A Study

We are currently doing a study comparing girls who have transitioned directly from the orphanages to independent living and girls who have lived in Hope House, a transition home for you women run by World Hope Ukraine and World Hope Canada.

So far, we have gathered information on girls who have left Hope House and transitioned to independent living in the last 3 years. Currently, we are gathering information on young women who went directly from the orphanage to independent living. We are hoping for a sample group of 10-20 girls.

Yulia and Veronika outside their dorm in Odessa

Today, I met with two girls who graduated from their respective orphanages in June and are currently living in a students dorm in Odessa. We conducted a short interview with the girls, asking them about their living conditions, education, income, and personal relationships. I had heard from the girls at Hope House how poor the student dorms were and this interview confirmed this information with facts. 

Both these girls have the status of orphan, which means they draw on a government stipend. However, though  their stipend is supposed to be 2,200 grivnas every month (about $300 a month) on which to subsist, in reality they have only received 1,100 grivnas for two months (about $140 for two months) on which to subsist. The cost of things in Ukraine is similar to prices in Canada. Soviet prices are certainly a thing of the past. 

The girls mentioned they eat no breakfast, have a plain bun and coffee for lunch, and soup or oatmeal for supper. They eat meat maybe once a week and said they never buy fruit because it is too expensive.  One of the girls is suffering from stomach problems from a poor diet. 

Finally, we asked about the dorm. One of the girls said they had one toilet for 40 students and no shower. If she wanted to shower, she went to her friends dorm, where one shower and one toilet was shared with 25 students. They described the kitchen, which had broken ovens and rats.

The girls excited at the options of what they could eat from our Foster Care Coordinator, Dina

Happily, we were able to provide some food and a treat to the girls, but this felt vastly inadequate... 

What this study has told me so far is how many of these students need assistance. Even if we obtain government support and stipends for these girls, life is still difficult. They may not receive the full sum of their stipend. These girls typically have no family to turn to and their orphanages are poorly equipped to provide any help once the girls leave the orphanage.Some are not even provided with enough underwear or bedding to start them off in the dorm. They have nothing and receive little. And worse, they have no one to turn to for help.

We are still hoping the government will support our girls in foster care. This way, these girls would be able to live with a family, have regular meals and stable living conditions. In addition, they would also have adults to care about them and advocate for them. Our pilot is only able to place 6 girls in foster homes. However, we are currently starting a rigorous government relations campaign in order to influence the government to make good on laws they already have. Laws for a foster system exist here, but the government is so far not adhering to them. 

I had thought that once the project was implemented, it would be smooth sailing. As it turns out, we have entered into a vital period and important work lies ahead of us!

Viktoria and Yulia enjoying a meal