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| Handed to state: Ten-year-old Lyosha, front, has no limbs and is one of thousands of Ukrainian children abandoned by their parents |
A grim hangover from the communist era, it is done in the belief that the state will do a better job of raising a disabled child.
The truth, as I found when I spent six months in Ukraine filming a documentary after hearing reports of
severe neglect, is very different.
Take the case of Margarita, a seriously ill six-year-old who had been sent to hospital from the orphanage in which she had grown up.
The precise nature of her illness was unclear but she looked shocking. Beneath a pitiful blanket, an oxygen mask loosely taped to her emaciated face, she was the size of a toddler.
I asked what the plan was for her. There was no plan. As soon as her temperature dropped she would be sent back to the orphanage – even though its director, Nikolai Slavov, feared she would die.
Nikolai, who runs the Chernihvsky Institute, truly tries to do his best for those in his care, such as Lyosha, a bright and sparky ten-year-old with no arms or legs.
Lyosha at least stands a chance of experiencing some form of learning thanks to Nikolai, who has seen many of his charges leave as adults to end up in big, unfamiliar psychiatric institutions.
For others, the story is bleaker, as the anonymous graves in cemeteries attached to the institutes in which they have spent their short, unhappy lives prove.
This in a country which has spent £9 billion on improving infrastructure in preparation for co-hosting Euro 2012.
Ukraine says it is in favour of de-institutionalisation – but the number of children in such institutions has doubled in ten years, according to Unicef.
I hope readers will watch my film, Ukraine’s Forgotten Children, on BBC4 at 9pm tomorrow and feel as angry about this as I do.
Share you thoughts...thanks!
Just watched this, a terribly sad but truthful programme. Is there anyway to donate to the institution and help Nikolai with resources?
ReplyDeleteYes i agree with you, its a terribly sad but truthful programme. To be honest, we have such situation in ever nook and cranny of the world. Children are suffering for real. However @Bailey_T, i couldn't get much better contact of Nikolai, who runs the Chernihvsky Institute, i suggest you try goggle search on it for it can be useful. Thanks!
DeleteHi Bailey,
ReplyDeleteHappy Child Foundation is the Ukrainian non-profit that works closely with and supports the orphanages featured in the video.
If you're looking for a way to help the children, you may check out the non-profit Maya's Hope (http://mayashope.org) -- they just started a program to sponsor caregivers for the severely disabled children there. Maya's Hope Foundation works with Happy Child Fund to serve the English-speaking community. You may contact the founder of Maya's Hope personally: maya@mayashope.org
If you're looking to adopt, visit Reece's Rainbow (rr.org). They list for adoption (and assist financially with) many of the children with disabilities in Ukraine, especially those with Down's Syndrome. In fact, Lyosha (the boy with missing limbs) just got adopted through them!
I'd recommend contacting Maya Rowencak at Maya's Hope, since she has personally visited those children in the Zaporozhye region in Ukraine (featured in the video), and her non-profit organization is currently actively helping send aid to the children there.
God Bless,
Aaron
Hi Aaron, thanks for the Info and God bless! Thanks!
Delete