Russia

In 2008, during a trip to Moscow, Russia, I had the great fortune to spend a day drawing and painting with the talented young artists of Maria’s Children, a local art rehabilitation center, run by artist Maria Yeliseeva. This center was focused on helping in the social, psychological and intellectual rehabilitation of orphans and children with special needs. The main focus was to advocate for these children with disabilities and their families and to try and to protect them as they were often times marginalized in society. More recently, Russia has declared itself to be in the best position to care for its own children at this time so unfortunately, neither UNICEF nor any other international organizations are currently operational in the country.