| TO RUSSIA WITH BEARR  Latin American Literature used to be Dr Verity Smith's speciality. Now,
in her retirement, she is a volunteer working on social exclusion in Russia.
The switch isn't as odd as it sounds. Verity, from Muswell Hill, north London, is a
former academic and editor of the Encyclopedia of Latin American Literature, and it's her
research skills that are proving so useful now.
Verity works with the BEARR trust, British Emergency Action in Russia and the
Republics. This is a small UK charity which is developing links with the voluntary sectors
in Britain and the former Soviet Union. Its aim is to help those disadvantaged by poverty,
disability and other forms of social exclusion due to the great upheavals in recent years
She found her job through REACH, the charity which places skilled executives to
work as volunteers with voluntary organisations.
"So many new voluntary organisations are springing up in Russia that it's hard to
keep track", she says. "The BEARR trust publishes a regular newsletter to keep
people informed. It is the principal source of information about British Non-Government
Organisations (NGOs) in the former Soviet Union."
Over the past year, Verity Smith has focused on researching and updating the database
of British voluntary organisations working in the former Soviet Union, an essential tool
in BEARR's work. Applying her academic research skills she has undertaken a comprehensive
overhaul of the material so that the trust can answer the hundreds of information requests
it receives each year.
"I know something of the need that exists as I have travelled to several countries
in the former Soviet bloc and have also attempted, rather unsuccessfully, to learn
Russian", she says.
The BEARR trust was founded ten years ago with the aim of making a contribution to
Russia’s transition to a pluralist, democratic society. It works alongside Russian
NGOs, to strengthen communities and promote citizen participation, and has several
projects currently in progress.
It is working with OZON, Russia’s first child protection centre, to develop a
distance learning training pack for those working in the field of child abuse. A video in
Russian, aimed at teachers, social services, lawyers and the police, introduces the issue
of child abuse and emphasises the need for early detection and intervention. The trust is
also helping with a project to improve services for the elderly in Moscow, who are amongst
those worst affected by the transition period. Many of them suffer from isolation and
economic hardship
Like other small charities the BEARR trust is dependent on the work of volunteers.
"We are very grateful to REACH for recommending Verity to us," says its
Director, Myra Green. "We hope to assemble her material into a directory."
If you feel you could offer your services to the BEARR trust or would like further
information, please contact Kyrill Dissanayake : telephone 020 7404 7081. Or see their
website: www.bearr.org.uk
REACH can be contacted by telephone on 020 7582 6543. Email: volwork@btinternet.com.
website: www.volwork.org.uk
Look out for future features from Olive Braman in Reports From The REACH Files
To view previous articles in this series - see the laterlife-interest index page
|
