Status of at-risk Children in Ukraine

We recently discussed the difficulties orphans and other disadvantaged children in Ukraine currently face.

We are a group of social services experts and our program offers a way of relief for at-risk Ukrainian children through the individual and general child sponsorship:   https://helpchildreninukraine.org/

When we analyze how tough the realities with underprivileged children in Ukraine is today, after over 10 months of the war, we have to keep in mind the problems at-risk Ukrainian children were facing even before the war started. Poverty in Ukraine (poorest country in Europe since 2013) has been the main reason for children to end up in orphanages.

The developed world has determined that foster care with attempts for ultimate adoption is the best way to care for an orphan.

And in Ukraine foster families and family-type homes have been developing since 2005, however, it has not been an easy path.

One of the factors is the lack of readiness of adults to take children from institutions and streets into their homes as foster kids.

children from institutions
Lviv, Ukraine – March 3, 2022: A crowd of people transiting through Lviv stand outside the Lviv train station.

Given frequent questions from the public in Ukraine and other countries as to “questionable” availability of professional parents willing to take children to joint living, one should not confuse the general trend among Ukrainian families to having fewer biological children (although in the last several years the birth rate has stabilized comparatively) with readiness among adults to take non-blood-related children from orphanages.

Ministry of Social Policy of Ukraine conducted a research which shows that people under 35 who want to have children are more likely to have own biological children, while readiness to initiate foster families applies to people of older age – – approximately between 35 and 55 y.o., who frequently have a different understanding and approach towards children and their problems.

By large, people over 35 are more socially proactive and are more prepared to undergo the necessary training and take children into professional upbringing or adoption.

Finally, the level of infertility has been growing in Ukraine in the last years and many people over 35 without children have already tried to have biological children with no success and are now more prepared to take orphans into professional raising.

More educational programs and training involving western experts are necessary to support Ukraine’s desire to streamline the national foster care support and development.

Every year about 10,000 new children become orphans in Ukraine.

The current war made all statistics significantly worse. “Compassion Is Life’s” charity endeavors to help the neediest Ukrainian children with evacuation, new housing support, and the individual sponsorship mechanism – a unique approach directly connecting Ukrainian children in need with prospective sponsors.

Ukrainian leading childcare experts

Ukrainian leading childcare experts provide technical support and advice to our program development. We use western standards for analysis of situations when selecting our focus communities in Ukraine.

We use data from an independent assessments of disadvantaged children in Ukraine.

Our Ukrainian grassroots children charities immediately connect “Compassion Is Life” with all key stakeholders in Ukraine.

Our team hopes the growth of the “Compassion Is Life” program will be recognized by large U.S. government and non-profit agencies as we strive to expand our program to new communities in Ukraine helping thousands of needy children.

Please consider joining our effort.