HSE Students Engaged in Social Volunteerism at Orphanages
In February 2013, students of the Higher School of Economics launched the King Matt Academy with the aim of providing learning assistance to orphaned children. Master’s degree student Vladimir Korshakov of the HSE’s Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs, who spearheads the project, recently gave us an interview.
— Vladimir, how did the idea of the King Matt Academy come about? Where did the name come from?
— King Matt is a child character in a children's novel by Polish children’s pedagogue and author Janusz Korczak, and this child had to solve adult problems. The main idea of the project is to help orphaned children prepare for the Unified State Examination and the State Final Certification (final high school examinations). We are not going to re-educate anyone; we just want to do something so that children from orphanages have alternatives in their choice of educational institutions: not only a college or a professional technical school but also a university. I got this idea because I know what it means to prepare for entrance to a prestigious university without parental support. I shared my idea with my friends; they all considered it to be worthy, and we decided to go for it. When we contacted Orphanage No. 5, it was receptive to our idea, and we are now negotiating with several other orphanages.
— Who is on the project team? Can anyone else join in?
— Eight people are now working on the project, and almost all of them are HSE students or graduates. Also, we have a professional psychologist, Marina Kovalevskaya, and she carries out psychological work with the children and volunteers. Currently, each volunteer teaches several hours a week. Ideally, the load per volunteer should be two hours a week.
— We are in the process of recruiting volunteers among HSE students, but we would be glad to attract people from other universities. We are in great need of tutors in Russian language and literature since there are no philologists among us, but other specialists (for example, in chemistry and geography) will also be in demand.
— How do the children in the orphanages react to having such young teachers?
— Right now we have six students at Orphanage No. 5: four ninth-graders and two tenth-graders, and we work with them on four disciplines—mathematics, social studies, Russian, and English. My impression is that the children are more inclined to communicate with us than with their regular teachers.
— In your experience, what future does social volunteerism have in Russia with regards to providing this kind of tutoring assistance?
— It is difficult for me to talk about the whole of Russia, but we have some perspective on what is going on in Moscow and the Moscow region. Here, some social volunteerism projects focused on children in non-Moscow orphanages are in development. For example, the Bolshaya Peremena (Big Change) Foundation and the Khrum Project teach children from several regions of European Russia via Skype. But, although the material level of Moscow orphanages is high, children lack simple human interaction; they exist in a closed world, and the opportunity to communicate with students is one way for the children to receive primary socialization in our society.
Liudmila Mezentseva, HSE News Service
See also:
Research Results from HSE University Form Basis of UN Report on Volunteering
The first Regional State of Volunteering in Central Asia Review was presented at the UN Headquarters in New York as part of the annual High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development. The preparation of this document included the research conducted by the HSE Centre for Studies of Civil Society and the Nonprofit Sector (CSCSNS), with Viacheslav Ivanov, the Chief Expert of the Centre, serving as the lead author of the review.
‘The African Students Association Believes in Fostering an Inclusive and Diverse Atmosphere’
Russia is becoming an increasingly popular study destination for African students, and HSE University is actively seeking to attract more students from African countries. Bakary S. Sonko, from Gambia, is a master’s student at the Graduate School of Business and an active member of the volunteering community both at HSE University and beyond. In this interview, Bakary recounts his achievements as a volunteer and talks about how African students at HSE have built a supportive and welcoming community for each other.
‘Summer in Russia Has Been the Most Adventurous Holiday in My Life’
Sheripher Dinala, from Malawi, is a student of the Master’s in Political Analysis and Public Policy at HSE University in Moscow. With her busy summer over and the new academic year in full swing, Sheripher shares her stories of moving into a university dormitory, volunteering at international conferences, and nighttime dancing by the Moscow River.
‘Volunteering Is in Every Healthcare Worker’s Blood’
From August 7 to 9, the annual All-Russian Forum of Medical Volunteers took place at HSE University’s Cultural Centre. The event was held for the seventh year in a row. This year, 300 medical volunteers from all over Russia took part.
‘Earth Is Our Only Home; We Must Preserve It’
The Green HSE student organisation recently held the ‘Green Conversation’ festival at the Cultural Centre on Pokrovsky Bulvar. At the event, participants discussed the planet’s main ecological problems and the steps required to start building a green future today.
‘The Club Offers People with Mental Disabilities Something They Lack—Communication’
HSE University is known for its active extracurricular life. There are many student organisations at the university, so everyone can find something for themselves. Anna Lulikyan, fourth-year bachelor student in Sociology, told the HSE News Service about the Best Buddies HSE volunteer club.
Why Volunteers Keep Coming Back
HSE University researchers together with colleagues from Erasmus University in Rotterdam and the University of Pennsylvania examined the determinants of episodic volunteer satisfaction and its impact on the motivation to continue volunteering.
‘We Are Trying to Change Attitudes Towards Homelessness’
HSE University graduates and the Nochlezhka charity organisation have launched a social media project called ‘Gde-to ryadom’ (‘Somewhere Nearby’) about volunteering to help homeless people. The project offers a look at volunteer work from various perspectives through personal stories, expert opinions, and interactive cases.
HSE University Situation Centre Assists Over a Thousand Students
HSE Rector Nikita Anisimov met representatives of the HSE Situation Centre to discuss the results of its volunteers’ efforts. The meeting focused on new forms of support and the problems faced by students.
Researchers from HSE University Compare Motivations of Volunteers at Winter Olympics in Sochi and Beijing
The Sochi 2014 Olympics volunteer programme involved 25,000 people. It was the first such volunteer project in Russia and was organised with support from the government, educational institutions and non-profit organizations.