Among our many programs, RCWS improves the lives of a great number of children at risk in Russia by funding their medical care and assisting in the training of Russian doctors. Click the links below to learn more about our targeted medical projects.
"Give Beauty Back to the Children"
Each year in Russia, 30,000 children are born with facial deformities and abnormalities of the skull. Another 20,000 children experience such defects due to trauma or illnesses developed after birth. Limited number of hospitals in Russia have specialists able to undertake such operations-operations that often require multiple surgeries and highly advanced medical technology. Costly operations are often put off and these children grow up ostracized by their peers as a result of their appearance.
Consequently, families are often torn apart. The stress of having a sick child leads to isolation, embarrassment, disappointment and financial hardship. Affected children, highly conscious of their appearance, suffer from maladaptive behaviors, irritability, depression as well as suicidal tendencies. Some parents solve the problem by sending their children to orphanages. Others have appealed to the general public for direct financial assistance for necessary operations by writing letters to newspapers. The latter approach has led to the Society's most recent undertaking on behalf of Russian children.
RCWS Board member Thomas McPartland introduced us to Lev Ambinder who runs the Russian Aid Foundation, a charity formed by the daily Russian newspaper Kommersant. Through both its' website and an allotted space in Kommersant, the Russian Aid Foundation provides an important forum for children suffering from all types of diseases (facial deformities, leukemia, scoliosis, heart defects, cerebral palsy). These forums call on the average Russian to offer a donation that will make treatment possible. The Foundation scrupulously investigates each case to avoid fraudulent appeals and all money is channeled directly to the medical institution providing the care.
The Russian Children’s Welfare Society is now working with the Russian Aid Foundation on a project entitled “Give Beauty Back to the Children” to raise required funds for the Moscow Center for Maxillofacial Surgery to treat children with facial deformities. RCWS provided $60,000 in 2007 and $120,000 in the following year for this project, allocating up to $1,250 per operation. In 2008, the project “Give Beauty Back to the Children” received $573,000 in aggregate donations through the combined efforts of RCWS and Kommersant’s Russian Aid Foundation. To date, we have helped over 270 children with facial deformities escape a future marked by cruelty and isolation.
Depending on the case, surgeries can range from $2,500 to $5,000; a cost that is far beyond the means of the families involved. Russian specialist Professor Roginsky insists that early diagnosis and treatment of facial deformities is critical not only for the patients' physical health, but also their psychological development and social integration. While many of these children will undergo multiple surgeries over a period of time, it is better to fix the problem before the deformity's negative physiological impact sets in and damages their self esteem for life. Using the most advanced medical micro technology, computers as well as Professor Roginsky's highly motivated staff, the Center for Maxillofacial Surgery has seen its patients learn to smile for the first time and watch, as their personalities grow more hopeful.
According to Prof. Roginsky, “Give Beauty Back to the Children” has helped transform these children both physically and mentally by instilling in them the courage to pursue their goals unhampered by any limits. Prof. Roginsky stated that “such philanthropic organizations are indispensable to our society, for our world is such that it needs people ready to lend a helping hand to those experiencing the anguish of tragedy and who need a source of faith.”
This program is a testament to the positive difference Russian and Russian-American organizations can make in the lives of children when they work together. No child should ever feel less than beautiful and we believe that more children will receive comprehensive care and eventually have access to more state-of-the-art treatment sites throughout the whole of Russian with the help of this critical collaboration.
On September 15, 2009 RCWS, in collaboration with the General Consulate of the Russian Federation in New York, hosted A Night of Fashion — Russian Style Benefit Gala featuring designer Randi Rahm. The event took place during Fashion week at the Ana Tzarev Gallery. Over 450 guests attended the event, which raised over $70,000 toward the project "Let’s Give Beauty Back to the Children". Read more
Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis Project
In 1998 the niece of an RCWS Board member, who was residing in Moscow, was stricken with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. Within a couple of days of the initial attack the little girl was left in excruciating pain, unable to walk or crawl. The girl was brought to the United States and under the care of Dr. Thomas Lehman (Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at Cornell University and Chief of Pediatric Rheumatology at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City) the child's condition showed steady improvement. Their niece's recovery inspired Mrs. Nadia Lipsky to establish a program to help thousands in Russia who are stricken with JRA, but unable to come to the U.S. for treatment.
During the last several years, RCWS was able to purchase specialized arthritis equipment for the Moscow Institute of Rheumatology and Sechenov Medical Academy. The Society has also helped facilitate training for Russian rheumatologists in New York and in Russia. Dr. Thomas Lehman has been instrumental in the success of this project. Dr. Lehman advises and guides RCWS on how best to help Russian children suffering from JRA. This partnership has resulted in a series of exchanges wherein Russian doctors are trained in the latest medical procedures available. This simple yet highly effective program prevents the needless crippling of children. Several Russian doctors from the Moscow Institute of Rheumatology and Sechenov Medical Academy have attended training sessions at the New York Hospital for Special Surgery. In 2001, 2003 and 2005 Dr. Lehman shared his expertise in conferences with doctors and visited a number of Moscow hospitals treating children with JRA. Dr. Lehman continues to participate in instructional conferences with Russian doctors.
Joint Project with the Smile Train
Of the approximate 30,000 children in Russia born each year with facial deformities approximately 30–40% are cases of cleft lip and palate. Over half of Russia’s 89 regions do not yet have medical facilities capable of assisting such patients.
In the fall of 2000, RCWS partnered with The Smile Train, an American non-profit organization whose mission is to assist children born with cleft lip and palate worldwide. We involved two of the most prominent Russian hospitals for children's facial reconstructive surgery: The Moscow Medical Stomatological Institute and the Moscow Center for Children’s Maxillofacial Surgery. In December 2002, in order to help raise the standards of cleft care outside of Moscow, RCWS and MMSU hosted its 1st Training Symposium for 250 cleft practitioners, sponsored by The Smile Train and the Russian Ministry of Health.
In April 2006RCWS, together with the Smile Train, Russian Ministry of Health, and the Moscow Medical Stomatological Institute, held the 2nd Training Symposium on Cleft in Moscow, which was attended by 450 medical professionals from 39 regions of Russia.
The surgery takes as little as 45 minutes, costs as little as $250, and changes a child's life forever.
Helping Children with HIV/AIDS
Official government statistics indicate that there are 333,332 Russians infected with HIV making Russia home to the highest number of people living with HIV/AIDS in Europe today. Since many more are unaware of their HIV status, international organizations believe that the true figure may be somewhere between 800,000 to 1.5 million. Medicine has fortunately advanced to the point where transmission of the virus from mother to child during pregnancy and birth can be stopped. However, thousands of children are born with HIV every year and many are abandoned soon after by their mothers.
In 2007, RCWS started working with the Foundation "Future without HIV/AIDS" and the All Russia Pediatric Aids Center in St. Petersburg, which provides assistance to infected orphans and pregnant women. Many HIV infected children have been transferred from hospital to hospital without interacting withother children or playing with new toys. At the
Pediatric AIDS Center there is a community of 40 sick and orphaned children who receive the attention of a dedicated staff of medical and educational professionals who foster their emotional development and integration into society. The Society's $11,500 contribution in 2008 is providing funds to equip the facility with furniture that creates a homelike atmosphere within the hospital. The children will also have the opportunity for trips to the theatre and circus, parks and overnight excursions to a sanatorium.
The Society commends the Pediatric AIDS Center for its commitment to children that many regard as a lost cause. These innovative programs the RCWS aids with financial support is yet another example how Russians and Russian-Americans can come together to help children in crisis. We hope these children continue to beat the odds.
Your contribution will help children in need. Please click here to help or call 212-473-6263
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