ROOF's mission
Opportunity for Personal Growth
ROOF's mission is to be a supportive community for children and young people in Russian orphanages and for young people who have previously been institutionalized.
We focus on:
- finding and offering opportunities and encouragement;
- developing each person's own unique talents and gifts;
- working towards overcoming the disadvantages of past lives and experiences;
- providing a context in which we can all find the confidence to become more truly ourselves.
Personal Growth — Together
At ROOF, the central value is relationship. We believe that relationship is transformative, and has the potential to be so for every person involved as we all offer what gifts, talents and resources we can to help each other.
Education and vocation
Our work usually takes place in an educational or vocational context as we are...
- developing new ways of offering educational assistance to disadvantaged children and young adults;
- teaching classes in orphanages, or offering supplemental tutorials or support with homework;
- offering assistance to those wishing to enter higher education;
- finding or creating opportunities for jobs and job training;
- helping previously institutionalized young people find their way in the outside world;
- running summer camps and other events to provide educational support, broaden horizons and increase exposure to other cultures and different ways of thinking, being and doing.
Our Mission into Practice
Before taking a closer look at how ROOF’s mission, goals and method translate into specific program details, it is useful to have a closer look at our focus group of beneficiaries (Russian orphans) and the specific problems they face in life, primarily as a result of long-term institutionalization:
