In August 2013 four orphaned students were given the chance to complete a one-month traineeship at ZAO Raiffeisenbank in St. Petersburg. After careful consideration and under objective criteria, four candidates, who were most suitable to complete the internship, were chosen out of twelve. Among them was also Vera Ivanova, godchild of the H. Stepic CEE Charity, who is being supported by the Charity on a yearly basis as part of a programme of the Russian Children’s Foundation.
“It is a real pleasure for us to help the girls by giving them the chance to do an internship. We at ZAO Raiffeisenbank support these four girls with their first steps in a working environment and encourage them to make first contacts with the world of work that will prepare them for a later entry into professional life and society. We are very proud that they are so eager to learn and support our employees in their daily work”, said Arndt Roechling, Member of the Board at ZAO Raffeisenbank.
The Charity always tries to deliver its help where it is most needed. In numerous cases this means commodity contributions or providing the much needed roof over the head. But the Charity also sets a high focus on education and on helping its beneficiaries to lead an independent life by encouraging, among others, a responsible dealing with personal finance issues. In this special case, four ambitious and hard-working girls were given a once-in- a-lifetime opportunity. During the internship the girls gathered priceless experience: not only through the chance to work for one of the biggest banks, but also through the acknowledgement of their own potential. The beneficiaries used the chance and proved their willingness to learn.
Adolescents often find it hard to go their own way and be independent after leaving the orphanage. They have to cope with ways of living and with an infrastructure that they not know and which seems overwhelming. The youngsters have almost no experience dealing with personal finances or daily bureaucratic tasks. Despite their high school diplomas and the skills acquired in the course of their education it would not have been easy for them to find a job or even an internship. After the completion of the traineeship the four shall have a better chance of finding a steady job, living an independent life and may be even moving to a more economically stable and developed city in Russia. The paid internship constitutes the first income the orphans earned by themselves and shall lay the foundation of a non-dependent life.