A
nonprofit organization for the support of Russian orphans
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Internat #9:
Internat #9 is located across the Volga River from Yaroslavl proper, but is still within the city limits. FRO considers it an orphanage since all but 28 of the 197 boys and girls living there are orphans, but it is called an "internat" (a boarding school) because it includes a school, which all of its children attend. This orphanage has a long and interesting history. It was founded in 1950 in a single building as the orphanage of the Yaroslavl Electric Power Station. The children attended a nearby school. They also participated in the construction of new buildings, including a dormitory; when it was complete, the original building became a school. During this time the children and staff also planted a large apple orchard, from which they harvested many tons of apples, and they cleared and graded sports fields.
The economic and social realities of post-Soviet Russia have reduced the kind of human and financial support that such an institution requires. Today, its buildings are in bad need of repair and its many former programs have dwindled to but a handful. The children at Internat #9
The orphan contingent at Internat #9 is a complex and challenging one: out of its 197 children, 129 are "social" orphans, 40 have no living parents, and 28 have parents to whom they return on weekends. A large number -- 130 -- are boys, and 67 are girls. The vast majority of the children (157) are classified as "learning delayed," while 170 have chronic health issues, 43 struggle with behavioral difficulties, and 22 are under police observation for committing petty crimes. In addition to attending school at the internat, the children produce and sell impressive woodcarvings, beautifully painted wooden boxes and dolls, and an array of machine-sewn aprons, tablecloths, napkins and so on. They also continue to maintain the institution's museum of folk costumes; some of the costumes have won national awards for their authenticity and high quality. FRO's work at Internat #9 FRO has been focusing its resources on educational and post-orphanage support for this needy contingent. In addition, through the orphanage's participation in the YARBOO Advisory Council, children at Internat #9 have received music instruments, art supplies, textbooks, sewing machines, and costumes and shoes to wear in Yaroslavl's music and dance festival.
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Background and history
In its early years, Internat #9 attracted a large amount of able, dedicated professionals and the city invested its resources into state-of-the-art classrooms and over 20 vocational workshops, all with the most modern equipment. In the woodworking studio, the children built a wooden cart which was exhibited in Moscow and won the first-place medal in an all-union competition. Later, they opened a small museum of Russian folk costumes. Internat #9 became a model educational institution during the Soviet period.
Because of the large size of Internat #9's population, the children are divided up into small "family" groups of approximately six to 10 children of similar ages and watched over by an adult. Each group has its own physical space in the complex; most of these spaces are set up like apartments, with a main room circled by bedrooms and a washroom.