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Right now, there are estimated to be over 100,000 children living in orphanages in Ukraine. Official numbers vary, and it is difficult to pinpoint the exact number. Reports from 100,000 to 150,000 exist, with 120,000 being the most commonly cited number. There are officially another 100,000 in state care, such as semi-orphanages and other forms of care. Whatever the final number, the reality for these children is bleak. Around the age of 16, orphans must leave the orphanage. There is no further funding for them to remain in the orphanage and because of overcrowding, it is not possible for them to stay longer, they are without the basic skills to protect or provide for themselves.
The statistics are extremely sad:
- 60 - 70% of boys leaving the orphanage will become involved in crime
- 60 - 70% of girls leaving the orphanage will become involved in prostitution
- About 1 in 6 of these children will commit suicide before their mid-20’s
There are two types of children who make up the orphan population in Ukraine:
- Full orphans In this situation, both of the children’s parents are dead. The child is in state care because no other family is available to care for them.
- Social orphans. In this situation, which is more common, one or both of the child’s parents are alive, but either unable or unwilling to care for the child. This can be due to a variety of reasons. Some of the children in orphanages, perhaps 10%, still have a living parent who hopes to live with them again one day. These children live at the orphanage until their parents can find a way to support them. Sometimes these parents visit children or take them home on weekends, and sometimes this is not the case.
Why so many orphans?
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe, in 1991 it achived independence from the Soviet Union. Although this independence brought joy to many people, it also brought massive instability and economic turnmoil. The economy is finally growing again, but millions of people live in poverty across Ukraine.
- Unemployment - Many of the factories and industries that employed people during Soviet times have been closed, leaving people without any means of earning money. Although some people have become very wealthy, most are unemployed.
- Poverty - With unemployment and the absence of social programs funded by the government, comes poverty. Many people struggle to find enough money to buy food, clothing and medicine for their children.
- Collapse of Social Programs - The old socialist day-care progams are long gone, and there is no well-established private industry to meet this need.
- Alcoholism and drug abuse - As these problems have grown, so have rates of alcohol and drug abuse. Unfortunately, many children are either abandoned in the hospitals by these mothers or are taken by the state when the mother fails to provide adequately for the child.
- Poor medical care leading to early death. Some children become full orphans (both parents are dead) because of a lack of access to healthcare and the effects of poverty on their parents.
- Other social problems - As in our own society, other social problems lead to children living in orphanages. These include abuse and neglect. Sometimes, children are taken by the Ukranian state in order to provide them with a safe environment.
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