In Case You Felt Like Being Depressed Today

While I was working at the last camp I was at, near Odessa, there was also a large group of orphans staying at the same facility. It was interesting being around such a large group of kids who, as far as I could tell, didn't really have adult supervision and who are probably used to living like that.

It seems like there's almost a prison mentality. All the boys look like they work out constantly. The kids would walk around the cafeteria, taking extra food off of plates and taking stacks of sliced bread, or pouring sugar into little plastic containers they brought with them to take back to their rooms. They walk around without shoes a lot. They seem to beat up on each other pretty frequently. It was pretty depressing.

So I googled Ukrainian orphanages and here's what I found out:

• 100,000 orphans live in Ukraine’s 450 orphanages (about 225 children in each facility)
• 100,000 more children are on the streets because the orphanages are full
• 10% of orphans commit suicide after leaving the orphanage before their 18th birthday (they "graduate" between the ages of 16 and 18)
• 60% of the girls end up in prostitution
• 70% of the boys end up in crime
• Only 27% are able to find work
• 80-90% of orphans are social orphans. They have parents but they are unable to care for their children due to alcohol, drugs, abuse, etc. or are in prison.

This also made me appreciate that the orphanage in my village is a smaller facility, where all of my kids seem well cared for and relatively well adjusted.