RUSSIA: Children's home in Russia's Yaroslavl region bucks the trend and tries to set abandoned youths on the right track

One of the most dire social issues in Russia is abandoned children. Both society and the state pay little attention to this problem, however, and such children are often shipped off to state homes where they are given basic food and clothing, but almost nothing more. Most leave these homes at age 16 and have no skills, no means to feed themselves, and nowhere to go. According to research, up to 70 percent of Russian orphans turn to crime to make ends meet, while many young women turn to prostitution. One state children's home in a small village in Russia's Yaroslavl region, about 8 hours drive northeast of Moscow, is trying to buck the trend and give these children hope. The 116 children at the Bagryaniki children's home are getting a chance to make something of their lives. They can take a number of courses that teach them a profession. Many young men choose to study shoe making and repair. Young women often choose to learn how to make clothes or to work in the kitchen. "It all depends on how much you work,'' said Leonid Pavlichenko, age 15, a student of show making and repair at the Bagryaniki children's home. "You can earn 200 rubles to 300 rubles a day, and if you really want, you can earn more.'' The dramatic economic and social changes in Russia during the 1990s placed considerable stress on families and children. Even with the current economic upswing, most parents face significant economic hardship, and the incidence of family breakdown remains high. "We decided to make a programme to help these children better adapt to the current economic conditions in the country, and so that they find themselves in life and can make money to support themselves,'' said Mussa Mansaev, director of the Bagryaniki children's home. Many children fall into risk groups, with a sharp increase in juvenile delinquency seen in recent years. Russia has about 200,000 street children, and another approximate 350,000 are in state institutions. "If the children see that we go around with our hands stretched out begging, that we are always complaining that there isn't enough money, then they will see that we adults are not worth even a cent,'' said Mussa Mansaev. "We want to show them that it's possible to earn money, to be self-sufficient, not to have to beg, and to live with dignity.'' Several hundred children have graduated from Bagryaniki children's home since this experiment was launched in 1999. Before then, about 70 percent of graduates would soon have troubles with the police. Now, that figure is only 5 percent. One of those graduates is Ruslan Sobolev. He still lives in Bagryaniki and runs a small farm where he does everything himself. "I have been [in Bagryaniki] since the second grade, and I am used to living here,'' said Ruslan Sobolev, a graduate of the Bagryaniki children's home. ``You can start your own small farm here, while in the city you can't live off the asphalt.'' Not everyone is so enterprising, but the most important thing is that the Bagryaniki school has instilled in them a sense of self-respect and discipline. There is certainly no shortage of work in Bagryaniki, but that labour is tough. Many local adults don't want to work, and alcoholism is rampant. The Bagryaniki children, however, stand out because they are not afraid to work hard and take menial jobs such as working in the barns and stables of local animal farms. Mansaev believes that only this work ethic will help Russia's abandoned children make a future for themselves. MOS/JRC

ITN Source | November 22, 2006

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