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"After the Fact: Lukashenko’s Decisions"
In September 2010, Aleksandr Lukashenko opened a new school in Borovliany. The residents of the children's village Istoki gave the president a picture they made with their own hands and invited him to visit them. The head of state accepted the invitation and visited one of the families. A private investor built 15 houses that could accommodate about 150 orphans. They are brought up in the environment close to a family one. Three years earlier, when visiting the SOS-Children's Village in Borovliany, Aleksandr Lukashenko said that the country was launching a program to resettle orphans from orphanage institutions. In the latest episode of BelTA’s YouTube channel “After the Fact: Lukashenko’s Decisions” we will tell you how many family-type children's homes there are in Belarus. How do they differ from orphanage institutions? And what do you need to do to become house parents?
The first family-type homes appeared in Belarus in the late 1990s. They were opened with the support of public organizations. The state program approved by the president started to gain traction in the 2000s.
“Since 2006, construction of family-type children's homes at the expense of the national and local budgets in each of the regions has been gaining momentum. But the country has been addressing the problem of social orphanhood and upbringing of children in residential institutions since 1995 when the first decree approved the state program Children of Belarus 1995-2000,” said Yelena Simakova, Deputy Head of the Department of Social, Educational and Ideological Work at the Education Ministry of Belarus.
Psychologists, both Belarusian and foreign ones, emphasized: residential institutions make children feel isolated. Kids do not communicate with their peers from ordinary families. Studies were conducted among graduates of residential institutions. Specialists monitored how the children settled in life. The practice showed that few were able to become successful. Many did not create their own families, some ended up in prison.
“At the same time, when a child is placed in a substitute family, the carers, guardians, foster parents substitute parents, they give them the warmth of a family. In a children's residential institution, the child is isolated, they do not know what family environment is. They are brought up in a group of children. Every day is like any other, a routine,” Yelena Simakova said.
How many family-type children's homes are there in Belarus?
Now there are 281 family-type homes in Belarus. About 2,000 orphans live there. In rural communities children with their parents live in private houses. In cities - in apartment houses.
“We believe that the optimal number for a family-type orphanage is 7-8. They live like a family. Dad, as a rule, works at his main place of employment. At home he performs guardian duties together with mom – he helps her raise the children. Mom takes care of the children and their upbringing,” Yelena Simakova noted.Lukashenko gave a mini-tractor to one such family-type home in Gomel Oblast. At that time, Aleksei and Viktoria Novikov raised three biological and seven foster children.
How family-type children's homes differ from residential institutions?
“We will place all the children who live in orphanage institutions today into such cozy family homes. It is worth a lot. It is a good place to live. In the past, families with 9 children used to live in much smaller places. They could only dream of such a house. Today it is home to 10 children. Parents who bring up foster children and love them as their own are amazing people. We should bow low before them. Not everyone can take in 10 children, in addition to their own. And raise other people's kids. And love them like they love their own,” the head of state said as he visited the children’s village in 2010.
The first family-type homes appeared in Belarus in the late 1990s. They were opened with the support of public organizations. The state program approved by the president started to gain traction in the 2000s.
“Since 2006, construction of family-type children's homes at the expense of the national and local budgets in each of the regions has been gaining momentum. But the country has been addressing the problem of social orphanhood and upbringing of children in residential institutions since 1995 when the first decree approved the state program Children of Belarus 1995-2000,” said Yelena Simakova, Deputy Head of the Department of Social, Educational and Ideological Work at the Education Ministry of Belarus.
Psychologists, both Belarusian and foreign ones, emphasized: residential institutions make children feel isolated. Kids do not communicate with their peers from ordinary families. Studies were conducted among graduates of residential institutions. Specialists monitored how the children settled in life. The practice showed that few were able to become successful. Many did not create their own families, some ended up in prison.
“At the same time, when a child is placed in a substitute family, the carers, guardians, foster parents substitute parents, they give them the warmth of a family. In a children's residential institution, the child is isolated, they do not know what family environment is. They are brought up in a group of children. Every day is like any other, a routine,” Yelena Simakova said.
How many family-type children's homes are there in Belarus?
Now there are 281 family-type homes in Belarus. About 2,000 orphans live there. In rural communities children with their parents live in private houses. In cities - in apartment houses.
“We believe that the optimal number for a family-type orphanage is 7-8. They live like a family. Dad, as a rule, works at his main place of employment. At home he performs guardian duties together with mom – he helps her raise the children. Mom takes care of the children and their upbringing,” Yelena Simakova noted.Lukashenko gave a mini-tractor to one such family-type home in Gomel Oblast. At that time, Aleksei and Viktoria Novikov raised three biological and seven foster children.
“I put a tractor in your yard. The governor of the region and the head of the district will report to me how much you'll plow and what crops you'll plant. You will get as much land as you need,” the president said addressing the couple.
The president was interested in the children's living conditions, as well as their hobbies and plans for the future. Aleksandr Lukashenko talked to the children and gave them some advice.
How to become a house parent in Belarus?
The government fully finances children's homes and pays child benefits. A house mother receives a full-time salary, and a house father gets a half-time salary. Some children are entitled to a survivor's pension or a disability pension. Medical expenses are compensated. Not everyone can become a house parent.
“Potential candidates need to come to the education department or contact a child welfare service, which is a subdivision of the education department. They will be told what needs to be done to become a house parent. Of course, they need to submit an application and undergo a background check. A child welfare service needs to make sure that candidates were not deprived of parental rights, their children were not taken away from them, they were not charged under articles that prohibit working with children, etc.,” Yelena Simakova said.
Applicants are advised to undergo training in the social and pedagogical center.
What are priorities of the Belarusian state?
During a press conference for Russia's regional media outlets in 2014, Aleksandr Lukashenko said that protection of the rights of orphans is a priority for the government. The national database of orphans had 23,000 names back then.
“About 5,000 kids remain in orphanages. We work hard to find families for them,” the president said.
According to him, 9,744 children are raised by guardians, 6,349 by foster families, 1,544 in children's homes. In 2013 alone, 551 children were adopted (a total of 6,656 children were raised by adoptive families). In order to stimulate adoption, benefits are paid until adopted children turn 16. In 2014 social leave for adoptive parents was introduced. The state investment program provides for the annual construction of two children's houses in each region and two family-type apartments in Minsk; the money is earmarked by the budget. The number of such houses has increased from 57 to 220 since 2005.
“Children and the elderly are a priority for our state, not just in words, but in deeds. We are building an easy and effective system to help children and the elderly,” the head of state underlined.
A lot has changed since 2014. The number of orphans and children left without parental care has dropped. There are 15,000 of them now. The most common form of childcare is guardianship. As a rule, guardians are children's close relatives. About 7,000 children live in guardian families. The second most popular form of childcare is foster families. Foster parents take in two to four children. Last year, 300 children were adopted; 500 orphans remain in orphanages.
“These are mostly teenagers, as adolescent adoption may represent numerous challenges. Or children with behavior problems caused by the trauma they experienced in biological families. Of course, finding families for all children living in orphanages seems like a pipe dream. But we are working on it. This is the goal of the Education Ministry and child welfare services. We are determined to make this happen,” Yelena Simakova said.
“If you need a mom, I'll be happy to be your mom”. A story of a house mother of a children’s home in Minsk
Svetlana Plotnitskaya gave birth to and raised two children. They grew up and she and her husband missed children's laughter in the house. Svetlana comes from a large family. So the couple decided to become foster parents. They took in four kids. Eleven years ago, she was offered a job as a house mother in a children's home in Minsk. Nine teenagers were waiting for her there.
“When I came here, I told all the children: if you need a mom, I'll be happy to be your mom. If someone sees me as an aunt, be my nephews. I always tell the children that they are my loved ones. I do not use the phrase ‘foster child’. Everybody calls me mom. Only the elder ones, the first ones, called me Aunt Sveta,” Svetlana Plotnitskaya, a house mother of the children’s home said.
She has brought up a total of 32 children. The youngest she fostered was one-year-old. Each of these children has their own difficult stories. Each of them needs an individual approach.
“I gather them all at my big table. We do something, for example, make pelmenis, and talk. If I notice that someone is in a bad mood, I know that I need to pay closer attention to this child. We have a private conversation, discuss the problem, and find a way out of the situation. Not every child is eager to open up to me, as they didn't come to me as small children. They all have their stories, their biological families,” Svetlana Plotnitskaya said.
Elina and her sister came to the children’s home four years ago. She quickly got to know everyone. She has recently become a “celebrity”. She took part in a photo shoot for a calendar. The family is proud of her.
“I had neither fears nor worries. I don't know what profession to choose yet. Probably, in the future I will be making pictures like my mother. I find it very interesting,” Elina said. “It is fun here! The kids are nice and friendly.”
Yegor is a newcomer. He has been living here for about eight months. He has his talents - he likes to work with wood and metal. He has already made a lot of useful things to decorate the house.
“When I met my mom, I saw she was very cheerful, positive. We started joking and talking. I liked her very much. She is kind. She cooks really well. She makes buns, Dubai chocolate, American cookies,” said Yegor Pasyuk.
What role do parents in children’s homes play?
“The parent of the children’s home needs to meet all the children's everyday needs and also help them grow into good people. Parents of children’s homes pay a lot of attention to joint leisure activities, including hobbies, handicrafts, reading, outings. They travel a lot. Some families have travelled all over Belarus with their children, they know all interesting places in Belarus,” Yelena Simakova said.
Svetlana Plotnitskaya keeps her children busy. All of them like to draw, play checkers and chess, and help around the house. They have time for gadgets only in the evening after they do their homework.
“There are organizations that help children’s homes. We mostly get along just fine. We have enough money. If you cook your own food, you always have enough. We have three refrigerators. We cook food for a week on weekends. We love cooking. It is also good for the children's hand motor skills. They all work together with me. Even the boys like to cook. They even know the recipes. When I try a new recipe, they write it down in their notebooks. My kids are great,” Svetlana Plotnitskaya said.
“We are a welfare state. With such a policy, we are obliged to support pensioners, people with disabilities, and orphans. In general, the authorities are judged by the way they address such issues,” the president said when he heard out the report on social security in October 2024. “Welfare programs in our country are large-scale. Our economy is showing a strong performance and makes it possible to channel more funds into welfare. This is exactly what we are doing right now.”
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