Spring 2011

	Life Skills Program Report

 The second half of the school year was devoted to the topic “My Future Family and I”. The sessions were conducted by the social worker and the psychologist. The children were split into two groups based on age. The 1st through 7th graders were in one group, and the 8th and 9th graders were in the other. In total, we conducted 36 learning sessions.

 We covered many aspects of the family within these sessions, such as how to start a family, family roles, family budgeting, marriage and love, children, and family health. These sessions helped the children to learn a lot about family, love and kids. They taught them to see the good in other people, and to be productive, successful and useful later in life. We had many exciting and productive discussions because of these sessions. We discussed men and women and their differences, what love is and how the children perceive it, conflict resolution within the family, and feelings towards working.

 It is important for our students to understand family dynamics and learn how a family operates if they want to have a healthy and successful family in the future. Also, our sessions provided information about life after the orphanage, and what having a family means for working, for marriage, and for finances. We are very excited because the orphanage administration speaks highly of the program and hopes to continue implementing it in the future. Most importantly, the children enjoyed the learning as well.

Dasha: “I like our sessions with Yulia and Anastasia about my future family and love. I learned about the family code where I can find answers, I learned about what true love is. We talked about difficulties in families and what makes families stronger. This knowledge will help me to start a good family in the future. I came to the conclusion that I need these sessions to avoid making mistakes in the future. I hope that when I have a fiancé he will marry me not because he feels sorry for me that I am an orphan, but because he loves me and we have mutual understanding.”

Kristina: “We think a lot in our sessions and discuss different problems. I like that. We are learning to cook simple but tasty things. We talk, answer questions. I like such lessons very much. They are never boring. Every time after our sessions I have a feeling that I discovered something new for my life. For example after our last session I decided that I will be a serious girl and won’t go out with different guys. Not all guys are good guys. I’d rather study and think about my future now. “