Russian orphanages are bursting with abandoned children
There are more than 600,000 children who are defined by the state as being "without parental care. During each of the last two years, more than 113,000 children have been abandoned, reflecting a breathtaking rise from 67,286 in 1992. Another 30,000 are reported to run away from troubled homes each year, clogging the urban railway stations and metros, sometimes ending up in shelters and orphanages. Since the collapse of Soviet rule in 1991, these children have become the jetsam in Russia's stormy economic transition. Source : Human Rights Watch. Some observers and adoptive parents have accused Russian orphanages of neglect and abuse. The reality is, these orphanages are underfunded, understaffed and over populated with children
The Orphans of Mari-El Fund
The Orphans of Mari-El, Russia Fund focus is on the 7 orphanages in and around Yoshkar-Ola, the capitol city of the Mari-El Republic. Yoshkar- Ola is located 850 kilometers east of Moscow in the center of European Russia. There are 6 orphanages within the city limits. Dom Sovetsky, is located 50 kilometers outside the city. The combined population of these 7 orphanages approaches 900 children from infancy thru 17 years. For the first three years of our existence we provided assistance to 4 of these orphanages, primarily during the Holiday Season. In December, 2004 we added three more orphanages. Savinski Home for Crippled Children has 260 children, Savinski Home for Blind and Vision Impaired Children has 60 children, and Semanovskya Home has 125 orphans who suffer from severe emotional and behavioral problems. Even though not all children at the Savinski Homes are orphans, due to severe under funding the conditions there are extremely poor and we have pledged to assist them also. This now makes close to 900 children we are providing assistance for. In addition to the Christmas Season help, we are planning on expanding our efforts to the entire year. Your continuing donations will make this possible.
The Orphanage System in Mari-El
In the Mari-El Republic, as well as throughout Russia, orphanages come under three different departments. The Ministry of Health is in charge of infants through age 4. At age 5 most come under the Ministry of Education. Those with severe disabilities, both physical and mental, come under  the Ministry of Labor and Social Development. The Mari-El Repusblic covers a land area of 23,200 sq. kilometers (9,000 sq mi), an area approximately the size of the State of New Jersey, and has a population of 750,000. There are 27 Children's Homes (Detski Doms) scattered throughout the 14 districts. Interestingly enough the largest is in the small town of Sovetsky, 50 km northeast of the capitol city of Yoshkar-Ola.Dom Sovetsky Orphanage population averages around 200. The detski Dom located in the capitol City of Yoshkar-Ola (pop 300,000) only houses 80 orphans. The population of an orphanage is more dependant upon the size of the facility rather than the population of the area, and no attempt is made to house the children near the geographical area where they formally lived. In addition to general care of orphans, each orphanage is responsible for their education and the children go to school in the same building where they live. Almost all orphanages are housed in schools that have been converted to orphanages. When the Soviet Union disbanded and the economy collapsed many families could no longer afford to raise children and the school population dwindled while the orphan population grew, so the logical choice was to convert schools to orphanages.
In addition to the 27 Detski Doms there are 5 "specialty" orphanages located within the city limits of Yoshkar-Ola. The "Baby Home" (Dom Rebyonka) houses infants through age 4. On their 5th birthday the children are evaluated and transferred to a Detski Dom or an institution for children with disabilities.The "Warm House" (Dom Tipolo) is a receiving center. Children age 5 and higher first coming into the system are housed here for 6 to 12 months, evaluated and brought up to date with medical requirements and then placed. In addition there is Semenovskya Home, which houses children with severe emotional and behavioral issues, Savinski Home for Crippled Children and Savinski Home for blind and vision impaired children. However, only about 1/3 of the children at the Savinsky Homes are orphans. It is difficult to determine the exact population of orphans in the Mari-El Republic. The Russian Government maintains a web site with a searchable database of orphans and it averages around 1200 children eligible for adoption in Mari-El. However not all orphans are eligible for adoption. Children become orphans for one of three reasons: the parents are deceased, parents have given written relinquishment of their rights, or there was a court decision depriving parental rights. Some children are removed from the home due to neglect. Some birth parents voluntarily relinquish their rights or allow the government to deprive them of their rights because they cannot afford to care for their children. In many of these cases parental rights are deprived due to non-visitation (at the orphanage) for 6 months. Some families will visit the orphanage just enough to maintain parental rights, usually with the hope that some day they will be able to afford the care of their children again. Unfortunately, most of these children will go thru the system never being eligible for adoption. Based on "unofficial" information from orphanage staff, only around 1/3 of the children are eligible for adoption. Based on this, the estimated orphan population in Mari-El is approximately 3,500 children.
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