Community Projects
The Harrisons have been a catalyst for many projects in Sakhalin involving the wider community. Click on images for a better view.
Mira Street Orphanage - Working Bee
Mira Street orphanage is a place
where children are placed when they first enter the care system. As
places become available at other orphanages, the children are then
assigned a more permanent orphanage residence on the Sakhalin island.
The Harrisons worked with the
orphanage director and created an opportunity for others to come in
and do some much needed maintenance to the grounds. Many came to help
on the day including ex-patriot oil company employees, local church
members, House of Grace and Hope family members and some of the
orphans themselves.
After being canceled previously
due to bad weather, the day turned out a success with both the
weather and the great time everyone had working together. The
playground equipment, gardens, lawns, exterior painting and general
cleanup radically changed the orphanage grounds in this first
"backyard blitz". Another blitz is planned for the near future.
Mira Street Orphanage - Multicultural day
A multi-national team consisting
of one Venezuelan, one American, one New Zealander, two Russians and
nine Australians, armed with national flags, a pinata and group
games, visited a local orphanage for an afternoon of fun activities.
Each person introduced themselves and shared a little about their
country and their life back home.
Several group games were played
which then led to the much awaited grand finale - the gigantic
pinata. Afterwards all enjoyed an afternoon tea of soft drinks and
cakes. The cakes were made by the Venezuelan ladies from the
expatriate village Olympia. The home-made food was a real treat for
the orphanage children. All involved on the day were grateful for the
work of the ladies in providing celebration food which these children
would rarely experience.
Wild-at-heart Men's Day
In Winter on the Russian public holiday - Protector of the Motherland Day - we especially appreciate the men associated with the House.
The women who live in the House all contribute in different ways to honor the men around them on this special day. This year, ahead of time the ladies set up a challenging orienteering course for the men, ending with a restaurant style dinner at home.
The orienteering day began at
11am with a group photograph at the House with a presentation of the
clues to the men for the challenge they were about to embark on. They
were led through bushland to a dodgem car challenge and then to a
Sheshlick (BBQ) lunch in the park. Stage two then took the men to the
Sakhalin Center building (in the city) to meet Ryan (an expatriate
Australian) who held the final clue which took the group to paint
ball war games played in 1 metre (3 ft) of snow.
The guys loved the challenge and returned with trophies of bruises, pain and fatigue. The three course dinner capped off a memorable day.
orphanshouse.org