Remote Russian village halts school closure by adopting orphans

With dwindling numbers of students and faced with closure, one remotely located school in Russia became the catalyst for the rebirth of an entire village. The village of Shapy is located 100 kilometres from Smolensk, near the Belarusian border. It was formed around the sawmill, but when it closed following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Shapy’s population began to decline, until, in 2006, the local school had only 12 students. With no gas, internet, running water or landline, the future of the village looked bleak. That is until a group of teachers came up with a selfless plan. Three teachers went to a local orphanage and adopted five children.