Not Alone: Mentors for Russian Teen Moms, Children

Not Your Ordinary Russian Cooking Class

Mentoring one-on-one is an effective way to break the cycle of orphan mothers giving their children up to institutional care.

Kidsave Russia’s Malenkaya Mama (Teen Mother) program helps young mothers, many of whom grew up in orphanages, learn important life skills that no one taught them growing up. One aspect of this program is learning to cook, and the young mothers enjoy the generosity of Nestle Russia’s kitchen and its employees who volunteers to help them learn to make well-balanced, nutritious means for their families.

But there’s more than cooking going on! Kidsave Russia invites young mothers as well as older, more experienced women who are ready and willing to become mentors. Over cooking lessons the women and young moms chat, learn, have fun, and get to know each other. Often, a long-term mentoring relationship develops, giving a young lady the support of a caring adult she never got growing up.

The Malenkaya Mama program has served 323 teen moms and 340 babies since it began in 2004.

Currently, Kidsave Russia has 51 young mothers in Moscow and St. Petersburg involved in the program -- learning to raise their babies and become responsible citizens. Many have found mentors through this program, but the goal is insuring that 100% of the girls do.

Mentoring Opens up a World of Possibility for a Young Mother 

Mentors and teen moms meet at the orphanage. Over tea and snacks they discuss the news, talk about their challenges and share their achievements. Svetlana is pictured here, in the center, in the beige top. 

“I felt so lonely, and there was no one whom I could ask for help,” said Nadya, a girl who became pregnant at age 16. She didn’t believe she could take care of a child – because she grew up an orphan, with no one to show her how.

She had no idea how her future would unfold and didn’t know where to turn.

But after a few months living in the Malenkaya Mama Crisis Center, Nadya says she felt at home. She smiled a lot, communicated with the other girls there, and even became a group leader. At one of Kidsave Russia’s events Nadya met Svetlana, who eventually became her friend and mentor in the summer of 2016.

Svetlana is an experienced mentor who’s participated in the Kidsave Russia’s program for more than four years and helped three mentees. "Time flies,” she noted. “And my first mentee is already married and has two children. Sometimes we communicate by phone or social networks, like old friends."

Svetlana works in a cosmetics company, but also spends a lot of time with girls from the Teen Mom program, conducting master classes and workshops on self-care, style and make-up. Nadya has been to Svetlana’s office several times to study basic professional skills, including learning about the job of a sales assistant. Even though Nadya hasn’t chosen a profession yet, she and Svetlana enjoy their time together, and Nadya says she really likes the master classes.

"I am so proud of my Nadya,” said, Svetlana. “She is pro-active and wishes not only to benefit from the program herself, but also to share her knowledge and skills with others. She is open to everything new, and ready to change her life for the better. I really hope my efforts have helped in some small way in these positive developments."  

Links:

• Read more about Kidsave Russia's work