Upsala Circus, grantee partner from Russia, featured in The Telegraph!

Posted 16 December 2016 in Grantee Partner News   |   Share

On 27th November 2016 EMpower’s Russian grantee partner, Upsala Circus, was featured in an article by Sally Williams in The Telegraph, a UK newspaper. The article “The Russian circus where troubled children are the stars” discusses how Upsala offers at-risk young people in St Petersburg a path to reach their full potential.

These young people have often been in trouble at school or with the police, come from poor families or have a parent with an addiction to alcohol. They are either referred or recruited through outreach programs to Upsala Circus, where the focus is on transformation. Being part of the circus “fosters teamwork, self-discipline and self-worth”.

“Graduates have gone on to join the army, or to work with children with learning difficulties; they have become teachers or mechanics; one set up an e-company.”

The article continues to focus on young program participants like Nastia and Sasha who joined Upsala in 2014, who had been taken away from their mother and put into care. One Upsala social worker worked with Nastia and Sasha’s mother to fulfill conditions necessary to get the girls home.

You can read the full article here: The Russian circus where troubled children are the stars

EMpower has been funding Upsala Circus since 2012, and our latest grant will support the ongoing delivery of its circus-based program to 35 at-risk youth in order to prevent risk behaviors, build resilience and help the development of social skills. The grant will also support efforts to further develop and document Upsala’s methodology as well as to determine long term impact.