-day basis?
New partition walls were erected, and new loos and washbasins installed,
the grimy footbaths were also completely refurbished. Ceilings and walls
were stripped of old distemper, sealed and re-painted, and where it was
needed walls were re-tiled and a new shower built.
At Gdov we fitted a brand new kitchen
to replace the clumsy and much-cluttered old cooking facilities, and
also renovated their bathroom by installing a new small bath and shower,
re-siting the boiler and installing a new washing machine.
Another major project that we completed was the upgrading of the main
entrance to the Orphanage at Gdov. Previously the main door had opened
straight into the hallway from the freezing winds blowing in from outside
the building. This problem was conquered by the sterling efforts of Ben,
Simon and their young Russian ‘slave.
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............The
deplorable toilet facilities at the
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Yamm Orphanage
and how we left them!...! |
.............The.deplorable
washing facilities at |
Yamm
and how we left them!;;......;;;;;;;;; |
Above,
the cluttered and almost unworkable
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kitchen
and below the new bathroom!........ |
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The
main door had opened srraight into the hallway from the
freezing wind blowing in from ooutside the building.
This problem was conquered by the stirling efforts of Ben, Simon and their
young Russian 'slave' Ira between them they built a subtancial porch with a
roof guttering and a snug closed area |
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designed
to keep the cold out of the building.The Directors
and Staff at the Orphanages were totalling overwhelmed
with them
projects we achieved in such a short period of time. It
was magic to them as unfortunately they
have neither the
know-how or the money
to acheive anything like it.
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Above: The exposed entrance to the Gdov Refuge
Centre. The porch takes shape as Ben and Simon get the roof up,
and cleaning up the
finished job.
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Location,
Location, Location...
Both of the Orphanages were
locateded deep in the forest. It was an area populated
by cows, sheep and goats and populated
by plain ,simple country folk who lived off the land.With
dirt roads and two buses a week it was definitely a much
slower
pace of life than most of our volunteers were used to.
Although the surrounding area was short of shopping malls.
Yamm had three shops. a bar,
a large wood mill and a bus station servicing two buses a week. Gdov had
quite a few more shops but only one bar which closed at 4.30
p.m. During the winter. Fortunately, while we were there during
the summer, it managed to remain open as late as nine at night!
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Our Jeep suffered badly on this trip. The state of the roads was
terrible, we had punctures, the Jeep was broken into,
and then the overdrive system failed. We rented a
trailer in St. Petersburg for 18 days and this proved
to be an enormous help not only in shifting materials
but also saving us the cost of shipping a vehicle
over from the UK.
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OUR
THANKS ARE DUE TO…
Our advance recce team – Steve,
Colin and Ken who gave up their time collecting tools, materials and
equipment
from St Petersburg
and Kingisepp and getting all the projects under way ready for
the arrival of the bulk of our volunteers.
As usual, all our volunteers worked exceptionally long and hard in sometimes
difficult and unpleasant conditions, but despite the problems they were as uncomplaining
as always. We thank you sincerely for your outstanding efforts.
And a special mention…
…
is due to Andy Lesse who worked his socks off at Yamm, and Sam
Knowd who did
likewise at Gdov. To these tireless supporters of the Charity we have pleasure
in awarding them the much-deserved Achiever’s Award 2008.
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While we
were there we met a group of young people from Michigan, U.S.A., who
had given up their holidays to organise an American Summer Camp for
the kids as there is precious little else for them to do for entertainment.
We would like to offer our sincere thanks to the Americans who helped
us at the orphanages by acting as interpreters, and also by giving
up their time and accompanying us when we went off to buy materials. |
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TWO BLOKES,
TWO BIKES,
FOUR WHEELS
TO RUSSIA!
We
have to thank two great guys, Graham Witham and Dennis Watson,
for greatly increasing the value of the charity’s coffers by
the simply outstanding sum of £3,250!
We
have to thank two great guys, Graham Witham and Dennis
Watson, for greatly increasing the value of the charity’s coffers
by the simply outstanding sum of £3,250!
In the saddle for up to 8 hours at a time these two adventurers rode
their Triumph bikes for an impressive 4,500 miles through eight countries
in just one week!
Starting off on Saturday, May 31st, Graham and Dennis headed for Dover where,
via Eurotunnel, they rode on through France, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Finland,
into Russia and on to the city of St Petersburg.After
enjoying a well-earned rest they spent a great day sightseeing
before meeting up with Sergei Makov
for a visit to the hospital. Leaving St Petersburg on June 4th they
re-traced their epic journey back to blighty. All we can say is
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Above: Dennis takes a break in Finland and minds the bikes, both sponsored
by Marks & Spencer, while Graham (inset) takes the pic |
WELL DONE LADS!
WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR OUTSTANDING EFFORTS! |
AND
FINALLY…
When, after all their
efforts, trials and tribulations, our exhausted volunteers finally
left for their last night in Tallinn, they found a hotel waiting for
them with very, very comfortable beds. After sleeping for 10 days on
wooden boards in the rather spartan log cabins it was a blessed relief!
WE
WISH YOU ALL A HAPPY CHRISTMAS AND BEST WISHES FOR THE
NEW YEAR!
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