Volunteering means happy eyes of children
Anastasia Repina joined Nornickel 6 years ago as an experienced volunteer. She met like-minded people and headed up the GreenKI75 Volunteer Team at the company. Anastasia believes that every child has the right to a prosperous, happy life, and it is the task of adults to give it to them.
- When did you start volunteering?
- I worked for Russian Railways in 2015. At that time, there were severe fires in the Transbaikal Territory and hundreds of families were left homeless. “The Union of Volunteers of Russia” opened a few centers in Chita to collect items for the fire victims.
I started gathering things at my plant, from my acquaintances and taking them to these centers. Then, I founded and led my own volunteer squad, “The Road of Kindness”. We started with 18 people and had a friendly and dedicated team of 280 volunteers when I left Russian Railways.
We have become an example for the entire Russian Railways organisation, for all concerned people of the Amur Region and Trans-Baikal Territory. I received a presidential diploma and a medal “For Selfless Contribution to Organizing the All-Russian Mutual Aid Action '#WeAreTogether"
The main focus of our activities was to help orphanages. We organized trips for children to the Kremlin New Year Show in Moscow, invited celebrities and VIPs to get involved in the children's lives. We held patriotic events for May 9.
My colleagues are still working on the “Road of Kindness”. I still have good relationships with Russian Railways and other companies that supported us. This is very helpful for my current projects.
- I worked for Russian Railways in 2015. At that time, there were severe fires in the Transbaikal Territory and hundreds of families were left homeless. “The Union of Volunteers of Russia” opened a few centers in Chita to collect items for the fire victims.
I started gathering things at my plant, from my acquaintances and taking them to these centers. Then, I founded and led my own volunteer squad, “The Road of Kindness”. We started with 18 people and had a friendly and dedicated team of 280 volunteers when I left Russian Railways.
We have become an example for the entire Russian Railways organisation, for all concerned people of the Amur Region and Trans-Baikal Territory. I received a presidential diploma and a medal “For Selfless Contribution to Organizing the All-Russian Mutual Aid Action '#WeAreTogether"
The main focus of our activities was to help orphanages. We organized trips for children to the Kremlin New Year Show in Moscow, invited celebrities and VIPs to get involved in the children's lives. We held patriotic events for May 9.
My colleagues are still working on the “Road of Kindness”. I still have good relationships with Russian Railways and other companies that supported us. This is very helpful for my current projects.
Anastasia Repina, IT manager for SAP ERP system support at Nornickel Sputnik
In the very first year of its establishment, the "GreenKI75" team took the first place in the environmental marathon "Up and Rolling!" (PonesLos) in the Transbaikal Region. Since then, it has consistently been among the leaders.
- Did you immediately get involved in the сompany's volunteer movement when you joined Nornickel?
- In 2019, when I joined Nornickel Sputnik, we started the “Add Green” team. We team up with other companies to help more. I build up to 5 teams at a time.
The main focus of our activities is to help children's orphanages. We are in charge of a remedial boarding school for children with developmental delays in the Village of Khokhotui.
The school is 400 km from Chita. It is a wooden house, frosts reach -50℃ in winter, but the kids live in an atmosphere of warmth, respect and care. It is always clean and cozy, and the children are engaged. The school has a vegetable garden and even a cattle yard with cows, chickens, and pigs. The adults are constantly working on them, of course, but children help them a lot and literally learn how to grow food.
However, the children are still cut off from the world. Traveling from Chita to Khokhotui takes almost 7 hours one way. Nobody but us has come here. We were eager to help those who were in greater need.
- In 2019, when I joined Nornickel Sputnik, we started the “Add Green” team. We team up with other companies to help more. I build up to 5 teams at a time.
The main focus of our activities is to help children's orphanages. We are in charge of a remedial boarding school for children with developmental delays in the Village of Khokhotui.
The school is 400 km from Chita. It is a wooden house, frosts reach -50℃ in winter, but the kids live in an atmosphere of warmth, respect and care. It is always clean and cozy, and the children are engaged. The school has a vegetable garden and even a cattle yard with cows, chickens, and pigs. The adults are constantly working on them, of course, but children help them a lot and literally learn how to grow food.
However, the children are still cut off from the world. Traveling from Chita to Khokhotui takes almost 7 hours one way. Nobody but us has come here. We were eager to help those who were in greater need.
Children from orphanages need to feel involved in their home improvement.
Children from orphanages need to feel involved in their home improvement.
- How do you help the kids?
- We focus on socialization and occupational therapy. For example, the pupils together with the shop teacher built a beautiful wooden fence around the playground we were improving. We brought benches made of recycled materials under our “Cozy Yard” Project and arranged an eco-trail together with the children. The children made wooden stumps, we dug them in, and covered them with sand and cones.
When I was with Russian Railways, we also had a project called a weekend tour. We brought children to Chita for two days, arranged a cultural program and carried out a quest for socialization. We gave 100 rubles and a map with the route to each child. The task is to take public transport to a certain store and buy bread.
It's a whole new adventure for kids. After all, they had never made their own way around town or bought food on their own. An ATM looks like a sci-fi movie device for them. The children are heartwarmingly grateful for an experience like this. To be honest, we cried when after completing the task, they used the change left to buy a rose for each of us.
The students at the Khokhotui boarding school earn points for good behavior and academic achievement throughout the year. Then, we bring them clothes, other things, and they use these points as money to buy them. This is how kids learn to earn and spend wisely. The unsold items, of course, are given away for nothing afterward.
- We focus on socialization and occupational therapy. For example, the pupils together with the shop teacher built a beautiful wooden fence around the playground we were improving. We brought benches made of recycled materials under our “Cozy Yard” Project and arranged an eco-trail together with the children. The children made wooden stumps, we dug them in, and covered them with sand and cones.
When I was with Russian Railways, we also had a project called a weekend tour. We brought children to Chita for two days, arranged a cultural program and carried out a quest for socialization. We gave 100 rubles and a map with the route to each child. The task is to take public transport to a certain store and buy bread.
It's a whole new adventure for kids. After all, they had never made their own way around town or bought food on their own. An ATM looks like a sci-fi movie device for them. The children are heartwarmingly grateful for an experience like this. To be honest, we cried when after completing the task, they used the change left to buy a rose for each of us.
The students at the Khokhotui boarding school earn points for good behavior and academic achievement throughout the year. Then, we bring them clothes, other things, and they use these points as money to buy them. This is how kids learn to earn and spend wisely. The unsold items, of course, are given away for nothing afterward.
- How do kids feel about your team's visits?
- They know us all by name now, and the youngest ones called mom and dad at first. It's hard to get used to. I tell my colleagues how to behave properly before each visit.
At no time should you show pity. It distresses and humiliates a person. Children shouldn't have to feel like they're living some kind of a wrong life. They don't know any other life, you have to respect their privacy and come as a guest.
Sure, it's hard. We often have male volunteers traveling with us. When it was time to go back and the bus moved, the children ran after it. Even the men couldn't hold back the tears at this point. I am sure that everyone rethinks their lives and values after interacting with these children.
- They know us all by name now, and the youngest ones called mom and dad at first. It's hard to get used to. I tell my colleagues how to behave properly before each visit.
At no time should you show pity. It distresses and humiliates a person. Children shouldn't have to feel like they're living some kind of a wrong life. They don't know any other life, you have to respect their privacy and come as a guest.
Sure, it's hard. We often have male volunteers traveling with us. When it was time to go back and the bus moved, the children ran after it. Even the men couldn't hold back the tears at this point. I am sure that everyone rethinks their lives and values after interacting with these children.
Anastasia Repina's team is an active participant in all Nornickel's environmental and charity initiatives.
Anastasia Repina's team is an active participant in all Nornickel's environmental and charity initiatives.
- What other projects is your team involved in?
- We help more than just the orphanage in Khokhotui. We installed a gazebo, benches and flowerpots at the Open World Special Education and Development Center for deaf and hard-of-hearing children. We gave the children lessons on environmental topics and lectures about the Arctic. We have helped the Scarlet Sails orphanage in Kokui on many occasions. The Freedom Dresser Project is gathering and donating clothes.
In June, Chita will host an international festival for children with disabilities and kids from orphanages. Trans-Baikal Division is the general partner. The Governor of the Trans-Baikal Territory, United Russia, Russian Railways, and other major companies are also involved.
I am helping to organize the festival together with actress and singer Evgeniya Korotkevich and her Charity Foundation “The Planet Needs Your Talents”. Children from four orphanages and kids from the Open World will participate in the event. The festival will be the first of this kind to be held in Chita. We are looking forward to making it an annual event in our city.
- We help more than just the orphanage in Khokhotui. We installed a gazebo, benches and flowerpots at the Open World Special Education and Development Center for deaf and hard-of-hearing children. We gave the children lessons on environmental topics and lectures about the Arctic. We have helped the Scarlet Sails orphanage in Kokui on many occasions. The Freedom Dresser Project is gathering and donating clothes.
In June, Chita will host an international festival for children with disabilities and kids from orphanages. Trans-Baikal Division is the general partner. The Governor of the Trans-Baikal Territory, United Russia, Russian Railways, and other major companies are also involved.
I am helping to organize the festival together with actress and singer Evgeniya Korotkevich and her Charity Foundation “The Planet Needs Your Talents”. Children from four orphanages and kids from the Open World will participate in the event. The festival will be the first of this kind to be held in Chita. We are looking forward to making it an annual event in our city.
- What does volunteering mean to you?
- It's a state of mind, it makes the children's eyes happy, and you can make them just a little bit happier. We don't know what word, what visit might change their fate for the better.
When I accompanied the children to the Kremlin New Year Show, there was a girl sitting next to me. The food arrived, she opened the tray and saw the broccoli. The kid was cheering as if she had won a million! She had never eaten broccoli or even seen it in real life. For us, it's just regular food, but for her, it's a window to another world. You experience an extreme reassessment of life values at these moments, and tears come to your eyes.
Two sisters recently graduated from the Khokhotui Boarding School. One of them found her new life, got a job in Chita and became a volunteer too. If the fate of at least one person changes for the better after visiting a thousand orphanages, it is worth all efforts.
It's important for kids to see a different life. To know there are a lot of good decent people in the world who are willing to help. That's what volunteers are for.
- It's a state of mind, it makes the children's eyes happy, and you can make them just a little bit happier. We don't know what word, what visit might change their fate for the better.
When I accompanied the children to the Kremlin New Year Show, there was a girl sitting next to me. The food arrived, she opened the tray and saw the broccoli. The kid was cheering as if she had won a million! She had never eaten broccoli or even seen it in real life. For us, it's just regular food, but for her, it's a window to another world. You experience an extreme reassessment of life values at these moments, and tears come to your eyes.
Two sisters recently graduated from the Khokhotui Boarding School. One of them found her new life, got a job in Chita and became a volunteer too. If the fate of at least one person changes for the better after visiting a thousand orphanages, it is worth all efforts.
It's important for kids to see a different life. To know there are a lot of good decent people in the world who are willing to help. That's what volunteers are for.
Photos by Anastasia Repina
April, 2025
April, 2025
2025-05-12 18:15
Social
Russia
Personal experience