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It is easy to be jaded by the state of humanitarian aid in Armenia. So many projects designed to help the country’s most needy fail as soon as they begin or simply look like large black holes that suck up donor money. It is no surprise that donors become cynical about any program in Armenia, when they feel their money is simply wasted, or worse, goes into the hands of a few corrupt individuals while those most in need become worse off. It is easy to wonder if all that hard earned money is worth giving.
And of course this is the danger for a country still in such great need, with so little government support. At times like this, when the country needs to protects its most vulnerable more than ever, it is good to know that some projects do indeed work, providing the only services available for those left behind, giving hope and a better future to the nation. And these success stories could not have happened without the support of the Diaspora, who should know that good does happen, and it happens because of them.
A case in point is the Fund for Armenian Relief Children Reception and Orientation Center (“CRO Center”), which provides the most critical services necessary in society; protecting and caring for Armenia’s children at risk (street orphans, abandoned children, children escaping family crisis, delinquent youth, chronic school absenteeism, those with critical needs, etc.).
In a nation that prides itself on the family unit and the care of children, it is shocking to learn that the New Armenia officials brag about also includes a large, growing problem one would think not possible in this country: children forced onto the streets, who have either lost their parents or whose parents are unable to care for them. Many come to the CRO Center escaping from one of Armenia’s Soviet Style Orphanages, renovated and dressed up on the front but otherwise dreadful places to house children. Dormitories and “private” areas are still reminiscent of a Dickensian workhouse.
The Center provides medical care (including specialist treatment as their limited budget allows), psychiatric support, a clean bed, clothing, nourishing meals and—more importantly—a caring, loving home away from home for children traumatized by their street existence. Walking down the halls of the center, it is impossible to not feel the genuine love children have for their adult caregivers.
Without missing a beat, when asked what they like most about the center, the children join in a chorus of shouting the names of their caregivers, professional staff who work more out of love than salary. The more traumatized children, abused by their home life or their lives on the streets, shy away from the rest but instead hug their new caregivers, their trust slowly returning in this unique center.
While some are genuine orphans, temporarily escaping the orphanage, others have loving families who are simply unable to provide the food and care necessary to raise their children. Some of the older leave their homes of their own accord, feeling they are a burden to their family and seeking work or hand outs on the increasingly dangerous city streets of Armenia, streets that are becoming increasingly dangerous. With no shelter, food or means of support, the live from hand to mouth, their new street life more desperate than the home they left behind, for too many ending in unspeakable tragedy. The lucky find their way to the Center, where their health, youth, and hope is rejuvenated, learning to smile again, and to find the innocence they lost on the streets.
The Center serves a critical need for all these children, whose numbers are increasing as the country continues to privatize governmental responsibilities.
In a rare case of intergovernmental support, the Children Affairs Dept. of the Ministry for Internal Affairs cooperates fully with the center, finding and bringing Street Children to the center. When asked how big the problem is, Armen Keshishian, representative of the Children Affairs Department for the Center, said the problem is becoming much worse, as more families lose their homes to construction speculators or are unable to find work to care for their families. He said that while Yerevan is the most obvious, police are finding increasing numbers in other areas, even in Villages, historically among the most self-reliant of Armenians.
An Epidemic of Fatherless Homes
Behind the official population estimates (which change depending on the amount of grant money at stake) lies one of Armenia’s great social upheavals, and one the immediately affects the Center. Reliable estimates are that half of the 1990 population of 3.4 million left the country (mostly to Russia) in pursuit of work. Having left their homes and families, many send remittances to their families at home, but a growing number completely cut their ties with their families at home, starting new families in their new country, leaving those behind to fend for themselves as best they can.
A visit to any village, town or city in the country confirms the drastic situation as virtually every family has a father or other authority figure gone, in Russia (or in rare cases, the west) in pursuit of work. Most interviewed did not know when missing parent would return and many admitted they had stopped receiving money and had lost touch completely.
The Social upheaval is immediate and enormous for the country. No longer a nation of families, Armenia is now a nation of single-parent households, with all the problems that creates, among them the vital care of children, who are increasingly being left on their own.
This is where the Center steps in and proves its purpose. However, its success is limited by the support it receives, which has begun to shrink even while the problems grow.
Needs
The Center has until recently received great support from FAR and the Diaspora, its critical services supported by the finances required to care for the Street Orphans of Armenia. But increasing needs (and the dwindling value of International Currencies in Armenia) are forcing the center to cut budgets for some of the most important tasks it must carry out.
While no child is being deprived of vital services now, it is not hard to see that the great success FAR and the Diaspora has made possible will need additional support if the growing problem is to be addressed. Budget cuts for the current year shows how what is undeniably a great success story could be jeopardized unless more support is found:
Much of it is in the most basic, affordable areas, while others require more comprehensive support.
On the basic side, the budget for basic medications is now $300 a year. Another $300 would allow the medical staff to include more specific, expensive medicines. The staff already receives substantial support from local providers, so this little bit more can make the difference to children at the center.
With limited means, the Center achieves great things, in the case of children with special medical needs (the budget covering essential needs), the Staff appeals to local specialists for free services. As in the West, payment assures better quality of service.
Surprisingly for such an important service, the center has had to cut its transportation budget due to lack of funds. Something as simple as a minivan and petrol is needed to bring children from Armenia’s regions to the Yerevan center, as well as conduct follow-up visits when they return to their homes. Staff now use public transport, which is both expensive and inappropriate for traumatized children. How many children are still street children simply because there is no vehicle to pick them up in a far flung region such as Siunik or Tavush?
Despite budget cuts the Center performs admirably to cover essential needs for the children in its care, including nourishing, wholesome meals, at 800-1000 AMD per child per day. When a typical meal at a restaurant or café in central Yerevan costs 5,000 AMD, it is not hard to understand how dedicated and resourceful the staff at the center is.
Perhaps the greatest problem is the unexpected and disheartening fall of Western Currencies in Armenia, orchestrated by the Central Bank. From a one time high of around 580 AMD per dollar, the dram is now circulating around 375 AMD per dollar. And rather than seeing prices for goods drop accordingly, they are instead rising, in some cases doubling. This has critical importance to the center: Money that once supported full services is now worth 30-40% LESS than it did 2 years ago, while the need is increasing. For families, the fall of real value in their income makes it harder to feed and clothe children, putting more at risk.
And rather than creating an economic windfall for the country, the artificially high dram is now adding to the problem of family care, forcing more families out of their homes, into poverty or out of the country to seek work. Fathers that once supported families in Armenia now are forced to Russia or the West to seek work. Many do not find the income necessary to support their families in Armenia, forcing their loved ones into deeper poverty. As a result, the children—the most vulnerable and least able to look out for themselves—are put at greater risk, malnourished, sick, or simply left to fend for themselves.
Despite all the pronouncements about how strong the economy is, and how quickly it is growing, the numbers are based on a very small part of the economy (construction and a few exports) and whatever growth there may be it is has not led to a better life for the vast majority of the population, A simple trip outside of Central Yerevan in any direction shows tremendous poverty and social problems, conditions the government is incapable of solving, For children this is a terrible tragedy, as even the most loving parents are unable to care for their children as they should, the costs are just too high. In these cases, the Center provides that critical support and a safe, secure environment for the children to recover from the trauma and the stress of living on the streets. For some, it is a temporary situation until their parents can get back on their feet and begin to care for them again. For others, without parents, or whose parents are unable to care for them, it is a longer process. No child is turned away, and no child is forced out of care at the center. And in spite of its limited budget, the Center continues to find ways to serve the changing needs of children at risk. One example is the Center’s recently added “Hot Line” service, which serves a vital need for those most at risk.
The center is spearheading a Foster Family program, which can take care of children who are in great need. In doing so, the center is encountering rigid social services in the government, whose budgets are based not on the quality o care they provide to orphans or street children, but simply the number of children they house at the time of audit. In this the Center is providing important advocacy services, beginning the process to finally renovate the entire Family Services structure so it focuses on the care of families an children, as opposed to how many they warehouse.
Additionally, the center works with 50 children who are “at risk” (juvenile offenders, school absenteeism, etc.).
In a courageous attempt to address the growing social needs of the country, Mira Antonyan, Director of the Center, has said the need is so great that the center has begun the process to create Child Support Integrative Centers throughout the country : Shelter, Foster care, Crisis intervention programs, Prevention and Rehabilitation services.
This is a true success story that the Diaspora should be proud of and find ways to support even more, so that no child is left alone on the streets, in danger, sick or hungry. Until those who should are able to provide critical services, the only people who can make this social epidemic a thing of the past are those most asked to help. And in a world of false promises and failed projects, when something works, it deserves more support, not less.
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