New Thing is your love in action, inside the former Soviet Union

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A report from Doug Brendel to all who support or follow New Thing in Belarus...

One and done? Here and gone? Not New Thing.

Love Lasts Long

Ten years ago today, I was in Zhodino, Belarus, at a shelter for abused and abandoned children.

We brought windup toys for the children...

...and matched stuffed animals to new owners.

I set up an impromptu portrait studio and drew bad cartoons of all the children.

There was no escape, even for interpreter Katya.

Over the course of a decade, friends of New Thing invested $100,000 in renovations to this once-dilapidated facility.

We turned an unused end of the building into the “Domik” (little house), an after-school center where at-risk children get snacks, receive tutoring, and enjoy educational activities.

Lydia Danielevna, co-founder of our “Response of the Heart” team, rocked the puzzle department.

The children also learn basic life skills like cooking and cleaning, so they can fend for themselves when parents are absent or unable.

The kitchenette was also funded by friends of New Thing.

And one floor up, we built the warm, homey “Zontik” (umbrella), an area designed for children involved in domestic abuse cases.

Here, guided by a trained child psychologist, a child can provide closed-circuit testimony without the trauma of confronting their abusers in court.

The Zontik is also used for counseling at-risk couples in parenting and other life skills.

The shelter, Domik, and Zontik are still going strong today.

A testament to the power of your generosity.

Thanks for journeying with New Thing!

More adventures to come!

Much love,                                                                                                                                           

Doug Brendel

(Photos by our dear friend Oleg Yarovenko)

To help the people of Belarus by giving to New Thing online, click here

To send a check by snail mail: New Thing, 403 Linebrook Road, Ipswich MA 01938

Thanks again!