History of an association „Childhood Territory”
Andrew, the head of the association, shows us a list with names and reads it stiffly:
“… a father committed a suicide by hanging himself, a mother is drug addicted, and the parental rights were deprived from her; a grandmother, having a criminal past, takes care of a child.”
“… a father was stabbed with a knife, a mother has drug addiction and is currently in jail. The child is being raised by a grandmother who belongs to a sect.”
“…a father is unknown, a mother with drug addiction died, sisters are being brought up by a heavily drinking and smoking grandmother”
“…a father is imprisoned, a mother is an alcoholic, the child is being somehow raised by a stepfather.”
“… a father is a gambler, a mother suffers from alcoholism, the child is being raised by the street”
There are more than 50 names in the list, children aged from 6 to 15. A story of every child is dramatically tragic.
Almost all of them are living without their biological fathers. From the date of their birth they are destined to survive in the towards children hostile environment that gradually shapes their understanding of the world. Many of them have already tried such things that should be avoided even by adults. These children at times are inexplicably violent, with this aggression stemming from their daily life. Lacking such simple but vital things as somebody’s care, love and kindness, they still keep believing in God and continue searching in life for any signs of goodness to pursue them. Unfortunately, there are no those around who are ready to share this kindness and warmth. This is why they come to Andrew – the one who is sincerely concerned with the life of every such a child.
Each of us having our own lives, plans and dreams simply does not notice these children, as the proverb says: ‘The bird who has eaten cannot fly with the bird that is hungry’. Even if we recognize such a child, we cannot fully imagine and understand the environment and conditions in which these children are bound to live. If we do not see such children around, it does not mean that they do not exist in our society. They do not vanish because of our blindness. They always live somewhere nearby, and it is not hard to guess their grown-up response to the world that was so unwelcoming and ignorant in their difficult childhood.
Meanwhile their childhood is passing and can be described by three D principle: A Deficit of care, a Deficit of communication and a Deficit of love.
It has been already three years since these children are gathering around Arno (baptized as Andrew).
During all these three years at the intersection of two streets – Adminu and Gertrudes, Andrew has been trying, as best he could, to take care of these children and to support them. Here you can find a brief story that Andrew told us.
Andrew, being in need of a working place, rented a parcel of land with a small house found on the territory of a former factory. Once, while he was busy with his job, he was approached by a girl who asked him some money to buy an ice-cream. Andrew offered her to earn this money – it was necessary to remove weeds that spread on a small piece of land near the house. “Won’t you deceive me?” – a girl asked and ran to invite her friends to help her. It was the day of their very acquaintance.
With the days passing, other boys and girls have come to Andrew, as there are plenty of such children living in the district. It was challenging to Andrew to provide them all with a shelter, meals, proper clothing and shoes; despite all of this being important, he soon understood that this is not the reason why these children find and come to him. The real explanation was that they simply wanted to have someone to take care of them and someone to talk to, without being shouted at, verbally offended or blamed for everything.
Andrew has a grown-up son and a grandson, who is already good at playing football. And still, Andrew has lots of love in his heart that he can share with. That was what children saw in him and that attracted all of them. „Childhood Territory” has become a second home for many children; it is a place where they are always welcome and loved. You can also have a hearty meal there, which is seriously important for many of them. Andrew tried to organize their spare time activities so that these could foster the development of these children, of course, not forgetting about the holidays. Step by step, a tradition of common holidays has emerged. These were both calendar holidays and individual celebrations. „Childhood Territory” has become a so-called house for children’s celebrations.
It was obvious that free time activities should not be limited solely to parties, entertainment and dealing only with material issues. Children needed to have a sound development that is based on seven main components: spiritual, ethical, aesthetic, intellectual, career-related, physical and creative development (Andrew asserts that there is a great many of talented children in his association).
It was decided to hold thematic quizzes, to organize discussions, competitions and intellectual games aimed at children’s development. An orthodox christian priest was visiting „Childhood Territory” for some time. The children have accepted and loved him. However, it is evident that several meetings are insufficient, as spiritual guidance should be permanent.
At present, the optimal way how to communicate with these children has been worked out. In general, it is complex for these children to find a compromise, as they usually see every issue from two absolutely contradicting perspectives. Despite a group having appeared so suddenly, certain rules and norms have been set and children try their best to obey them.
It is a tough task indeed for one man to do this, but Andrew does not consider this as an obstacle. He really wants the society to pay attention to these children, and he hopes that one day there will be „an island” of „Childhood Territory” in every disctrict of the city.
Anton Chekhov said: „Behind the door of every satisfied, happy man, there should be someone with a small hammer who all the time would remind with knocking that there are those unhappy and miserable around, and that the life will eventually show this man its worst side, as the trouble will come: be it illness, poverty or losses and noone will ever notice him; the same way as this man refuses to notice others now”.
These words belong to a wonderful Russian writer Anton Chekhov, they are quoted from his novel „Gooseberries”. How topical and meaningful these words are today. Can we hear this small hammer knocking? Do we want to hear it?
