PETROPAVLOVSK – Tamara and Anatoly Korolkovs are the founders of the Krokha children’s home that has existed for 25 years. The couple has three children of their own and 46 whom they have adopted.
“It all started 25 years ago. After seeing the TV marathon from St. Petersburg dedicated to orphanages, my husband and I felt an urge to help children without parents, although at that time our third child was only three years old,” said Korolkova in an interview with Bnews.kz.
Two months later, they opened a children’s family home and later the whole family of 20 people moved into the cottage.
The Korolkovs, who are teachers, had to develop horticulture and animal husbandry as they wanted their children to eat homemade products.
“In school and at home, I used a great method to stimulate the children’s interest in their studies – the spirit of competition. And it largely worked. We provided the children with the freedom of choice and watching them we could identify both the character and abilities of the child,” she said.
The girls spend more time with their mother — at the sewing machine, in the garden, in the greenhouse and in the flower garden, while the boys spend time fishing or repairing the car with dad.
“One of our sons was the principal assistant to his father in the barnyard. Now, he has graduated from college as a veterinarian,” Korolkova said.
In this family they have lots of holidays, for they celebrate 46 birthdays. They prepare for holidays together by writing scripts and baking cakes and cooking.
Since childhood, the whole family has become accustomed to work, such as spending a lot of time on the garden plot, thus developing the sense of responsibility and satisfaction from the results of the joint labour.
“Generally speaking, the main thing is if you adopt a child, you should take him or her into your heart with love. Perhaps that is why our adopted children always come back,” Korolkova noted.
