In March 2005, ThePromise team was joined by Karen Edwards, our new Project Development Manager. Her brief is to set up the Portage pilot project in Ryazan for September 2005. She went out to Russia in the middle of March, and has been working hard to bring the people together who can make this happen for the children. She is doing a wonderful job and below, you can read her first progress report.

I've been here since the middle of March, and it feels like home - perhaps it's the weather; one moment blazing sunshine and sunglasses, the next central heating and thermal underwear! Spring is now here; trees have fresh green leaves and tulips are popping up unexpectedly.

It's a far cry from my 5 years in Namibia where I was Project Manager for community rehabilitation projects. The dry, dusty heat didn't really call for thermals!

I came out to Russia with a clear vision but a blank sheet of paper - I had a daunting task ahead of me to try and bring all the elements together to turn this vision into reality!

However, after a rather slow start, and an awful lot of bureaucracy, we are now making great progress with the project. Tatiana, the baby home director is taking a keen interest and wants some of her care staff trained as Portage workers, ensuring longevity and sustainability of the project; a great idea, and one that we wouldn't have dreamt of imagining as a possibility.

I'm starting to find like-minded people and have visited many organisations to share our hopes and aims and had a good response from several. Regardless of the general disinterest in disability issues, I am finding some wonderfully receptive people, keen to learn more about Portage and I am impressed by their strong commitment to improving the lives of disabled children, despite dreadful odds.

I have discovered a new organisation which supports parents and disabled children in the community, called Our Children; I'm sure we can work well together. It was set up by a mum, so she really understands the problems faced by others. Accessibility is a huge problem, public transport and buildings have no facilities for disabled people; entering trolley buses is like conquering Everest!

At the beginning of June, I will start to spend much more time with the children in the baby home which will be great. There was a lot of paperwork to do prior to this, in order to make me a “legal” presence in the home! I am really looking forward to getting to know the children, particularly those who will embark upon our pilot project in September.

My Russian is not improving, although I have become proficient in pointing, smiling and saying “This one” when I go shopping. Last week I bought a chair which caused much hilarity; most of the negotiations were done by drawings, and at one point, they thought I was wanting to buy a car! I'm sure I'll master the language eventually. In the meantime, thank heavens for my wonderful team of interpreters!

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