Displaying items by tag: Eastern Europe

A started life in a Bucharest institution. Staff fed him. He was seldom held. At ten months he weighed under a stone, couldn’t sit, could barely hold up his head. He’s now 16, tall, well-spoken, likes comics, drawing and animals. He hopes to attend the Academy of Economic Studies. What caused the turnaround? At 10 months he was fostered by a loving family. Recently images of severely neglected children in institutions in Belarus, Hungary and Ukraine shocked the world. In Ukraine alone, tens of thousands of children are in institutions. Many are invisible, often not counted or monitored; they’re vulnerable to neglect, abuse, violence and exploitation. The time has come to give millions of children enduring institutional ‘care’ a future and a hope. Central and Eastern Europe has over five times the global average of children in institutions. In some countries disabled children account for 70% of the total.