OREANDA-NEWS. September 03, 2010. The educational program Future Starts Today, organized by United Way Russia with the support of the Citi Foundation, achieved positive results this academic year. The program provides children opportunities to access additional classes and support from teachers and psychologists in order to enter colleges and universities, reported the press-centre of Citi. 

The classes took place at Taganka Children’s Fund and Kovcheg, two children’s centers in Moscow. In the past year, 216 children attended additional classes in computers and English, and received psychological consultation. These seminars boosted motivation, filled in their educational gaps, helped them to achieve better results at school and successfully pass final exams to enter colleges and universities.

One of the program’s successful examples is Ksenia, who attended classes at Kovcheg. She had psycological traumas as she lost her mother and spent a year in a special school for mental retardation. Her fear of studies remained till the 10th grade, only the additional classes taught by the patient and high professional teachers at Kovcheg helped the girl to overcome her emotional problems and eventually successfully enter Restoration College.

Tatiana Avramenko, manager of corporate social responsibility at Citi Russia, said: "The great results of this program demonstrate that children want to learn and are eager to achieve a better life, and they just need some help. We are pleased that this program has been very successful."

Tatiana Zadirako, director of United Way Russia, said: "We are glad to have such a program with Citi. Education plays a key role in modern life. And it’s even more important for children and teenagers from troubled families, as they don’t have access to good education but have great desire to enter colleges and universities. We provided these children a possibility to get better life. I think that the program achieved good results and hope that it will be continued next year."

The program budget was USD 100 000.