Moscow, June 21, 2022
Photo: kareliya-tur.ru
A new center for troubled children and teenagers will soon be opening on Valaam. The center is called, "Valaam. The Island of Discoveries" reports the press service of the charitable monastic foundation Light of Valaam, citing an article from RIA Novosti.
The program received a grant from the Presidential grants fund this month—significant support that will enable it to function. It provides for five to six-day creative sessions on Valaam for 28 children and teenagers. Each shift consists of excursions to the unique natural and cultural places of Valaam. Additionally, creative, media and research groups will operate under the guidance of specialists experienced in artistic and natural therapy. Meetings with famous artists and musicians are also planned.
The first session will open on July 25, with children from the “Mother’s Heart” Foundation in nearby Petrozavodsk. "The program will help children to develop their talents and understand the value of trust, love, respect for each other. All this is necessary for their socialization. It is fortunate that they have such an opportunity," says Tatyana Smirnova, coordinator of “Mother's Heart”. The second session will open in late August, with children from the E. M. Primakov Foundation.
Previously, the Valaam Monastery operated a cultural and educational center called “The Light of Valaam”, which for many years was led by Archimandrite Methodius, the closest assistant and associate of the abbot of the monastery, who died in 2021 from a coronavirus infection. The new spiritual and educational center is aimed at a broader audience, organizing master classes, concerts and theatrical productions for children and adults.
