Maarjamäe Foster Home
Our first charity project dates back to 2001, when our first club members, then as part of LC Rävala Club got fond of 7-year old twins from newly founded Maarjamäe Foster Home. Now the twins are living independently and it was also a great pleasure advising them and helping them with the interior of their first home.
The mission of LC Tallinn Reval Club was to show the children of Maarjamäe the everyday life of ordinary families, which is usually out of reach in foster homes. This includes involving children in different family gatherings held by our club, such as hiking trips, mountain skiing, going to the theatre, Christmas events etc.
These eyes, full of needed attention and curiosity and clinging little hands have kept us busy with the project for 17 years. We have not come into contact with children so withdrawn or with difficult behaviours, that it affected our ability to communicate with them. They are all completely ordinary children who have had a little bit of a different life with their own ups and downs. They are just like ordinary children in ordinary homes – some more cheerful, some more stubborn and some more cautious.
There is nothing lacking in foster homes, but we try to break the isolation they live in, giving them the chance to be part of the world of ordinary family life. We have shown them different jobs, have taken them hiking, go-carting, to picnics, visited museums, theatres and cinemas, gone skiing, swimming and walking with dogs etc. with our families.
We have also made it possible for two youngsters from Maarjamäe to participate in the summer camp of Lions Youth Program abroad by paying their transportation costs. It has been a unique possibility for them to meet children from different cultural backgrounds and live as a part of their family. Our children and fosterers in Maarjamäe Foster Home have changed within 17 years, but our visits, excursions and activities together have always been awaited with anticipation.
In 2016 we renovated Maarjamäe Foster Home. All the kids’ bedrooms, lounge and kitchen were wallpapered and painted. All the children got involved in the renovation, little ones painted the walls and older ones polished their pine desks to look as new. Prior to the renovation all the rooms were in a bad condition, the walls and desks were scratched and scribbled on. Even years after the renovation the rooms have been kept in their prime condition as a symbol of the children’s hard work. Our goal is to show the children of Maarjamäe different sides of life and to teach them that if they put their minds to it, everything is possible for them.
If you want to contribute to welfare of Maarjamäe children, you can become a sponsor or transfer money to the account of MTÜ LC Tallinn Reval Klubi EE562200221030656863 with the explanation „Maarjamäe Foster Home“.