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Background
Russia was formerly part of the Soviet Union but became an independent country in December 1991. It has since faced considerable challenges it its transition to a democratic political system and a market economy. Immediately after independence, the economy underwent tremendous stress with GDP and standards of living declining severely and poverty rising dramatically, especially amongst the elderly, unemployed and vulnerable.
Although Russia has made impressive economic progress since the 1998 financial crisis, poverty remains widespread with 25 per cent of the population living in poverty. Families with children and single-parent families are among the worst affected.
HART and "Our Family" Foster Family Project
“Our Family” was born in the dark days of the Soviet Union, when Caroline Cox visited the region with a delegation of social scientists and medics who were shocked and dismayed by the gross mistreatment and neglect of children in state orphanages. Over three quarters of a million Russian children were abandoned or orphaned, with nearly half a million living in state institutions.
Caroline’s original report, which was scientifically robust but written with deep concern, was called
"Trajectories of Despair: Misdiagnosis & Maltreatment of Soviet Orphans". It was this that triggered the request of the Russian Ministry of Education for technical assistance to change the childcare policies from the Soviet Union system, institutional care to the development of Foster Family Care.
Since that time, our Russian colleagues have worked with great vision, dedication and commitment to help to change the policy of care for orphaned and abandoned children from institutionalisation in orphanages to foster family care. The achievements of the programme have been recognised in an evaluation by Professor Christina Lyon, Professor of Law, at Liverpool University. Christina Lyon’s report, entitled ‘Trajectories of Hope’, is a strong endorsement of all aspects of the programme and recommends its dissemination throughout the Former Soviet Union (FSU).
 “Our Family” has now helped over 400 children in Moscow, trained more than 550 child-care professionals from 40 regions in Russia, initiated essential legislation, and been the catalyst through which 26 regions widespread throughout Russia have already developed similar projects, introducing foster family care, so that over 5,000 children have been able to enjoy the benefits of loving families. Today the model continues to roll out across Russia, with 38 regions now implementing some form of foster family provision, or exploring the possibility of doing so.
A Success Story: HART's Warm Farewell to "Our Family"
Baroness Cox has been supporting the “Our Family” project, initially through Christian Solidarity Worldwide, and more recently through HART- for 10 years since its inception. After substantial support from HART for the past 3 years, the time has come for “Our Family” to continue its work as an independent Russian NGO.
HART continues to provide professional support in the form of advice and advocacy yet it is with extreme pleasure that we bid goodbye to a project which has reached the stage where it can independently operate. As always, HART endeavours to help others, to help themselves. We hope that many others will eventually follow in the footsteps of “Our Family” and become successful life-changing and self-sustaining organisations- the best possible outcome for our local partners and the people we serve.
In light of continual support in terms of advocacy, on January 27th 2007, Lord Pearson of Rannoch, Chairman of HART, hosted a promotional
concert, featuring performances by the world class pianist, Ignat Solzhenitsin, at the British Embassy in Moscow. The event brought together current and potential donors and political supporters of the “Our Family” project in an effort to secure the future of this wonderful charity in aid of orphans in Russia.
Attended by over 200 individuals from the national and international scene, including the Guest of Honour, His Royal Highness Prince Michael of Kent, this prestigious occasion was both a celebration of the achievements of the centre to date, and a recognition of the ongoing challenges ahead.
If you would like to support or find out more about “Our Family”, you can contact the centre’s director, Maria Ternovskaya at
mftern@mail.ru.
 In view of our policy to ensure accountability of donations, authenticity of advocacy and solidarity with people in forgotten places, we like to visit them on a regular basis. In addition to the regular visits made by HART delegates, in 2004 HART recruited two specialist consultants from the UK, Mary Corcoran and Deborah Lightfoot, to carry out an appraisal of the “Our Family” Programme. Their report can be downloaded
here.
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