Suffer the Children

Onnik Krikorian / UNICEF Armenia

YEREVAN, Armenia -- According to Its Director, the majority of children enrolled into the boarding school situated somewhere in the Armenian capital stay on full-board. Yet, after its annual New Year Party, only two remained while the others returned home for the holidays.

In both cases, the children had seemingly been forgotten only because their parents were late to collect them. Moreover, out of 130 children attending a special school designated for children with learning difficulties, the majority showed no sign of any disability at all.

Instead, with 44% of the population living below the national poverty line, many families still increasingly look to residential institutions to provide what the First Deputy Minister of Social Security, Ashot Yesayan, calls the "the primary ‘social safety-net’ for their children."

More than 10,000 children in Armenia are currently enrolled into special schools with as many as forty percent staying on full board. Studies show that this reliance has led to the emergence of an "underclass of children marked by poverty, stigmatization and a lack of proper care and education who are likely to lack opportunity as adults."

In some of these schools, because children from vulnerable families receive an education intended for children with disabilities, their development is seriously hindered. At the same time, many children with disabilities remain excluded from educational facilities that were once originally intended to cater for their needs.

Yet, despite the common misconception that most children placed into residential care in Armenia are abandoned, few actually are. According to Naira Avetisyan, UNICEF’s Child Protection Officer, at least seventy percent of children enrolled have families they could return to if socio-economic conditions improved.

Many children instead come from single-parent households where the mother is divorced, widowed or separated from a husband working abroad or in prison.

"There are many reasons why children with parents are deprived of parental care in Armenia," explains Avetisyan. "First of all there is poverty, then centralization of special education within the boarding school system and finally, the absence of alternatives and community-based support services for vulnerable families at risk."

In 2000, UNICEF invited an international consultant to conduct a study on residential care institutions in Armenia.

Based on the recommendations of the resulting report, alternatives to institutionalization were discussed in round table discussions with the Ministries of Health, Education, Social Welfare, Justice and Police. A three year plan of action was developed and UNICEF, the Armenian Government and NGOs collaborated together on the implementation of a work plan.

The main focus was to do everything possible to prevent the institutionalization of children and then to create alternative models for children at risk from vulnerable families and those with disabilities. From 2001-4 several activities directed towards all of those objectives were implemented in Armenia.

"In 2000, the majority of children in boarding schools were staying on full board" says Avetisyan. "Later the institutions started to support the reintegration of children back into their families although they were still not attending mainstream schools. However, they were returning to their families in the evening."

According to Avetisyan, this was a major achievement because linkages with the family were not only maintained but also strengthened. "Parents understood that they had certain responsibilities towards their children," she says. "Even so, because mainstream schools were unable to provide services for children from vulnerable families, they were still stigmatized by being placed in an institution."

Of as much concern is that out of 10,000 children attending special schools in Armenia only less than 4,000 have disabilities. Many children with disabilities are instead left out of the education system and have not been integrated into society. UNICEF therefore supported government attempts to integrate them into mainstream education starting with inclusive pre-schools and later with inclusive schools.

In particular, UNICEF supported the Ministry of Education and NGOs such as Mission East, World Vision and Bridge of Hope in establishing inclusive education models that have now been expanded throughout Armenia. Nevertheless, Avetisyan says that there are still many obstacles to overcome.

"There is still not enough awareness in society regarding the needs and capacities of children with special needs or of families at risk," she says. "Therefore, during these years, a major component has been education. In all our projects, booklets and leaflets have been produced for parents as well as service providers in community centers."

Mentalities are changing, however, and especially among decision-makers. This was a great success, says Avetisyan, because in the past the general consensus was that an institution was the best place for children with disabilities or from vulnerable families.

Now, the Armenian Government is interested in de-institutionalization through family reintegration, foster care and the prevention of institutionalization through community-based support centers. It has also developed a law that obliges the state to provide support to "graduates" from Children’s Homes once they reach the age of 18.

"Even if you create excellent conditions in the institution, when the children leave this artificial environment they have no life skills or the capacity to deal with daily problems," Avetisyan says. "For example, studies show that as a result, many of these children end up in conflict with the law and some girls become prostitutes and are more prone to trafficking."

Avetisyan is also quick to point out that there is an additional need to limit the large and influential Armenian Diaspora’s seemingly endless ability to financially support institutions it mistakenly supposes accommodates orphans. "The importance of strengthening vulnerable families by providing them with job opportunities has to be empathized rather than supporting the institution," she says.

"The problem of children in institutions is probably one of the most important issues to address as it violates the most basic rights of the child -- to grow up in a family environment," she concludes. "The majority of children in boarding schools and children's homes are not orphans.

They have parents and the right to live with their families. Nothing can replace the importance of that environment -- not even the best institution."