Family to Every Child

The specialists of our Fund met Tatiana’s family last fall, right after the tragedy she had suffered. The head of a poor rural family died on the railway, and Tatiana was left alone with five children in her arms losing the sole breadwinner of the family overnight. But the troubles did not end there either and the events that followed developed rapidly. Less than ten days after the tragedy happened, the guardianship officials came unexpectedly to Tatiana’s house with a check. The confused, grief-stricken woman had not had a chance to recover by the time when her children were taken to an orphanage (at first, do different ones because of the age difference) the same day the officials came with a visit and sued to deprive her of parental rights.

Later, Tatiana learned that her husband’s relatives had submitted a complaint to the guardianship authorities accusing her of being an alcoholic and providing poor living conditions for children. It is possible that the bone of contention was the money that the railway company was going to pay to compensate the family. A significant amount was supposed to be paid for each child until the age of majority. It was a solid sum of money for the Russian hinterland. According to Tatiana, her husband’s relatives planned to arrange custody of some of the children.

The woman was completely confused and did not know what to do. She had no one to ask for help. There was still a chance to get the children back provided that the requirements of guardianship were fulfilled, mainly the ones related to living conditions. In the end, Tatiana got some help. Local aid organizations and volunteers helped Tatiana to do some minor home repairs and purchase household appliances. They spoke of Tatiana with respect and understanding. It was clear that there were no serious reasons that would threaten the safety of children while in the house and some minor things were not so difficult to fix.

It was more difficult to organize the process of returning the children from the orphanage back to their family. In this matter, one needs to know their rights and be a persistent, self-confident person, whereas Tatiana was completely knocked down by the misfortune that had piled on her. First, she had to suffer the tragedy with her husband, then she lost her children. In this case, the help of a team of specialists from the Our Children Charity Fund was required. The team would include a psychologist, a counselor and a lawyer.

The Fund’s psychologist was constantly in touch with her ward regularly visiting her to provide support, encourage her and discuss specific actions necessary to get the children back home. The Fund’s counselor helped Tatiana to solve household and social issues and to communicate with the guardianship authorities and other necessary organizations. The Fund’s lawyer represented the mother in court and advised the woman on legal issues.

Tatiana’s intention and will to get her children back home became obvious to the employees of the orphanage and the guardianship authorities. Thanks to the support of the specialists of the Our Children Charity Fund, she managed to fulfill almost all the requirements presented to her as a mother.

At the end of March, at the trial, Tatiana was supported by the staff and the director of the orphanage. In early April, a court hearing was held with the participation of the children. Everyone saw that the children were rushing home and missed their mother very much, while the mother could not wait to be reunited with her children. And now, finally, the court’s decision to restore the mother’s rights came into force! Now all the children are back at home with their mother. Let everything that they have experienced be forgotten like a bad dream, and let peace and happiness settle in their home forever!

Families in difficult life situations live next to us. It is important to help these families on time and correctly, so that in times of crisis children could stay with their loved ones and be safe and so that the family could raise children on its own. Our professional assistance to the family results in the fact that children do not join the ranks of orphans whose parents are still alive, especially when parents can and want to raise their children.

Please support the work of the Our Children Charity Fund and help us restore the family ties. This way you will feel that you, too, can change the world for the better!