| FRUA fulfills its mission of “Improving the lives of children in Eastern Europe” by offering a diverse humanitarian outreach program to benefit orphaned children. The Orphanage Support Program is made possible through financial contributions by FRUA members and supporters.
The Playground Project: 2001-Present
More information about The Playground Project
FRUA supports an annual playground-building project through the purchase and installation of state-of-the-art therapeutic playground equipment at orphanages and rehabilitation centers each serving over 300 residential orphans and community children from ages 4-18 with severe physical and/or emotional disabilities. In 2001, playgrounds were installed in Romania at the Caracal Center for Disabled Children and the Bacau Rehabilitation and Placement Center. In 2002, three playgrounds were purchased and installed in Romania at The Navordi Institution for the Handicapped in Constanta County, the Galata Placement Center in Lasi County, and the Rapsodia Placement Center in Botosani County. In 2003, FRUA purchased and built two playground facilities in Romania at the Gaesti Community Service Center for Handicapped Children in Dambovita County and the Targu Jiu Community Service Center for Handicapped Children in Gorj County, as well as one playground at an orphanage in Voronezh, Russia. In 2004, FRUA playgrounds were installed at Romanian facilities in Constanta, Ploiesti, and Calarasi and in 2005, playgrounds will be installed at Romanian facilities in Birland and Craiova
Back to Top FRUA-Match: 2001-Present
FRUA-Match, a matching grant program that provides additional funds to orphanage support projects, was launched in 2001. FRUA chapters that donate funds to orphanage support programs or projects sponsored by other non-profit organizations may apply for up to $500 in additional project support. Since its inception, FRUA-Match has awarded funds for a wide-scale orphanage vaccination campaign in Krasnoyarsk, Russia; playgrounds for orphanages in Blagoveshchensk, Russia; a food and supplies purchase for an orphanage in Pyatigorsk, Russia; a running water pipe project at an orphanage in Batumi, Georgia; an orphanage worker training program at a special needs orphanage in Rivne, Ukraine; and a special care and nurturing program for orphaned infants at Orphanage #15 in St. Petersburg, Russia. .
Please note: This grant program is available to FRUA chapters only
Back to Top Helping Emancipated Orphans: 2001-Present
FRUA partners with the MiraMed Institute’s Center for Social Adaptation and Independent Living in Russia by funding the salaries of staff psychologists. The program assists emancipated (older) orphans through classes, workshops, and individual and group counseling sessions to equip them with successful life skills. Several hundred students benefit from working and interacting with the staff psychologists. The partnership was initiated in 2001 with the funding of one staff psychologist’s salary in their Moscow facility. In 2002, FRUA expanded its support in conjunction with the Center’s growth to include funding a chief psychologist in Moscow, two staff psychologists in St. Petersburg and one staff psychologist in Uglich. This support continues and consists of funding salaries staff psychologists in Moscow, Uglich and St. Petersburg
Back to Top Emergency Repairs Fund: 2002-Present
FRUA responds to urgent requests to help fund repairs at orphanages. In 2002, FRUA provided funds to build a bathhouse at a deteriorating orphanage in Rybinsk, Russia where there were no indoor bathing facilities. In 2003, FRUA contributed to extensive repairs at an orphanage in Svir Stroi, Russia where dilapidated facilities caused a major water pipe burst and extensive damage during an extended cold snap, rendering the facility uninhabitable until the repairs took place.
Back to Top Book Distribution Project:1999 and 2004
258 baby homes in Russia, 141 orphanages in Ukraine and 30 orphanages and special needs facilities in Belarus have received the Russian version of Disabled Village Children, a book providing simple and cost-effective pediatric physical and occupational therapy techniques, purchased by FRUA.
Back to Top Emergency Response Fund: 1998-2001
FRUA sponsored 175 cases of food, formula and vitamins for 98 children living in Kolomna, Russia. The orphanage director received the items on Christmas Eve, 1998. This support continued throughout 1999. In 2001, FRUA provided Kolomna’s baby home and children’s hospital with $2,000.00 worth of needed medicines, purchased at cost through the American Medical Center (AMC) in Moscow. FRUA’s contribution was matched in quantity by AMC at no extra cost.
Back to Top Goods Donations: 1994-Present
Since FRUA’s inception, several thousand boxes of clothing, shoes, medical supplies and developmental toys have been hand delivered to orphanages in Russia and Eastern European countries by traveling families through our chapter-sponsored Grow Bag program. FRUA has also donated goods at the national level. 12 boxes containing 550 over-the-counter children’s medicines were carried by a medical assistance team to orphanages and rehabilitation centers in Romania. FRUA purchased and shipped portable play structures to the Novgorod Baby Home in Borovichi, Russia. 30 cases of over-the-counter children’s medicines were delivered to orphanages in Novgorod, Russia and Zaporoshye, Ukraine and pediatric blood pressure cuffs and other medical supplies were presented to a visiting delegation from Nizhny Tagil, Russia. FRUA’s participation in making goods donations at the national level occurs somewhat infrequently and depends upon concurrent donation and delivery opportunities.
Back to Top For more information about FRUA’s Orphanage Support Program, or to offer financial or program support, please contact Kim Pongratz, Chair, Ways and Means/Orphanage Support at kim@frua.org.
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