What About Education? Part 8

Happy days for today!

Some of us will be looking for work soon!

Continuing our discussion about morality and sex education in Ukraine, we should remember what it was like to be a child looking for answers about sex. In the orphanage/boarding school (OBS) that I focus on in this series, the children have many opportunities to watch movies, which have been approved by the administration, without supervision. Part of the reason that movies containing sex and violence are approved is because it is better to satisfy the curiosity of the children within the walls of the OBS. Unfortunately, there is no discussion or evaluation with the children about what the children see. They are left to make their own conclusions.

In Soviet times, mothers would not necessarily prepare their daughters for puberty and the biological changes that would take place. Imagine experiencing this in an OBS. I have watched the girls grow up over the past ten years and I was aware of the ones who were having difficulty dealing with their growing pains. It was obvious which girls were interested in boys, and which were lost in their self-consciousness. In either case, the girls need good examples and clear understanding of sexual morality.

When we started our program, a number of years ago, the focus came about because some of the children were sniffing glue. As we battled this chemical abuse toward the body, we began to understand other problems that the children were encountering. The program that we support, provided by a local church, reaches out to the children before they lose their innocence, if that is possible in an OBS. There are no funds available in the OBS budget to provide a program like this, so MUCH looks to a local church that already has this type of program. It is a big task. MUCH has been making a monthly donation to the church for someone to come to the OBS to teach the children. The personal attention helps the children, but we see bigger changes because of the program.

Looking at national statistics, I see big reasons to be afraid for the children. After leaving the OBS system, an alarming number of the children become involved in crime, end up in prison, or commit suicide. The very sad statistic is that 60% of the girls become involved in prostitution. There are many reasons for this, many are not their own decision, but the question remains, “What can we do to change the future potential of the children?” MUCH is opening doors to create new opportunities in education.

This church-run program is one of the three programs that MUCH supports at this OBS. In What About Education? Part 9, we will look into the computer program that is piquing the interest of many of the children. Their enthusiasm is on the rise.

What About Education? Part 5

Stretching their money to the limit!

When children graduate from the tenth grade, that is normally the time that they will leave institutional care, they begin a new life that will be much different from that of their past ten years. Depending upon their intellectual capability, they will either continue their education in college or trade school. They may go to work in minimal skill labor jobs, or for the children who cannot function independently in society, they will be sent to a home for the elderly. Here they will live the rest of their lives, that is, of course, unless they have family or relatives who will care for them.

The government has money allotted for each of these children, so there is no neglect in that respect. There is another reason that so many of the children fail to succeed in their lives. There is not an easy answer to this quandary, but in general, the solution is two-fold. The children must be educated to budget their money, shop for groceries, eat healthily, pay their bills when due, and in general, be responsible citizens. The other critical lessons are about building relationships in community. The remaining lessons in life, as I see it, will present themselves to the children as they encounter life day to day.

If these two-fold solutions are not part of the curriculum, how can we introduce these ideas and have them viewed with value? It is a big question. During my regular visits, I was given permission to visit some of the children who had moved on to the trade school.

On one occasion, I offered to take a dorm room of four girls shopping for some food that they could prepare in their room. I told them that they could buy what they needed to last them a week or so. I gave them a limit of fifty grevnya, about $10 at the time. It was interesting to watch them spend the money so carefully. These girls had the beginnings of knowledge and community relationships. Unfortunately, after leaving the educational setting, they chose different lifestyles, not applying what they learned.

What are we currently supporting that is making a change? In one orphanage, we support the computer program, and the music and dance program. These programs are changing the lives of the children in different ways. They both give the children new hope for the future. Developing computer skills is not only cool for the children, but it raises their value in the community. They now feel competitive with their peers. Music and Dance has brought the children into national competition, also raising their self-esteem and self-image.

A third program that we are supporting comes through the local church. This one teaches self-respect and moral values. This is the program that is most difficult to grow in the lives of the children. This is the program that will connect the children with the local community. It will help the children build relationships that will build character in the children.

In What About Education? Part 6 we will look at the Transportation Scholarship Program in Illichevsk. It has taken a long time (ten years), of commitment, but we are seeing doors open, and as we walk through, we are seeing brighter futures for the children.