FLEX Alumni Facilitate Exchange Between Orphans and Elderly

In December 2011, four alumni of the Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) program, administered by American Councils for International Education, brought young orphans and elderly people together in an act of American-style volunteerism. For three days, the alumni met with developmentally disabled orphans from Moscow's Boarding School No. 8 to make small gifts and practice songs, which they then presented to residents of an elderly care home. By organizing more than 500 volunteer events in 2011 alone, FLEX program alumni are changing the perception that community-based volunteerism is rare in Russia. The Moscow Times highlighted this volunteer project as a part of a news series on the FLEX program.

With the support of two outside organizations, Kraski Detstva and the Sofia Fund, the FLEX alumni community "[brought] together two socially insecure groups: orphans and elders," said Yevgeny Dzinter, the Moscow-based FLEX Alumni Coordinator. The school's principal, Yelena Sorokina, said that FLEX alumni provided much-needed interaction for the school residents. She emphasized that, "it is extremely important for [the students] to socialize with people from outside the school."

Once at the elderly home, the children politely greeted the residents and presented their gifts. The children serenaded the elderly with patriotic Russian songs like "Rus" and "How the Soldier Served." The elderly residents warmly received the children's heartfelt gifts and songs.

Administered by American Councils for International Education, the FLEX program sends secondary school students from ten Eurasian countries, including Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine, to study in U.S. high schools for one academic year. After engaging in and learning about volunteerism in their host communities, FLEX participants return home with a commitment to improving their own communities and countries.

Russian FLEX alumni exhibit a strong sense of leadership and engage continuously with their communities, thanks to high-caliber alumni programming and support from the FLEX network. In 2012, FLEX alumni across Eurasia will continue to improve the lives of others by participating in, and promoting, community outreach and volunteerism.

Click here for more information about the FLEX program visit.

Click here to read the Moscow Times article on Russian FLEX alumni.