Perspectives
IWC Charity Committee Representative | Maria Suviniemi
Перспективы / Perspectives provides special care and assistance for children and adults with severe multiple mental and physical disabilities in state institutions, and support families raising disabled children.
“Regarding working life at Perspektivy at Corona Pandemic period, we try to be as flexible as possible to reduce the negative impact on our ongoing projects.
Our main goal is to provide our wards, there families and staff members, working with our target group, with personal protection equipment (such as masks, hand sanitizers, surface disinfecting cleansers etc.) and food.
We have also launched two new emergency projects - "Evacuation" and "Observation". Both of them were possible because of the official state recommendation, allowing NGO-representatives take the residents out and work inside the institutions.
First new project: "Evacuation"(https://www.facebook.com/perspektivy.ru/videos/269811914044364/)
This project is dedicated to moving our wards from internats, where the risk of being infected with corona virus is extremely high because of the overcrowded accommodation and lack of special equipment of the state personnel, to the special facilities of supported living in small groups.
Second project: "Observation"
(https://doma.perspektivy.ru/observation)
This project Is aimed to organise a 24-hours fortnight surveillance in children and adult PNIs, where our employees and volunteers in a small specially equipped teams will keep on taking care of the residents.
On 23 of April 2020 the president of Perspektivy Maria Ostrovskaya together with the Vice-Minister of Labour and Social Protection Olga Batalina participated in a press-conference at the TASS Federal News Agency "The right to life: internats and nursing homes during pandemic period" (https://tass.ru/press/9755) “
DONATE directly from anywhere in the world. Every amount counts, especially during these hard times: https://perspektivy.ru/help/
For further information, please contact: Anna Matveeva | E-mail: da@perspektivy.ru. Also follow us on Facebook, YouTube and VK
This special IWC Charity Online Event includes guest speaker, Anna Matveeva from Perspectives, one of IWC supported charities.
Recollections from Astrid Wenkel, IWC Charity Committee 2020
“Perspektivy went through so many difficulties during all these years of their work. Tragic incidences and heavy draw backs. But they don't ever give up and go unstoppably forward with passion and devotion to the people they care for.
Lina Körber, the lady who was our IWC contact before Maria for Perspektivy, as well as I were one of those German volunteers Anna spoke about. In my case that was 20 years ago. Lina volunteered 19 years ago in Peterhof, in the home for adults, the prison as Anna called it, which it is. I volunteered in Pavlovsk in the orphanage for the forgotten children. Back then it was almost unbearable to see, how people treat people. I ended up writing my Masters thesis about Perspektivy and their work in orphanages.
There is a German amateur film from the time in Pavlovsk back then, but I am not sure if this would be of interest and how to show it that it wouldn't be boring to watch if you don't know the people involved nor spoke German.
I am VERY happy we came back to Perspektivy and continue to support them . They deserve it 100%!
P.s. A few of the people in the Home of freedom were still in Pawlowsk at the orphanage when I was there. It felt good to see the "kids" in this paradise. Most weren't as lucky to be able to live there.
P.p.s The Patient who told us about his life, who was filmed in front of his bed, was back in the beginning the reason, why Margarete von der Borch, a German baroness, who passed away recently at young age of breast cancer, started her engagement for disabled children in St. Petersburg and founded Perspektivy. She was volunteering as a student of Slavic studies and accompanied him as a boy from a hospital visit back to the orphanage in Pawlowsk. She was appalled by the circumstances there and this big and energetic organization Perspektivy is what came out of this encounter.”