The PIR Children’s Feasts 2010Part II – The Nekrasova & Bezbokova Parties

Party at Ulitsa Nekrasova Home- 29 DecemberThe children’s parties were held on the 29th, 30th and 31st of December, in line with Russian custom only to give presents on New Year’s Day.

The first children’s party was with the really young kids at the Central Children’s Home. These kids only have a short concentration span, so we only had an hour and a half with them and we had a blessed time.

Sergei took them through the real meaning of Christmas in a way that even the youngest could understand. We sang the timeless classic “Silent Night” as well as a number of other Christmas songs with real Christian content, and they shared their Christmas poems with us.

Four children remembered the parties from previous years and were glad to see us again, and the word soon got around that we had brought them presents the year before. When we handed out presents, we almost had a disaster on our hands, when we realised that the driver had left one bag of presents in the boot of the car, and driven off with the car… but after a short 10 minute wait he returned and we were able to give the 5 affected children their presents.

If I tell you that the scenes upstairs where the children opened their presents were chaos as the children squealed and played with their presents, it would be an understatement. Most of the children in the home were new and had never experienced anything like this. Most had never received presents of this quality before and were a little overwhelmed…

The Nekrasova Street Home

Ira and Sergei carting food parcels

Kirill being chased by a bear

The Team gets ready

Sergei explaining all about Christmas

The children all ready to party

The sound of Africa in Siberia

When do the presents arrive?

Poetry Time

Cheeky one

Bright Eyes

Twas the night before Christmas…

I know this song…

Slight variation in size here…

Sasha playing with heart

I got mine!!!

Ira handing out presents

Love the anticipation in the background

The present is bigger than him!!!

Its…a…CD Player???

A cat on a horse???

He can climb into the box if he wants to…

Masha and the Medved (bear) (a Russian Fairytale)

We had some explaining after one bag of gifts were left in the car…

Upstairs … and the chaos starts

… and the joy is evident

… very evident

The team after the first party!

Party at Ulitsa Bezbokova Home- 29 DecemberThis was the first time we had been to the Bezbokova home. A number of students that had been with me when I studied a few years previously, brought their friends and they helped us hand out the presents. The children in this home were a lot older than the Nekrasova home, and only 2 remembered me from previous years. One of these two became deeply sad when she realised who we were, and from what I could work out, it was simply because she realised that another year had passed and she was still in the home.

The older girls in the home were particularly cynical and took part in the singing and poetry quite unwillingly. They did not really believe that a group of strangers would truly care for them. Once we had handed out the presents, all the children were sent to their rooms to open their presents, even though we protested and wanted to see them open their presents in the common room.

The best moment for me of all the parties followed, when we sat quietly in the common room and heard the squeals of delight from the kids throughout the home. The older girls, who a moment before had been cynical, returned to the common room, white with shock and with big smiles, and thanked us for the gifts we had given them. They had never expected anything like the gifts they had received, and many of them had never received anything of that value as a gift before, especially not from relative strangers.

Some of the team arriving

Kirill with the children of the home

Sergei explaining all about Christmas

A Christmas Carol

…I don’t know about this Christmas stuff…

The kids do a dance for us

Silent Night… in Russian

And a song from the kids too…

The boys recite a poem

And everyone sings along

Even the caretaker gets involved

The team handing out gifts

More poetry

Present time!!!

SPA-SI-BO(Thank You)

Woo-Hoooooooooo