Forming one of the 100 Acts of Kindness that Benenden students and staff completed as part of the School’s Centenary celebrations, Six One student Avril was inspired to collect costumes and funds for the Umid Yeri Ushaq Orphanage in Azerbaijan. Here she gives her account:
During February Half Term, I visited the Umid Yeri Ushaq Orphanage in Azerbaijan. My parents live in Azerbaijan, so they suggested I go to visit Umid with them, and I am so glad that I did.
The orphanage, which is about 30 minutes outside the capital city of Baku, has 65 children living it, along with six women who work tirelessly to look after all the kids.
While I was travelling to Baku, I was mentally preparing for the visit to be upsetting, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. ‘Umid Yeri Ushaq’ translates to ‘Place of Hope’, and this place truly did live up to its name. The children were laughing, taking care of one another and having fun. I saw the same community spirit that Benenden has, even though the situations couldn’t be any more different. The children chatted in the queues for lunch and dinner, they played outside, and they learnt TikTok dances from YouTube.
All Azerbaijani households are full of music and dancing, and this orphanage was no exception. I spent the entire visit dancing and playing with the kids. And although the kids were all well dressed, the children did not have any dress-up costumes. I started to think about how half of my childhood was spent wearing a ballet, princess or fancy-dress costume, and I wanted these kids to have the same joy and fun from pretending to be a princess the way I did. Although a slightly trivial initiative at first glance, I began to think how easy it would be for Benenden to donate old costumes for me to bring to Baku.
After sending just one whole-School email right after I got back to Benenden, I was inundated with donations from staff and students. I hardly had to urge the School to donate at all. So many people got involved and for that I am so grateful!
The children learn all types of dance for their daily exercise, and thanks to Benenden’s 150 children’s costumes, we could provide all of the children who live there with something to wear for their dance show to celebrate Novruz, the equivalent of Azerbaijani Christmas. The costumes ranged from Superman, The Hulk, Tinkerbell, police officers, fire fighters, numerous princesses and so many more.
The kids every year prepare for months for their dance show in the centre of Baku, and this year these kids were able to wear their costumes proudly as they celebrate the holiday.
When I arrived to Umid, I asked Niger Ana, the founder of the Orphanage (Ana meaning mother in Azerbaijani), what the hardest part of the day was with so many kids in one house. She responded immediately with ‘bath time’. From then, I knew that I wanted to raise money to go towards a new boiler. I worked with the help of some Azerbaijani locals, friends and family to raise money to buy a boiler for hot water for the orphanage. My dad and I did a sponsored walk around Baku and raised £700 in our 10 km walk.
Although I haven’t been able to visit Umid Yeri Usaq since my first visit, my dad has been back numerous times, and Niger Ana said how much easier washing has become, with the children all queuing up when the clock hits 6.00pm, ready for a bath.
The children had their best ever dance show this year, and they absolutely love their new dance kit. As my dad passed out the costumes, he mentioned how thankful each child was with their costume, saying “Thank you Benenden!” before jumping for joy. I felt so proud of what Benenden had achieved as I watched the videos he took for me.
I want to thank all who donated costumes so much, through just one of the 100 Acts of Kindness, we as a School have made such a positive impact on so many children’s lives. These costumes have made their Novruz even more special and given them immense happiness and countless hours of fun.