Chernigov

The internat is home to 52 children with sight problems, with a further 76 attending daily.
Of these children 8 are orphans and 62 have further handicaps. I her first two years the director has managed to search out sponsorship in Germany and has completely refurbished the washing and toilet facilities to best “western” standards. The staff are enthusiastic and as well as the academic side provide good games, crafts and home economics programmes are available. They have a specialist optician but they lack the finances for providing glasses for all the children.

The foster home “Nadia” is a “half-way house” where about 50 children needing care are assessed psychologically and medically before either returning home, if appropriate, or being placed in an appropriate internat. In the 6 years of their existence they have cared for 3000 children.
Their need for support is pressing as the clothes of “new” children usually have to be destroyed and when they leave they take their new clothes with them. They say that without the support of Aratta they would be unable to the this much needed work. They are justifiably proud of the fact that they have reduced the number of “run-aways” from 96 in 2001 to just 2 in 2003.