Fieldnotes: Blogging on UNICEF's child survival work in the field

UNICEF Ambassador Lucy Liu recently visited a UNICEF-sponsored program for orphans and children with disabilities in Moscow, Russia and shares her experience in the following post.

Last week I was in Russia, and on Friday I had a chance to visit UNICEF's “Maria’s Children” project in Moscow. The facility is in a basement in the center of the city and has two small rooms where orphans and children with disabilities can go and express themselves through art. In addition to the art facilities, they also teach children cooking and other life skills to help them once they “graduate” from the facility.

© Aaron Poirier

Unfortunately, in Russia there is a stigma attached to children with any type of handicap and children who have been orphaned and therefore institutionalized. They are at a great disadvantage, not only educationally but socially as well. UNICEF is currently working on an inclusion program, helping schools slowly integrate these children to have a more normal and connected lifestyle with other kids and with society in general.

Studies have shown that they receive a very limited education, not only because they are alienated from society but also simply because handicap access on buses and in schools does not exist. Some children will only receive what would be a 4th grade education for their entire lives. This, of course, limits their possibilities for their futures.

© Aaron Poirier

The orphans I had the pleasure of meeting were wonderful. We spent the day with kids who ranged from 8 to 13 years old creating a giant collage about Moscow. It was a very involved process and took about 6 hours. We started with drawing the images, and then painting with watercolors. Then we cut the images out and glued them onto paper to create a beautiful and incredibly colorful collage.

© Aaron Poirier

The little boy that you see me hugging in the photo looks 7 or 8 years old, but he is actually 13 going on 14 in April. His growth was severely stunted because of lack of nutrition from the time he was born. Sadly, there is nothing that can change that now; he will be quite small for the rest of his life. We worked together on the same sheet of paper sharing thoughts on color and what animals to draw to create our very own idea of what trees and animals and people lived in Moscow. Incredibly, though neither of us spoke the other’s language, we were able to communicate through art. It’s really special to be able to express your thoughts and imagination with children this way and to also help push them to have more self confidence and fun in their lives.

They started out quite shy but still very curious, as all kids are! By the end of the day, they were showing me how to wash up for dinner and giving me lots of hugs. I was heartbroken when it was time to leave, but so happy for the time we shared together.