Long-neglected orphanage gets emergency aid from U.S. (12/02/01)

Long-neglected orphanage gets emergency aid from U.S.

ZALUCHIA - In the remote southern corner of Ivano-Frankivsk Province, a long-neglected orphanage for severely disabled children is undergoing a major overhaul with the aid of the Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund and a $40,000 grant from the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A.

The Zaluchia Orphanage, located just outside the town of Sniatyn, is home to 127 children suffering from Down's Syndrome and other serious birth defects. Until last year, the orphans had been living in deplorable conditions that were documented by the CCRF investigators and photographer Joseph Sywenkyj.

The exposure of the orphans' plight by CCRF eventually led to the dismissal of the former director and an intensive campaign to provide the orphanage with emergency humanitarian aid.

Since last year, the CCRF has provided the orphanage with new laundry equipment, cleaning agents, wheelchairs, clothing, new mattresses and plastic covers. The New Jersey Branch of the Ukrainian Veterans' Association (Halychyna Division) also provided new bed sheets for all 127 children.

In the latest phase of the overhaul, CCRF hired Kyiv contractor Hryhorii Lebedenko and a local construction crew to install a new roof on the children's dormitory and to replace the floors in the dining hall and play areas which had been contaminated by human waste.

"The conditions in which these children once lived were intolerable," said CCRF Executive Director Alexander Kuzma. "Until this year, Zaluchia was reminiscent of the Willowbrook scandal where as recently as the 1970s American orphans on Long Island were neglected, abused and forced to live in unsanitary quarters. This outrage had to stop."

Mr. Kuzma expressed gratitude to Archbishop Antony and the Rev. Deacon Ihor Mahlay of Parma, Ohio, for their leadership in confronting the tragedy at Zaluchia. "We're grateful to the many caring people from across the country, who have responded so generously. Their gifts are really making a difference in these children's lives."

During an on-site visit in late October, Mr. Kuzma and CCRF In-Country Director Olena Maslyukivska toured the facility to verify that all donated supplies were in place, and to ensure that construction and repair work was continuing on schedule. The CCRF also hired an on-site medical supervisor, Svitlana Kuzmin, to distribute medication and to make sure that children were not being neglected or abused.

"Overall, we're pleased with the new director of the orphanage, Hryhory Orobets, who has devoted a lot of his effort to improve nutrition for these children," said Ms. Maslyukivska. "Unfortunately, he is constrained by a very tight budget, and local health officials have cut back on his staff." Mr. Orobets has been appealing to local businesses to provide financial support for his orphanage, and a local restaurant and factory have provided supplemental food for the orphans.

The CCRF has also received a pledge of support from the Swedish P & G Foundation after a front-page feature on the orphanage appeared in the Oslo-based Expressen, a prestigious investigative journal. A team of Swedish nutritional experts and physical therapists toured the site earlier this fall. Based on the assessment, the P&G Foundation has offered to train local staff and nutritionists in ways to improve care for children with special needs.

In the meantime, the CCRF has purchased livestock to help supplement the orphans' diet, while the Sniatyn government pledged a matching grant to help purchase dairy cows that could help meet the children's need for milk and protein.

The Sniatyn region of Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast received a considerable amount of radioactive fallout from the Chornobyl disaster in four of its districts. The CCRF is following up on reports that there are three other orphanages in the region with a disproportionately large number of genetically maimed or abandoned children.

"The city administration has been put on notice that mistreatment of these orphans will not be tolerated," said Mr. Kuzma. "We are beginning to see a change in attitude and greater attention to the children's needs, but there is a great deal more work that needs to be done."

Beyond capital repairs, the CCRF's primary goal is to improve hygiene and medical care at the facility. The staff at the orphanage has expressed great relief after the arrival of new mattresses, and an industrial-sized washer and dryer.

The CCRF is also making arrangements for the Zaluchia staff to visit model orphanages in Dnipropetrovsk and Lutsk that have developed more effective treatment programs for children with special needs. "It's important for the staff to see what kinds of standards they need to aspire to," said Mr. Kuzma. "Every orphanage needs to comply with basic standards of decency."

The next steps in the rehabilitation campaign will include refurbishing the facility's bathrooms and showers. Other enhancements are being planned. A group of young children from the Troyeshky Art Studio in Kyiv have volunteered to travel to Zaluchia next summer to paint murals on the interior walls of the dormitory to give the orphans visual stimulation and to create a more pleasant, child-friendly environment.

"There is no reason why this orphanage that was once called a 'Chornobyl death camp' can't become a livable home," said Ms. Maslyukivska. "It will certainly take a lot of hard work, but we're prepared to do whatever it requires, and we're grateful for the sponsorship and the vision of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church in making these changes possible."

To help rehabilitate the Zaluchia Orphanage, tax-deductible donations may be sent to: Children of Chornobyl Relief Fund, 272 Old Short Hills Road, Short Hills, NJ 07078. Gifts may be earmarked for "Zaluchia Rehabilitation."

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