Short-term (2 to 4 weeks) "construction" projects in Russia

Neznaika is a character of a famous Soviet children's book, a funny, lively and very active character, a typical child. Probably, this
is why the name was chosen for a rehabilitation centre for ill children, conveniently located just about 20-25 minutes from
Moscow – the capital of Russia and one of the largest and
most vibrant cities in the world. The area is a lovely fairy-tale
land with a large castle-like house in its centre and a river and
two small ponds hidden in a green forest around it.

The centre needs a lot of help, and this is exactly what volunteers
can do – offer a hand at reconstructing and renovating the house to suit the needs of the children better, clean the ponds and do other things for the centre while enjoying its facilities and occasionally visiting Moscow to explore what it has to offer.

Participation in the renovation of the building; improving the surrounding areas; cleaning the ponds in the area; possibility of working with the children at the local summer camp.

In a guest-house building and/or in tents, food prepared by
the volunteers in a kitchen.

Sociability, willingness to work on renovation, knowledge of Russian is very welcome.

Sleeping bag, comfortable walking shoes and work clothes, something typical from your country (food, music, etc).

The camp offers a unique chance to experience living in the nature, where one will discover a variety of things to enjoy in one’s free time such as walking through a picturesque forest, playing the guitar at the fire, swimming in the pond on a hot summer day and, no doubt, having endless talks with interesting people.

100 euro, to be paid upon arrival.

The Little Prince's Garden is a very special project organised by Youth Co-operation Centre Passage Zebra in collaboration with the heirs of Antoine de Saint Éxupery and their representatives in Russia. The idea is to build on the area of “sotsialniy prijut” (a type of an orphanage) a green landscape area consisting of individual allotments (asteroids) for children and a permanent greenhouse. The complex will then become a rehabilitation and education centre for the children living in the orphanage.
Children who live in such institutions are badly in need of personal communication, contact, attachments, and an opportunity to apply their energy to an exciting and rewarding activity. Having found themselves outside traditional family circumstances, these children often lack privacy and personal space for developing their talents and communicating with nature. The project is aimed at meeting those needs.
Throughout the year (starting in February) the children will study landscape design and gardening with a qualified teacher-trainer, and discover not only the world of plants, but also the world of people, team work, responsibility, and discipline. By the warm season the young gardeners will draw their “asteroids” and plant them on their little allotments.
In August when most of the children will be out in summer camps, the ones who will stay will especially need company, and the communication with international volunteers will be very special and important. Besides that, the allotments, whose owners have left for the summer will need care in their absence – watering, weeding, etc.

Helping the children take care of their allotments (basic gardening); working with children – playing, drawing, etc; possibility of helping the staff of the orphanage in their day-to-day work.

In a rented house. Volunteers will cook for themselves.

Experience and interest in working with children; interest in landscape design and gardening; general good health (due to Russian laws, a health certificate is required to everybody working with children); knowledge of Russian is very welcome.

Voronezh is a large and modern city with a population of roughly 1 million people, situated in the very heart of European Russia, in between Moscow and the Black Sea (500 km, a night on the train, from Moscow), on the Don and the Voronezh rivers.
The city boasts its 4 centuries history and a special charm of a typical Russian provincial city. Despite having been almost entirely wiped out during the Second World War, it still preserves some of the beautiful architecture from the 18th and 19th centuries, with many parks with fountains.
The orphanage is quite a distance from the city centre, but the volunteers will have a chance to experience a lot of the city life and to discover what there is to see in Voronezh and its surroundings.

In addition to the informal communication among themselves and with the local community, the volunteers will also have master-classes in landscape design.

The Little Prince's Garden is a very special project organised by Youth Co-operation Centre Passage Zebra in collaboration with the heirs of Antoine de Saint Éxupery and their representatives in Russia. The idea is to build on the area of “sotsialniy prijut” (a type of an orphanage) a green landscape area consisting of individual allotments (asteroids) for children and a permanent greenhouse. The complex will then become a rehabilitation and education centre for the children living in the orphanage.
Children who live in such institutions are badly in need of personal communication, contact, attachments, and an opportunity to apply their energy to an exciting and rewarding activity. Having found themselves outside traditional family circumstances, these children often lack privacy and personal space for developing their talents and communicating with nature. The project is aimed at meeting those needs.
Throughout the year (starting in February) the children will study landscape design and gardening with a qualified teacher-trainer, and discover not only the world of plants, but also the world of people, team work, responsibility, and discipline. By the warm season the young gardeners will draw their “asteroids” and plant them on their little allotments.
In August when most of the children will be out in summer camps, the ones who will stay will especially need company, and the communication with international volunteers will be very special and important. Besides that, the allotments, whose owners have left for the summer will need care in their absence – watering, weeding, etc.

Helping the children take care of their allotments (basic gardening); working with children – playing, drawing, etc; possibility of helping the staff of the orphanage in their day-to-day work.

In a rented house. Volunteers will cook for themselves.

Experience and interest in working with children; interest in landscape design and gardening; general good health (due to Russian laws, a health certificate is required to everybody working with children); knowledge of Russian is very welcome.

Voronezh is a large and modern city with a population of roughly 1 million people, situated in the very heart of European Russia, in between Moscow and the Black Sea (500 km, a night on the train, from Moscow), on the Don and the Voronezh rivers.
The city boasts its 4 centuries history and a special charm of a typical Russian provincial city. Despite having been almost entirely wiped out during the Second World War, it still preserves some of the beautiful architecture from the 18th and 19th centuries, with many parks with fountains.
The orphanage is quite a distance from the city centre, but the volunteers will have a chance to experience a lot of the city life and to discover what there is to see in Voronezh and its surroundings.

In addition to the informal communication among themselves and with the local community, the volunteers will also have master-classes in landscape design.