"I am very pleased that we have been able to facilitate a cooperative arrangement between the business and social development community, for the benefit of all concerned - especially the young interns. It is my firm belief that the successful participation of a country's youth doesn't exist in a vacuum, but is part of a larger framework and one in which we are delighted to contribute."
From the letter of the World Bank's President James D.Wolfensohn
to the President of Russian Federation Vladimir V. Putin,
October, 2003.
In 2003 the President of the World Bank James D.Wolfensohn has addressed employees of IFC with the offer to start realization of the "A Chance to Work" program in Russia. The orphanage graduates have been chosen as the main benefitors after series of consultations and researches.
| By statistic data of international NGOs there are over 800 000 orphans in Russia. |
|
40% of orphanage graduates commit crimes
40% become alcoholic or drug-addicts
10% commit suicide
8% become odd-job workers
and only 2% continue their education and get settled in life.
|
Goals and objectives
- The practical objective of the project is to help orphanage graduates to obtain self-sufficiency, adapt to the present-day life.
- The moral objective is to ameliorate certain stereotypes surrounding orphans.
- The strategic goal is to reduce the social tension in Russia and to promote corporate social responsibility of Russian business society.
IFC has established a coordination office in order to implement and develop sustainable model of the ACW program, for its further expansion into the regions of the Russian Federation. Since 2003 the program successfully operates in Moscow, and in 2007 the ACW started its activity in Nizhniy Tagil, city of the Urals. 
