Life Skills

The Life Skills Program is practice-oriented and consists of two main blocks:

1) teaching Life Skills classes, a program adapted and compiled by specialists of the Nadezhda Fund;

2) providing various activities:

- conducting selection of volunteers, training and group classes for mentors among older orphans – college at Nadezhda Fund’s CarePoint in Vladimir;

- leading Life Skills classes at orphanages involving volunteer mentors from among successful graduates of orphanages and students of colleges and Universities - once a month;

- teaching orphans practical life skills by taking them on field trips to Vladimir where they can go shopping, learn the infrastructure of the city, and introducing them to the CarePoint programs and activities.

The volunteers of the Life Skills program are graduates of orphanages. Their resource is primarily based on successful personal experience of overcoming the adaptation crisis after graduation from an orphanage.

Goal: to provide comprehensive assistance to state educational institutions for orphans and children left without parental care in preparing young people for independent life.

Program objectives:

- Assistance in overcoming the negative consequences of institutional care;

- Assistance in teaching Life Skills to orphans;

- Assistance in creating an advanced social support network;

- Assistance in improving the level of personal development of orphans;

- Assistance in the formation of social and psychological competence and resilience of orphans.

- Training of teachers to conduct courses of classes to prepare orphans for independent life.

In 2019, the program was implemented in 3 orphanages of the Vladimir region (Pokrov and Kameshkovo orphanages, Lukhtonovo boarding school). In each orphanage, the teachers of the program conduct weekly classes. Through conversations, trainings, discussions, practice, and interactive games, 100% of participants improved their level of social and psychological competence and resilience.