Gifts with Love

Frequently asked Questions

1. Is the number of children entering orphanages on the decline?

Unfortunately this is not the case. The dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1992 and the subsequent social disintegration have brought the level of child abandonment cases to epidemic proportions. In 1991, 110 children were interned into State run children’s institutions in the Bryansk region, by 2001 that figure had risen to an annual addition of 1,100 internees, highlighting a 1000% growth rate over a 10 year period.
These ever-increasing influx levels lead to the present overcrowding and under-resourced conditions that deem intervention an absolute necessity. The present social climate in Russia offers little support to families in crisis and this directly results in family breakdown and the farming out of children. Unemployment, poverty, alcoholism and varying social problems such as violence, neglect or abuse culminate in parents being deprived of their parental rights and children becoming a nameless number within the childcare system.

2. Why are there so many orphans in Russia?

The large majority of children growing up in Russia’s State run children’s homes are not true orphans in the real sense of the word. There are certainly without a parental role model and without a family home but most of these children banished to grow up in orphanages are not without a living parent. They are referred to as what is known as a ‘social orphan’. Parental rights have been removed by the State and children are deemed in need of emergency care while they await an orphanage placement.

3. What are the future life-chances of children who grow up in Russian state-run orphanages?

Children who are dispossessed from their family, for whatever reason tend to face further disadvantage when they leave state care and attempt to forge an independent life for themselves in the wider community. The very fact they grew up without a family is further held against them as they fight for independence and employment. There is a strong associated stigmatisation naturally accepted towards orphans or post-orphans. These disadvantaged young adults are further disadvantaged by experiencing great difficulty in finding gainful employment and establishing themselves as worthy participants in the world that exists beyond there institutional confines.

4. How does an organisation like TRWL sustain itself and its development programmes in Russia?

Ninety percent of money needed to sustain our existing projects and to develop new projects is fundraised. TRWL have an array of different fundraising events organised by different fundraising sub-committees. Much time and energy goes into ensuring money is coming in continually. We are always in need of further support, if you feel you can help please contact the office. The administration costs of the charity are well below an annual average of ten per cent.

5. Does TRWL send convoys of goods i.e. clothing/medical supplies etc. to Russia?

No, in the early days we did send out one convoy and found the organisation involved and the costs of transportation to be huge. We soon discovered we could purchase all necessary requirements locally at a percentage of the cost here. For this reason we now buy everything either locally or in Moscow. This cuts down on costs while boosting the local economy.

6. Are siblings growing up in care, automatically kept together and sent to the same orphanage?

TRWL in partnership with the Department of Education in Bryansk last year launched a ‘Siblings Together’ initiative. This ensures that children coming into State care will be kept together and sent to the same orphanage. Prior to this it was general practice for children to be placed in orphanages from emergency care, as places became available and this more often than not resulted in the splitting of brothers and sisters. This caused further heartache and further feelings of isolation amongst this young and abandoned children. TRWL have also been running a ‘Sibling Trips’ project for the last 2 years, allowing brothers and sisters split prior to the ‘Siblings Together’ initiative the opportunity to remain close and part of each others lives by arranging visits between orphanages in the region.