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Almost all graduates of orphanages in Kyrgyzstan subjected to violence

Status of a graduate of an orphanage is not defined in any law of Kyrgyzstan. Director of Oasis NGO, Meerim Osmonalieva, told today during a round table discussion.

According to her, at the end of 2015 there were more than 100,000 socially unprotected families in the country. According to state agencies, more than 9,000 children lived in children’s institutions, according to UNICEF- more than 11,000 children. Other 305,000 children are at risk. They grow up in unfavorable conditions.

Experts conducted a survey among 350 graduates of orphanages. In fact, only 10 percent of them were full orphans, and 84 percent were left without parental care. They have relatives, but in reality these children are not needed by anyone.

When interviewing the children themselves, it was found out that more than half of them felt themselves full orphans, even with living parents.

«The status of a graduate of an orphanage is not defined by a law. And the children graduate at the age of 14-18. But according to international norms, boys and girls of this age are still children. The state has obligations to them. Annually, boarding schools and orphanages graduate at least 450 children. All of them have problems with adaptation, social protection, drawing up of documents, access to medical services, education. They have no housing and employment opportunities. Many children get into labor slavery,» Meerim Osmonalieva told.

According to experts, 91 percent of graduates of orphanages migrate to cities, where there is an opportunity to find at least any work. Almost all children were subjected to various types of violence.

These children are potential transmitters of violence in the future. Social workers of orphanages have no qualifications to help them, experts say.

«Last year we enrolled them in the secondary specialized college. One graduate entered the IT academy through a crowdfunding platform. But these are isolated cases,» Meerim Osmonalieva told.

Educational institutions require certificates, demand at least one parent to come, often humiliate graduates of orphanages.

Meerim Osmonalieva

«Under the law, orphans should be allocated housing. But in fact only 10 percent are full orphans. But after all, the others are also not needed by anybody, and they can not get housing,» Meerim Osmonalieva stressed.

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