Pain of our time

Our state has constantly taken care about children living without parents since the end of the 10th years of the twentieth century. In 2004 there were about 1700 childrens homes in Russia. In 2007 153 000 orphans were adopted, 384 000 orphans were in the custody of some adults and 37 000 orphans lived in foster-family homes. In 2007 the budget oriented to the development of family forms was 21,4 billion rubles (856 million dollars).

There is a pupils' organization in our centre of education.They called it "Chance" (School Active Independent Club). Some pupils of the 9-11 grades are active members of this organization. The purpose of it is to help children living without their biological parents.

Extract from the interview with our team-member Anastasia who visited Moscow childrens home No.8 with the club "Chance"

Question: What do you do for the children's home?
Anastasia: We gather different useful and necessary things for it.

Question: How do you do it?
Anastasia: Usually, we gather things for the childrens home at our school but sometimes we do it in the nearest supermarket.

Question: What is your opinion about the childrens home?
Anastasia: My opinion is positive. This home is for children from their birth to 4-5 years old. The rooms in this childrens home are clean, light and rather modern. All the kids are tidy.

Question: Where there any children especially remembered by you?
Anastasia: Once we were allowed to play with the children. They smiled playing with us and were rather calm. One little girl always came to all of us and wanted to make friends with us. I remember her very much. Her eyes were starlight

Question: Are biological parents interested in their children?
Anastasia: I havent heard about it.

Question: What holidays do they celebrate in the Childrens home?
Anastasia: New Year and kids birthdays.

Question: What character trait is especially important for a tutor working in a childrens home?
Anastasia: I think the person should be kind, patient and polite. Of course, its necessary to love kids very much because their behaviour can be different.

Question: How do you think, the children home needs your help?
Anastasia: Yes, I am sure. They were very glad to get pumpers, kids cosmetics and food, clothes and toys, presents for the New Year.

Question: What do you feel after your visiting the childrens home?
Anastasia: Id like to visit it again.

There are state programmes between Russia and some foreign countries. These programmes help children from Russian Childrens homes to spend their vacations in warm healthy climate and even find a new family.

Extract from the interview with the interpreter Nadia who worked in this programme:

"Sometimes in summer when I was a student I went to Spain as interpreter with children from some Russian Childrens homes. There is a state programme between Russia and Spain and children from Childrens homes (from Murmansk and Volgograd regions, Siberia and regions that suffered from Chernobyl nuclear reactor disaster) spend their winter and summer vacations in Spanish families. Many of them live in the same families from year to year and Spanish people wait for them and treat them as their own children. Of course, there were some problems from time to time: families are different and children are different, but, finally, everybody got on well with each other and I helped them with interpretation. Some Spanish people were attracted to the children so much that adopted them later. However, adoption procedure of a Russian child costs very much. Not everybody who wants to adopt a child from Russia can afford it."