Belarussian Orphanage Project

Love . Dignity . Integrity . Respect

Draznia Institution

Draznia is a large psychiatric institution in the south east industrial section of Minsk City where many of the kids from Novinki are transferred upon reaching 18 years of age.

The Main building was opened in 2001 with a plan to house 130 residents… Owing to a backlog of residents in other institutions awaiting transfer, Viacha quickly became overcrowded and even with the opening of another extension, the numbers have now reached 480+.

The Belarussian Orphanage Project’s founding philosophy is to maintain the care of our Novinki kids wherever they are transferred. A majority of our kids, owing to being in long term institutional care, are not as psychologically mature as their years suggest, therefore many of the 18 year olds transferred out of Novinki may have the mental age of 6-12 years and need continual care.

In 2001 BOP commenced our project work in Draznia catering primarily in resettling the transferred children but since then has expanded to provide staff and facilities who work on programmes with a majority of the residents.

Our first undertaking was the development of a large garden and playground, as we felt the residents had little space and nowhere to relax when out of doors.. Again in cooperation with the director and the state, a team of over 30 volunteers built a territory featuring swings, seats, shed and tables. Then we turned our attention to the rarely used Activity Hall in the main building.. This we converted into a large Therapy Centre and now employ staff 7 days a week to run programmes there for as many of the residents as possible. A stage was built, concerts are hosted, a huge general purpose cabinet was constructed and filled with art materials, videos, books, exercise equipment, games and everything else needed to facilitate both staff and residents.. A pool and football table was installed and the room is open 7 days a week for concerts, classes, discos, dances, movies and general programmes designed around the needs of the various groups.

Residents, a majority of whom are diagnosed with Neurosis and are not Psychotic in any way, attend the Therapy Centres daily. With sponsorship we have continued the momentum of creating the most hospitable environment for all residents.. We have renovated the residents Television rooms, over 30 bedrooms (complete with TV, Video, Quilts, Curtains, Carpetting, Art etc..) sitting rooms, visitors rooms and also implemented both our birthday programme and the development of the grounds with garden sheds, seating, flower beds.. We also employ a number of residents to maintain our projects as part of their occupational therapy.

During summer and winter projects, one of the main highlights of Volunteers trips to Minsk is to attend the Draznia Concert and Disco where residents from 18 to 80 perform the very best of traditional and contemporary Russian songs and dances. We also have a Draznia Choir.

BOP also organises excursions to the city, historical sites, museums, the circus, concerts and the ballet for the residents on a regular basis. A group that we work particularly closely with are the long term cerebral palsy immobile residents..

As part of our medical programme we have had special wheelchairs designed and in many cases, this is the first time the residents have gotten out of doors since their arrival in Draznia. In 2007 we opened our second therapy centre where the creation of Art is our priority and in 2008 our first occupational therapy centre, where lifeskills, ceramics and specialist art programmes will be held taking our daily staff up to 6 for 7 days a week.

As you can see from the photographs on this page, our sponsorship and fundraised funds have been put to great use. We purchase almost all of the goods we need in Minsk, therefore supporting local and national companies but we also have guarantees on all the goods we purchase. We rarely gather humanitarian Aid to transport to Minsk and when we do it is a short list of essential items that are not available in Belarus.

Our projects in Draznia are long term projects as our love and affection for the residents grows every day we spend with them. Their kindness, generosity, humour and appreciation of BOP and our volunteers visits is heart rendering and our staff and managers enjoy every day of their work with these very special people.

Using our rehabilitation centre in downtown Minsk we host the residents there as part of their programme for them to achieve a higher level of independence and autonomy.

For sometime now, Draznia has received a large portion of B.O.Ps budget as we continue to develop the institution to as high a standard as Novinki. In the future this will developing the gardens and woodland walks, renovating and decorating more bedrooms and dayrooms for the residents and providing an even more comprehensive excursion and sports programme.

The director and staff are keen to cooperate with us as they can see the benefits of our involvement with the residents on a daily basis. The atmosphere is friendly and fun and our volunteers have requested that in the coming years we organise our first ever group of Volunteers to work exclusively in Draznia. To each resident the Volunteers and our staff fulfill the role of sister, brother, aunt, uncle, friend, companion and carer. Strong friendships have been forged between everyone who works there and our Volunteers are keen to return. This is high-energy Fun.. as the residents continually respond to us and give us back more energy and enthusiasm than we could ever muster..