2004 Press Releases
U.S. Consulate General Staff Visits the Child's House # 2
November 29, 2004
On Friday, November 26 Consulate staff visited Dom Rebyonka No. 2 in Yekaterinburg, to learn more about the situation of the orphanage and present a gift of diapers, fruit, and juice that was purchased from Consulate staff donations. Situated in the JBE region of the city, the foster care/orphanage houses 110 children, 55 of whom were born to HIV positive mothers. Seven of the children themselves carry the infection. Housed here are children from a few months to 4 years in age. Around 50 children were adopted from the orphanage this year, a significant drop from last year when around 100 children were adopted. This is partially due to an increasingly difficult legal system that has elongated the adoption process from a few months to 6-12 months.
The Consulate first became aware of Dom Rebyonka No.2 when researching the problem of HIV/AIDS in Yekaterinburg and the Sverdlovsk Oblast. Due to the ever-increasing instances of HIV/AIDS the orphanages, and specifically Dom No. 2 are seeing an influx in the number of children being born to infected parents. In the Sverdlovsk Oblast, last year alone, 1000 babies were born by infected mothers. At this orphanage last year there were around 15 children coming from this type of situation, a year later the number has nearly quadrupled. The main difficulty for the orphanage in these situations is to provide the proper medical care to children who bear the infection. A lack of funding is the chief barrier, neither the orphanage nor oblast have the money available. Unfortunately, those children who have the infection can only be treated by the means available. Fortunately, there is a loving and dedicated staff doing all that is in their power to help.
A large number of those who adopt are from the United States, and are there is no shortage of pictures or success stories adorning the walls of the Head Doctor Irina Kolikhova’s office. She tells the real story of both the difficulties and joys of her work, her dedication is obvious and her advocacy is clear. She relates to us a truth that helps us grasp a glimmer of hope: fate is unknown, who would have thought that some of these children, born to a difficult and tragic world, would end up in such loving families.
