Utah visit thrills Russian orphans

Thousands of miles from their hometown, five orphans and two of their teachers oohed and ahhed at the architecture in Utah's Capitol.

They had never seen anything like it.

The tour was part of the Russian group's first trip to America, made possible by donations provided at the death of one of Utah's prominent education-advocacy attorneys.

At the time of his death, Doug Bates' family asked for donations to charity instead of flowers. The money was then used to start the Tilsit Orphan Education Fund, which has since provided much-needed support to an orphanage in Sovetsk, a city in Russia near the Baltic Sea, which is the birthplace of Bates' wife, Eva.

"When we started working with these kids, it was like opening a door that had been closed there for many, many years," she said. They hope to help several of the children at the orphanage pay for school at a college or university in Russia. It takes only $80 a month, roughly, which covers room and board, because higher education is subsidized by the government there.

"We really hope to make a difference in the lives of these girls," Eva Bates said. Many of the children in orphanages are turned away at age 16, left to fend for themselves. Instilling an idea of what the world is like outside of Russia will hopefully give them something more to aspire to.

"It's such a great country," said Svetlana Kozeretskaya, the girls' English teacher and translator for the trip. She said the experience has taught them all a lot.

The experience, she said, is "a privilege" and almost too much to take in.

"America is so rich for its people," she said. "Families have traditions. They are very helpful to not only their own children but to all our children. This country is great for that."

Before coming to Utah, the group spent two weeks in California shopping, seeing the sights and experiencing all kinds of new things. In Utah, in addition to visiting the Capitol, they spent a day at Lagoon, time at a mall, then visited various locations while staying in Utah County. They'll be seeing the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and touring Temple Square this weekend. They're enjoying foods different from the meager staples they eat at the orphanage and eating a lion's share of fresh fruit each day while staying at the Bates' home in Salt Lake City.

"It's something they don't get at home," Eva Bates said. "And we're happy to provide ... as long as there is money."