In late October 2024, the staff and experts of Synodal Department for Church Charity and Social Service — Veronika Leontieva, head of the Synodal Department's area of assistance to people with disabilities, and Tatiana Zaltsman, head of the Department of Social Work at the Theological Faculty of Orthodox Svyato-Tikhonovsky Humanitarian University Tatiana Zaltsman, chairman of the board of the charitable foundation «City for All» Sergey Chisty — visited Kaluga Diocese. They took part in a seminar and round table on helping people with disabilities.
They participated in a seminar and round table on helping people with disabilities.
The participants of the events were 63 people — clergymen, sisters of monasteries, representatives of sororities, church social workers, parishioners and volunteers of the Kaluga Metropolis, abbess of the Mother of God Nativity Nunnery of Tyumen, Hegumenia Nina (Skhulukhia).
The participants of the events were 63 people.
A practice-oriented seminar on accompanying people with disabilities, including those acquired in the conflict zone, on pilgrimage trips was held with the blessing of Metropolitan Kliment of Kaluga and Borovsk at the Kazan Maiden's Convent. monastery of Kaluga. The seminar was organized by the Synodal Department for Charity together with the Charity Foundation «City for All», the PSTSU, the Charity Commission of the Kaluga Metropolis and the Social Department of the Kaluga Diocese. The participants of the seminar discussed the issues of situational assistance and the use of inexpensive special mobile devices and equipment to create temporary accessibility of monasteries and churches, including objects of cultural, historical and architectural heritage.
In the course of the seminar Veronika Leontieva and Tatiana Zaltsman spoke about the organization of pilgrimage trips for people with disabilities and their peculiarities, as well as the difficulties that may be experienced in these trips by immobile groups, people with impaired locomotor, hearing, vision, people with mental disabilities. They also discussed with the seminar participants the issues of the main barriers in temples and in the temple territories.
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Sergey Chisty spoke about the types of equipment for people with disabilities that are used during pilgrimage trips, — mobile ramps, thresholds, step-walkers. He also conducted a practical training session on their use.
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At the end of the seminar in the Kazan Cathedral of Kazan Women's A workshop on organizing situational assistance at pilgrimage sites was held at the Kaluga Monastery. At the workshop the trainees took part in providing assistance in overcoming height differences to a person in a wheelchair, assistance on stairs, to blind and mobility impaired people when visiting churches and their shrines.
«It was important for us, on the one hand, to exchange experience, discuss ideas for organizing pilgrimages for people with disabilities, including formulating the goals of a pilgrimage trip, criteria for selecting groups and ways to motivate people with disabilities to participate in such events, to discuss the main barriers in temples and temple territories and their overcoming. On the other hand — to provide a new experience of immersion in the lives of people with disabilities to those who help them» — noted Veronika Leontieva.
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«In order for pilgrimage trips to be as effective and, most importantly, safe as possible, it is important for all trip organizers to update their knowledge and test their skills in providing situational aid and using assistive devices. This is why we gathered all potential participants of our future trips for a hands-on workshop. It was important for us to remind them that the main task of the accompanying staff is to and the host party to ensure the safety, not only of people with disabilities, but also of those who will have to be assisted in moving around for several days, — emphasized Tatiana Saltsman.
And during the trip, representatives of the Synodal Department for Charity took part in a round table on helping people with disabilities.
Also during the trip, representatives of the Synodal Department for Charity took part in a round table on helping people with disabilities. The purpose of the round table was to share experience in receiving people with disabilities and people with low mobility in the monastery, as well as to plan further joint work between the Synodal Department for Charity and the Chernoostrovsky monastery in this area. The participants of the round table discussed pilgrimage routes inside the monastery using inexpensive special mobile devices and equipment to create temporary accessibility of temples, including objects of cultural, historical and architectural heritage. Also, the experts of the Synodal Department for Charity gave recommendations on improving the layout and purchasing additional equipment to provide an accessible environment inside the building of the almshouse of the monastery under construction and the adjacent territory.
In the course of the roundtable, the abbess of St. Nicholas Convent hegumeness Nicolaia (Ilyina) of the Chernoostrovsky Monastery spoke about various directions of work with people with disabilities in the monastery. These are holding inclusive festivals «Rejoice, our Joy» and «Intercessor of the Kaluga land», a weekend program for families with disabled children of preschool age, cooperation with the Russian State Social University and the Russian State Specialized Academy of Arts, the work of the almshouse, helping seriously ill and elderly women refugees from the conflict zone.
Rector of the Mother of God Nativity Nunnery of Tyumen and founder of the children's Orthodox boarding house of family type «Joy» in Tyumen Abbess Nina (Skhulukhia) spoke about her experience of working with disabled children with mental retardation, mental retardation, Down's syndrome, their successful socialization, assistance in obtaining professional education, including higher education, as well as their post-boarding support.
The round table was co-organized by the Synodal Department of Charity, the charitable foundation «City for All», St. Nicholas Chernoostrovsky nunnery of Maloyaroslavets, the Orthodox gymnasium of St. Nicholas Chernoostrovsky nunnery, and the Orthodox gymnasium of St. Nicholas Chernoostrovsky nunnery.
Today in Russia there are over 400 Orthodox organizations that help children and adults with disabilities.
Today in Russia there are over 400 Orthodox organizations that help children and adults with disabilities.
Today in Russia there are more than 400 Orthodox organizations that help children and adults with disabilities.
Today in Russia there are more than 400 Orthodox organizations that help children and adults with disabilities.
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