Mom Makes World Smaller For Russian Daughter

To Russia, with love:Mom makes world smaller for Russian daughter

By Cara Spilsbury , Staff writerDaily News of Newburyport


NEWBURYPORT - Isabel Fudge stretched every one of her little fingers in pursuit of the large plastic pumpkin pushed back on the kitchen counter, set purposefully out of reach of the 3-year-old.

Her Halloween loot sat just inside the hollowed jack-o'-lantern, and even her tiptoes weren't enough. So she pushed a stool against the counter, climbed up and found her prize - Skittles and popcorn - the perfect snack for watching "Dora the Explorer."

It is a very American scene, a life far detached from the Russian orphanage from which Isabel came. But thanks to the diligence of her adoptive mother, Isabel will one day know her heritage and may have a connection with her two brothers, who remain with 120 other orphans living at a school in Russia.

Isabel was one of the lucky ones out of more than 170,000 children in Russian orphanages to find a loving family. She was adopted by Newburyport resident Kristen Fudge and her husband, Geoffrey, in March 2004, a week before Isabel's first birthday, from an orphanage in Lobnya, Russia.

Kristen Fudge is using modern technology, networking and love to bring Isabel's two worlds closer together, while making the life of her two brothers a little brighter along the way.
Isabel's adoptive parents knew that she had two brothers in an orphanage somewhere in Russia, but no one was sure where. The Fudges have always been open with Isabel about her background, even if the 3-year-old might not fully grasp it yet.

When they returned home to the United States, Kristen Fudge was determined to find their whereabouts. She scoured the Internet, looking for clues about where they might be found. With the help of several Web sites and international groups, her sleuthing was successful.
Dimitri, 14, and Nikoli, 12, are healthy and happy in a clean orphanage in the small village of Tuchkovo, about 44 miles outside of Moscow. Fudge was pleased to learn there was a female cousin at the orphanage as well. She has also learned that Isabel's birth mother had another baby.

When Isabel learned about her brothers in Russia, she was full of questions.

"She asked, 'Mommy, are they at school?'" Fudge remembered. "And I said, 'Kind of, but they live there.' And then she said, 'I want to live in school, too!'"

With the help of an interpreter, Fudge made contact three weeks ago with the orphanage that housed her daughter's relatives. At 1 a.m., about 9 a.m. in Tuchkovo, she spoke with Natalia Gruzinova, the orphanage's director, and asked what she could do to help.

"She was overwhelmed," Fudge said. "She had never had someone contact them and ask what they needed."

The children at the orphanage in Tuchkovo are active in sports, arts, drama, music and many other activities. Including Isabel's family members, there are more than 120 orphans, all between the ages of 7 and 18. Of those, 38 of them are true orphans who do not have either parent.

Fudge found out that the orphanage was in need of supplies for extracurricular activities, such as coloring books, sports equipment, instruments, costumes and quilting fabric. Her first idea to raise money for the orphanage was to sell Russian-themed sachets on the Internet, but the endeavor did not take off like she had hoped. Then Fudge realized she could use the connections she already had to make a difference.

Fudge, a resource teacher at Kennedy School in Somerville, got her students involved. Twenty-five of them make up a group at the school called Operation Russia, and they meet every other Wednesday to plan monthly fundraisers for an orphanage full of children they have never met.
With their first fundraisers, a popcorn sale and a Halloween hat day, they have raised $425. They hope to send their first shipment of quilting fabric and costumes this month. Closer to Christmas, they want to find the orphanage a new Santa suit.

In Russia, Santa is known to children as "Father Frost."

The students of Operation Russia are learning Russian to become pen pals with some of the children in Tuchkovo. They also want to exchange art they created as a way to communicate in spite of the language barrier.

Fudge has sent pictures of Isabel to Dimitri and Nikoli, as well as MP3/CD players that made the boys scream with joy. Originally, she thought that all the siblings were taken away at the same time, but now it is unclear if the boys ever met their young sister.

Isabel was only 3 months old when she was removed, and although authorities like to keep related children together, she was placed in an orphanage by herself because she had not yet bonded with her brothers. But through the unrelenting work of her new mother, Isabel will now have the chance.

"She may want to make contact someday," Fudge explained, "or she may not. But at least we made the contact, so it's up to her."

For more information about locating relatives of internationally adopted children, visit www.saveorphanedsiblings.com or www.russianfamilysearch.com .