| Face 2 Face
and the Novgorod Connection...
The Clarendon
Orchestra chose the Twin Town Fund as its original
charity because of a strong link with Face 2 Face,
a group of
Christian professional musicians. They had first visited
Novgorod (one of Watford's twin towns) in 1999 although
one member of the group had a connection dating back to
1991. They have given many concerts in various venues
throughout the community including schools, orphanages,
old people's home, a prison, centre for the blind,
hospitals etc. These concerts were set up with the
assistance of the Town Twinning department in Watford
Council and the Administration of Novgorod.
The Clarendon has
raised £10,000....
The money raised has been
given to the Central Children's Hospital.
Money raised by Face 2 Face has already purchased new toilets, medicines and medical
supplies and fridges to keep the new stocks of
medicines. It had been continually passed over when
finances were given to the adult departments and they
were desperately in need of an intensive care unit. The
equipment in use was out of date and they had new
equipment waiting to be installed when the building
could be renovated. A donation given in June 2002 was
just a token to enable them to begin the work. By
November 2002, work in one room had been started, and by
March 2003 one room of the intensive care unit had been
completed and the new equipment installed.
A donation of $5000,
given in August 2003, enabled the Central District
Children's Hospital to purchase a much needed Blood
Plasma machine which will be used in the treatment of
child and teenage drug addicts whilst leaving some for
much needed repairs.
After the Clarendon
Concert in early 2004, the £4,000 raised along with
other money raised by Face 2 Face was taken to Novgorod.
It was to be distributed among the two Children's
Hospitals that we had previously had contact with as
well as the Regional Children's Hospital where a young
Russian friend of ours had stayed.
The Twin
Towns Fund continue to handle donations for needy
causes such as the Novgorod children's hospitals. We are
delighted to support that initiative and with the
support and help of Face 2 Face the Orchestra will
continue to donate funds.
The second concert raised
a further £3,000 and here are some of teh improvements
that the money has made possible.
The TB Hospital
Large donations were
given to the Children's TB Hospital and the Central
District Children's Hospital.
At the time of the last visit
the TB Hospital had 47 children of whom 21 were orphans.
Many children were from orphanage schools and several
had parents who had no rights to bring up their children
as they were ex-convicts. Some of the children's parents
had themselves died from TB or alcohol abuse.
The chief Doctor, Zinaida,
has been at the hospital for 11 years and says that this
year was especially hard as the mental ability of the
children was low and their memories were often poor and
teaching them could be very challenging. The 11 teachers
are extremely patient. There were some successes,
however; Slava, aged 15, had a successful operation, was
adopted and had begun studying at secondary school.
Sadly, Zinaida's husband
died in September 2004 and she has had to find another
job on Saturdays to supplement her income.
The money given in 2004
was spent on:
- Clothes
- Machine to treat
breathing
- Computer
- 2 radiators
- Shelves for TV
- 2000 notebooks (1000
of which they sent to another hospital!)
In addition, flooring for
the classrooms had already been ordered from St
Petersburg.
They are already planning
for the future and hoping to find some sponsors in
Novgorod to help with building repairs in the classrooms
and to fund some sports' projects. They would very much
like to renew the central heating and buy an ultrasound
machine but think it will probably be too expensive.
The Central
District Hospital
The chief Doctor, Yuri
had worked in the children's department for 12 years.
Nadezhda, another Doctor in the department said they
have been trying to make plans for 3 years but it is
difficult to plan ahead due to rumours about the
government. The local authorities had been making
promises to the hospital for 2 years regarding major
renovations but nothing had been forthcoming… yet.
They have spent money on:
- Decoration of
injection room
- Some repairs to
corridors, bedrooms and staff rooms
- Benches for the
corridors
- Repair to front room
- Sofa and TV for
staffroom
- Nebuliser
- Telephone
- Lamps in corridors
- Lamps and furniture in
children's rooms
There was still some
money left…
Their future plans
include major repairs to the staircase and window (at
least £4000), dining furniture (approx £150), Bedside
tables, sheets and clothes for small babies. However,
prices are increasing all the time.
Regional Children's
Hospital
A donation was given to
the Ear, Nose and Throat department. The Matron, Luba,
spent the money on:
- 2 fridges to keep food
for the patients
- TV and DVD player
which has helped to solve disciplinary problems
among teenage patients
- Curtains in the
staffroom
- Lamp for staff desk
- Christmas and New Year
gifts (chocolate and films) for the children in
hospital over that period
Future projects include:
- Special room for
parents to stay (she intends to raise money by
charging parents for this privilege)
- General repairs to
windows, kitchen, lighting
- Another fridge and
some furniture
The Orchestra are also
delighted to support Brakespeare School in Abbots
Langley who teach mentally and physically disadvantaged
children using music therapy. We were delighted to part
fund a trip to Novgorod for some of their pupils.
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