New service reaches out to children at risk
Onnik Krikorian / UNICEF Armenia
YEREVAN, Armenia -- As Vahe's grandfather sits in the small, dimly lit and claustrophobic room that was once apparently a garage, he insists on donning the medal-encrusted jacket that testifies to his participation in WWII. His pride won't let him be photographed without it even though, like many other elderly people in Armenia, he struggles to survive on a pension that does not even cover the cost of bread.
To one side, with a newborn child still swaddled in her arms, the old man's daughter stands motionless, devoid of any emotion as a social worker and psychologist from the Fund for Armenian Relief's Outpatient Service assess whether seven-year old Vahe, a bright but streetwise young boy, should be removed from his family. Relegated to begging on the streets instead of attending school, they understand that he will be better looked after elsewhere.
After marching Vahe on the spot in a make-believe game of soldiers, he holds back his tears as three members of the Armenian police's Juvenile division arrive to take his grandson away. One week earlier, the Armenian Commission of Minors contacted FAR with concerns that the child was deprived of appropriate parental care and an assessment team from the Outpatient Service was immediately dispatched.
"When we visited the family we could see that the shelter -- if we can call it that -- where Vahe was living was dangerous for his health," says Lusine Khachatryan, the social worker assigned to his case. "Because of this, an early intervention had to be made."
Lacking even a birth certificate, the police will later complete all the necessary documentation before transporting him to the Fund for Armenian Relief's Children's Reception and Orientation Center, effectively a "clearing house" for vulnerable children at risk in the Zeytun district of the capital. Since the center was opened in February 2000, more than 700 children have passed through its doors.
In May 2004, UNICEF funded the Center's Outpatient Service.
Two hours later, when Vahe arrives at the FAR Center, he undergoes a medical checkup before being quarantined. Although otherwise healthy, scars on his back show that he has recently suffered from scabies. As a matter of precaution his hair is also sprayed with a chemical that will kill any lice before showering, perhaps for the first time in his life. Vahe then changes into a clean set of clothes and settles down in the recently-constructed and purpose-built isolation wing that will accommodate him for the next few days.
Karine Hayrapetyan, the center's pediatrician, says that she has noticed a significant deterioration in the health of children brought to her in the past year. "There were cases of tuberculosis before," she gives as an example, "but they were passive. This year, however, not only have cases been active but they have increased. The fact that we've had cases of syphilis in children as young as twelve also says something about the situation in Armenia."
Indeed, despite stable economic growth registered since 1995, 44% of the population lives below the national poverty line according to government statistics and although precise numbers are unknown, at least 200 children are believed to be working on the streets of the capital. Despite strong family ties in Armenia, there are concerns that this traditional "safety-net" is now weakening.
"There has been an increase in the number of cases of parental negligence where children are abused within the family," says Armen Pashinyan, the Outpatient Service's psychologist, "and in this particular case, based on a decision made by the Commission of Minors, the boy had to be removed from his family. Now we will try to address the family's psychological situation to see if it's possible for them to take him back but of course, it's going to be impossible to build a "paradise" for him at home."
UNICEF's Child Protection Project Assistant, Arman Darbinyan, unfortunately knows this reality only too well. Less than a month ago, he visited another family with the FAR Outpatient Service.
"The situation was very, very bad," he remembers. "You couldn't say that the conditions were fit for anyone to live in. The family was living in something like a derelict train wagon that was about four square meters in size. There was only one bed to accommodate three people -- a 3-year old boy, his 21-year old disabled brother and their mother who was an alcoholic -- and nothing else."
It was also suspected that in order to make ends meet, the mother was working as a prostitute but the main concern, however, was that her youngest child was neglected. Every night, her friends would gather in this tiny living space to smoke and drink vodka. Although admittedly happy by nature, the boy was under-developed and could hardly speak. He also had tuberculosis.
"It was a pity," says Darbinyan, even though he is glad to notice a marked improvement in the child who still remains temporarily in the FAR Center. "Despite the situation, the mother and child were very attached to each other and she cried when he was taken away. On the other hand, the conditions were very bad and he was definitely in danger."
In the past, and in lieu of fostering options, children at risk would eventually end up in a Children's Home or Boarding School but Sarkis Movsisyan, Head of the Social Department at the FAR Center, says that the service will instead try to facilitate and support the reintegration of children back into their families.
According to Movsisyan, approximately 65% of children have been successfully reintegrated since 2000 and the new Outpatient Service should increase that percentage in the future.
"The Case Management, Harm Reduction and Monitoring Outpatient Service for Children at Risk and their Families service is really beneficial to the work of this Center," he says. "We are trying to help children remain with their families and in this respect, the monitoring aspect of the service is important to reduce the risk of them falling into neglect again. This service will definitely help us prevent that in the future."
|
