More than 20 years passed since the collapse of the Soviet Union, but the "care" system for the children at special orphanages, orphans with disabilities in Ukraine, hardly changed. Children do not live there, they exist at these orphanages, unable to self-actualization, creativity, education and communication with the outside world. Often these children can not even play with toys, which were donated by the donators, not by the state.
The absolute majority of orphans with disabilities in Ukraine, who have serious physical or mental condition, aged from 4 to 35 years live at special orphanages - children nursing homes (there are 55 in Ukraine). Often these orphanages are located in a very remote, inaccessible and sparsely populated places (villages). Such location is not random - the Soviet criminal ruling system tried to hide the disabled orphans away from people.
Implementation of the project will deploy to 10 out of 55 orphanages 10 community helpers - experts in the field of psychology, official representatives of the Ukrainian philanthropic network. Each assistant during the year will: 1. Hold with groups of pupils at the orphanages. 2. As a person who is not an orphanage employee or employee of the state agency, will serve as an independent observer. 3. Help volunteers. 4. Distribute information about the needs of pupils at the orphanages.
Work of the public assistant will achieve irreversible positive changes. Gradual positive socialization of the disabled orphans, who'll become more accustomed to the public assistant's work, will create the necessary precondition for the continuation of this work not only at the 10 selected orphanages, but also at all others. Work of the public assistant will detect all previously hidden or hushed issues at the specific orphanages will identify violations of rights and freedoms of the orphans.
This project has provided additional documentation in a Microsoft Excel file (projdoc.xls).
