Half a year for such a project as «Virtual parents, tutors, and friends» is, probably, a small period. In fact when it is a question of human relationship all terms, all haste, any plans from above step back. All that is important is only attention, frankness and genuine interest to another person, and all this however hard you try cannot be dictated and measured neither in days, nor in weeks, in quarters. We asked Ekaterina Berber, the minister of social development of the Perm region, to tell us about the organization of the work, the estimation of the results and plans for the future of the project «Virtual parents, tutors, and friends».
— How do you estimate the semi-annual work of the project, by what parameters?
— The main task of the project is the pairs of dialogue taken place. Pairs in any format — «virtual parents " and children, or friends and children — any way as possible. We have already cases when children were taken away on weekends. Probably, it was the prime target of this project — that children communicated not simply virtually, by means of a computer but that eventually any contacts flowed into the plane of reality and children would be involved into the real communication.
For half a year we have worked under the project very intensively and the results are really quite good — twelve pairs taken place. But we want to get more because children have taken a great interest in this technology, in this project. Now it is necessary to achieve that each child who is capable to communicate on the Internet, would start such contacts to the external world and would find himself or herself a constant friend, a tutor or «a virtual parent». For this purpose we should organize rehabilitation space to prepare them both psychologically and physically.
— Does it mean that «alive» contacts within the limits of the project were planned initially?
— Yes, simply we did not expect that the pairs would be formed so quickly, and the children even will be taken away on weekends. We assumed that parents, friends would come to a child for holidays, parental days and other similar actions. But we did not expect that in half a year of work some steady pairs would be formed, and children will be taken away from the children’s house and to the family. Though, certainly, we planned it, and we saw in it the future of the project.
— Have the project somehow changed itself or its concept for half a year?
— Essentially the project has not changed, the purpose has remained the same — we should build dialogue between the children and the society. Updating is possible only in connection with that we work more profoundly with the children who can really communicate within the limits of this project and who lack only rehabilitation preparation for the expansion of their opportunities of the participation in the project.
Earlier we started with the idea that all children who study in this establishment should necessarily take part in the project. In due course we understood that for the maintenance of the maximally effective communication of these children with the society it is necessary to give them rehabilitation services to prepare them as much as possible. And now we are making a scheme of cooperation with the department of invalids' rehabilitation in the complex center of social services of the Osa city so that they in their work grasped necessarily this category of children and prepared them for the participation in the project.
— At what stage is the project now? What immediate tasks does it face now?
— Within the period of the first decade of June we are planning to hold a holiday dated to the Children Protection Day. It will be an action with the purpose of attraction to the project of new people and of attention of our society on the whole. The primary goal for the near future consists in increasing the attendance of the site.
This year we plan one more great action in the end of the year. At this action we will sum up the annual work of the project, we will discuss the results, we will celebrate, certainly with their consent, those pairs which took place, and will thank the people who took an active part in the project.
The basic work will go in the scheduled mode — both educational-methodical and rehabilitation directions and the PR-campaign directed on the promotion of the project and attraction of the new participants in it.
— Do you plan to hold fund raising within the limits of the project in favour of children-orphans with the limited opportunities of health? How will it be coordinated with the basic goal of the project?
It is not the purpose of the project but if people wish to render the children some material aid or to get and give them presents they have their right on this. But it is not the purpose of the project.
— How actual is the problem of adoption in the Perm region? What role in the salvation of this problem is the project «Virtual parents, tutors, friends» called to play?
— The Perm region is ahead practically all subjects of the Federation in the parameters of adoption. At present we have about six hundred children adopted within a year — both by Russian and foreign citizens. Such state of things is not present in any subject of the Russian Federation, except for the Perm region.
But the purpose of the given project is not adoption. Its purpose, if to speak about the prospect, is all the same and more likely patronage. Because we all understand that it is impossible to leave a family in private with a child-invalid, without providing this family any professional support. Therefore the future of the project in which such category of children is involved, can only consist in patronage with professional support.
— Can we speak about approaching this purpose? In fact there are already cases when children were taken away from the boarding school, aren’t there?
— In such case what we make out is the guest -being of a child. Patronage in general is a transfer of a child to a family till he or she is eighteen years. We do not reach this purpose yet but only we speak about it.
I think that if there is steady communication between children and adults during even semi-annual period and if their emotional readiness allows we will also develop this technology of patronage. Or simply any steady communications take place, and it will be the end of the project — now it is difficult to tell you as we are only at the first stage of the promotion of this project. Therefore, naturally, updating of the plan is possible.
— Do you plan to include other children’s establishments in the project in addition to the Osa children’s house-boarding school?
— We have one more category of children which requires similar social rehabilitation; these are correctional children’s homes. But there they have less problems, and we hope that transfer on the patronage of children from this establishment will occur, passing the project «Virtual parents, tutors, friends». In correctional houses there is such practice.
Therefore for the present we do not speak about any expansion of the client group. In the Osa children’s house-boarding school there are about 250 children brought up and the basic purpose for the present consists in preparing these children, and to not be spread over the project.
— Is any methodical work held with the adult participants of the project?
— On the site there is a section devoted to methodical work. In it we place necessary documents, and also we hold consultations and we place elaborations on social-psychological and social-pedagogical services.
When children will be taken away from us on a regular basis on weekends and holidays, or we will understand that the participant of the project comes to the children’s house-boarding school on a regular basis that is when we will fix steady live contact then every such pair will be provided with the qualified help from our experts who will direct the process of the live dialogue. That is called rehabilitation.
In the process of live dialogue with these children it is impossible to allow unprepared people there. Because the dialogue on the Internet and the dialogue alive are not similar; and it concerns the given category of the children especially. The specifics of their mentality all the same leave traces in the way they perceive the world, and, hence, in their behaviour — the way they communicates with this world. Therefore the experts should accompany all the process of live dialogue so that there was no aggravation of the child’s psychological condition or misunderstanding from the adult’s side.
— I know that you have personally taken part in the project by writing letters to some children. What have roused you to it and what were your impressions from the dialogue?
— As the head of the Management of social services I have been in the Osa children’s house-boarding school and other similar establishments not once. During these visits I communicated with the children who are taught there, therefore I have the idea of how it is possible and necessary to communicate with them.
I, certainly, congratulate children with their birthdays; I try to support their desire to communicate through the Internet. But by virtue of the time restrictions it is impossible for me to correspond with any concrete child. Though actually, I think, I should make it, forgetting about the existing problems with time — simply just write a letter to a child.
— What result of the work of the project do you plan to reach in the end of the year?
— I hope that we will have steady communications and that there will be more of them — at least twenty constant contacts. If we know that parents really communicate with children, take them on weekends or visit them on a regular basis, it will be enough to sum up this year. We set ourselves real purposes.