[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Page 12985]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 12985]]

                  MARIA'S CHILDREN AND RUSSIAN ORPHANS

 Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I want to advise our colleagues and 
their staff, and their constituents visiting Washington, of an 
educational exhibit in the Russell Rotunda next week. The exhibit will 
include examples of colorful murals used by the volunteer group, 
Maria's Children, a Moscow-based arts rehabilitation center, as arts 
therapy and training for Russian orphans with learning difficulties. 
This therapy has produced encouraging results.
  Maria's Children is a Moscow-based foundation, with U.S.-based Board 
members and volunteers, established to help children in Russian 
orphanages recognize their creative potential, thereby developing their 
talents and self-esteem so as to improve their chances of successful 
integration into Russian society. Created in 1993 by Maria Yeliseyeva, 
a local Moscow artist, and her friends, the project quickly found that 
through art, these orphans could come to express themselves in ways 
they had not known before, improving both their social and 
psychological development. Through a combination of arts therapy and 
exposure to normal family life, Maria's Children have literally given 
these children a second chance. The program has expanded over time and 
has started a summer art camp for orphans and is associated with Dr. 
Patch Adams annual clown tours of Moscow. The art work of the children 
has been featured in several Moscow exhibits and is helping to change 
Russian attitudes and views of what orphans are capable of achieving.
  The exhibit will show in the Russell Rotunda from July 3-7. From 
there, it will move to the Russian Cultural Centre, here in Washington, 
and will be on display from July 8-21. The exhibit will also show 
across the United States throughout the summer, appearing in New York 
City at the National Art Club from July 28-August 6; at the Edina 
Southdale Court in Minneapolis from August 11-19; and at the 
Bumbershoot Festival in Seattle from September 1-4.
  I invite our colleagues and their staff to visit this exhibit and 
learn about the important work that is being done by Maria and her 
colleagues to improve the opportunities for orphans in Russia.

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