The post-Soviet crisis in Russia is greater than economic decline and environmental disaster. It is a crisis of life or death for millions of Russian children. In the mid-1900s, the number of abandoned children in Russia increased 250 percent. The majority of these children are social orphans: children whose parents are unwilling or unable to care for them. But the government is unable to care for the orphans and street children who plague the cities.
There are approximately 1.2 million children living on the streets of Russia. Another 650,000 children are housed in orphanages maintained by the government. Within two years after graduation from these orphanages, 90 percent of the girls will become prostitutes, the majority of the boys will be imprisoned and 15 percent of the children will commit suicide.
The future for Russian orphans is grim, but through organizations such as Children’s HopeChest there is hope. Children’s HopeChest sponsors summer camps for the Russian orphans. The camps focus on the physical, emotional and spiritual well-being of the children. Because the orphanages receive only 30 percent of the resources they need, the children do not have adequate food or clothing. The summer camps provide the children with nourishing food, loving care from
(Please see ‘Children,’ page 3)
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