Page 160 - Book about Friendship and Future.Stories of Volunteers.

Anastasia Illarionova

An Orphanage Teacher and Leader
Kemerovo

Since 2010 I have been working in an orphanage as a teacher
and leader. When I was hired, I heard lots of stories that there
was a high turn-over rate among the tutors, that no one was stay-
ing for long. I stayed for 9 years…
Thanks to my character, I have always been treating life with
optimism and striving to teach others to do the same, that is
why I was considering a job related to working with children. It
turned out that I started working with the kids who had remained
without parents and found themselves in a hard life situation. For
me the orphanage became a special space, sad and joyful and
the same time. The kids who reside there are sincere and kind.
And they are especially happy getting some attention and care.
There are a few companies patronizing our orphanage, but
getting acquainted with the volunteers of the KFC Corporate
Charity Fund “Opening Horizons” has literally discovered new op-
portunities for the kids and not only for them, but personally for
me, too. Being the orphanage employees, we have the duty to
take care of the kids and educate them. And the charity program
“Generation Choice” has become a great support and assistance
for us. Together with the volunteers we constitute one team with
common goals, we want a kid to enter an adult life without fear,
prepared and in full force. In this project we do appreciate the
volunteers’ consistency: it is one of the most important traits for
working with children, because the kid’s trust is to be deserved,
and if you have come for a single visit only once you should not
expect transparent communication.
I believe that the program that the volunteers of the KFC
Corporate Charity Fund “Opening Horizons” has brought to us
makes an accent on consistency, long-term liabilities and this is
so important for the kids who have been learning and following
the example of those whom they trust. The Fund has been laying
a solid foundation of a launching platform for every member of
the project.