A Humanitarian Campaign for Physically Disabled/Wheelchair bound Children of Kyrgyzstan

Initiated by the Office of the President of the Russian Federation and Frank Foundation Child Assistance International (FFCAI)

BACKGROUND

According to a 2002 Report on “Children and Disability in the Kyrgyz Republic” published by UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, an estimated 91,000 Kyrgyz citizens were categorized as disabled by the end of 2001. 15,700 or 17% were disabled children under 16 years of age. Approximately 16.7% of these disabled children were diagnosed with infantile cerebral palsy (ICP).

Since 1994 when the Kyrgyz Republic ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the government has been making efforts to conform to the convention. However, the government is unable to provide full social support and necessary aid to the majority of families with disabled children and the institutions specifically designated to provide education, care and social services for them. The most serious problems and hurdles they face are as follows:

• Severe shortage of specialized retail stores (selling wheelchairs, hearing aids, etc.) and manufacturers of necessary equipment;

• Prejudice, lack of tolerance and compassion for disabled – there is a lack of educational initiative informing the public (particularly children) of the abilities of disabled.

• Poor educational services resulting in social isolation of disabled children;

• Shortage of knowledgeable teachers and training programs for disabled children

Only a small portion of disabled children have an opportunity to attend or be placed in specialized institutions and to receive the relevant assistance. The majority of disabled children, particularly those from poor families or remote areas, have practically no access to advanced treatment, care and rehabilitation facilities. The corresponding provincial institutions have insufficient finances, maladjusted accommodation, and frequently lack even the basic necessities for normal development of disabled children.

CONCEPT

In response to this dilemma, the office of the President of the Russian Federation, under the leadership of Presidential Appointee, the Special Envoy to Kyrgyzstan, Mr. Vladimir Rushailo, in partnership with nonprofit child advocacy organization, Frank Foundation Child Assistance International, have launched a program to address the urgent requirements of the disabled children in Kyrgyzstan. The following needs have been identified and are targeted for project implementation:

1. Mobility Equipment for Children: 90 pediatric wheelchairs are immediately needed for students who lack proper equipment for their well being. The current program seeks to obtain 30 wheelchairs from the USA for transport back to Russia during the professional visit of Mr. Rushailo during his upcoming visit to the USA at the end of November 2010.

2. Specialized Transportation (Buses) for Students: Children confined to wheelchairs, are severely limited by a lack of sufficient transportation. Minibuses specially equipped with mechanisms to raise wheelchairs are requested to enable centers to adequately provide for the children’s’ needs.

3. Contemporary technology and specialized educational opportunities for disabled children: The project strives to encourage disabled youth to fully embrace life by introducing opportunities for them to live enriching and independent lives. Through the latest technological breakthroughs to potential career training and options, FFCAI hopes to develop diverse programs utilizing partnerships with local and international organizations.

CURRENT INITIATIVE

FFCAI seeks the support of the public and private sectors to create a viable project with benefits extending to hundreds of disabled children throughout Kyrgyzstan and provide them with the physical, emotional and intellectual support and opportunities they deserve to be self-sufficient and contributing members of a new and strong society. As the first step, FFCAI takes immediate action to launch the program through organizing the donation of 50 pediatric wheelchairs to Kyrgyzstan at the end of 2010. Coordinating this effort with Mr. Vladimir Rushailo’s professional visit to the USA at the end of November 2010, the wheelchairs [1] will be transported back to Russia, transferred to Kyrgyzstan and delivered to the disabled children who desperately need them – all under the direct supervision of Mr. Rushailo.

This effort is continuing a tradition of cooperation between Mr. Rushailo’s office and FFCAI to benefit disadvantaged children. In July of 2008, we had sent this exact pediatric wheelchair to Mr. Vladimir Borisovich Rushailo as a test/prototype to make sure it was a suitable model for the disabled children in his program. Mr. Rushailo personally transported the wheelchair from the USA to Arkhangelsk Region, where it was given to the Municipal Rehabilitation Center for Experimental Support for Children with Limited Mobility – a facility under the auspices of the City of Arkhangelsk Department of Education and the State Physiological Clinical Institute of Northern Russia Medical University. The Director could not have been more pleased with the unit and approved it immediately. Ten additional wheelchairs were purchased and delivered to the center over the course of the next few years.

In his most recent presidential appointment as Special Representative of the Russian President for Relations with Kyrgyzstan, Mr. Rushailo expands his focus to include support for disabled children in Bishkek and other regions throughout the Republic of Kyrgyzstan. Mr. Rushailo seeks to replicate the humanitarian initiative for marginalized Kyrgyz youth by using the successful model and infrastructure he developed in the Arkhangelsk Region. Frank Foundation is honored to be part of this global effort.

Deleted specific information on list of 50 children for privacy reasons

CONCLUSION

The current educational program continues a strong tradition of democratic partnerships and international sharing for a common goal. FFCAI extends its gratitude to Adoption Options and its expansive network of generous and compassionate families for its continuous support. The current program allows us to collectively work together to directly benefit 50 specific children throughout Kyrgyzstan and provide them with a basic tool – a wheelchair – so that they may begin their journey to becoming independent, self-sufficient and contributing members of a new and strong society.

We have contacted the General Consul at the Kyrgyzstan embassy for an update on the adoption status in Kyrgyzstan.  She told us again that everything is prepared for adoptions to start again and that they do plan on continuing the program but that there was no date set for implimentation.  The 65 families that were suspended in the middle of their adoptions have not progressed regardless of political pressure applied by US authorities.  The Joint Council has initiated a new request for appeal to Kyrgyzstan authorities and for political pressure to finalize these 65 adoptions.

The bottom line is that we are still in a suspended state waiting for the Kyrgyzstan government to begin implimentation.  I am sorry that I do not have something more definitive to report.  We will keep monitoring the situation and let you know if there are any progress.  Again if anyone would like to switch to one of our other countries of Russia or Kazakhstan we will assist you without any additional agency fee.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

Warm regards,

 Brent E. Yoder, LCSW

Executive Director

This is a follow up to proposed response from the Kyrgyzstan government regarding adoptions. This month the government was scheduled to make a public position on international adoptions, which we were hopeful would restart the program. The government announcement was postponed earlier this month stating that a position paper would be rescheduled later this month. As of today no rescheduled release date has been issued. We continue to monitor the situation and we will let you know as soon as we hear anything else about this situation. In regards to this being a negative statement we do not know if it is or not. What we do know is the program regulations are in place to restart the program but we are waiting for a government directive allowing the adoptions begin again. We will let you know as we get new information.
Again for anyone that wants to consider changing countries please contact me and we can discuss other alternatives.

Warm regards,

Brent

Brent E. Yoder, LCSW
Executive Director

Below you will find an update from the State Department regarding Kyrgyzstan. This update is directed to the families that are stuck but it has relevant information about the general issues in Kyrgyzstan and some hopeful promises. I will update you as I receive new information.

Warm regards,

Brent

Brent E. Yoder, LCSW
Executive Director

Dear Kyrgyz Adoptive Families:

I am writing from the Office of Children’s Issues to provide you with a brief update on recent developments regarding the pending adoption cases in Kyrgyzstan, following the visit of Kyrgyz officials in late May.

On May 27 three officials from the Kyrgyz government, Deputies Gulnara Derbysheva and Damira Niiazalieva, and Child Protection Expert Ekaterina Khoroshman, met with adoptive parents, adoption professionals, and government officials as part of a U.S. Government-sponsored international visitors program. The visit succeeded in helping these officials better understand, first-hand, the intense commitment that U.S. families have for their prospective adoptive children. The officials also learned about the standards and protections for adoptive children that are built into the U.S. intercountry adoption process.

After they returned home, these officials held meetings and interviews to address some of the questions and concerns that people in Kyrgyzstan had raised about intercountry adoptions. These officials are clearly following up on the promise they made to work for release of the sixty-five cases.

In June, the State Department also sponsored the visit of a U.S. adoption expert to Kyrgyzstan. This expert met with Kyrgyz government officials, private organizations, and individuals to answer questions about U.S. adoption law and to explain the support and protections available to adoptive children in the United States. During these presentations, the expert emphasized the importance of resolving the sixty-five adoptions currently pending for the well-being of the children.

Recently, the State Department received promising news that proposals regarding these sixty-five cases may be presented to the Kyrgyz Parliament in the coming days. As of this writing, no official action had yet been taken. It is not clear what concrete effect these proposals might have, since the Parliament itself apparently does not have the authority to resolve these cases. Further, Presidential elections are scheduled for July 23. Nevertheless, we welcome this interest and are optimistic that if the proposals are introduced and passed, they could initiate a more positive shift in momentum on the sixty-five cases.

I cannot yet report any specific, concrete developments either in Kyrgyz adoption policy or on any of the pending adoption case files. We, in the Office of Children’s Issues, will continue to follow this issue closely and will make every effort to report to you if there are any new developments.

Gerry W. Fuller
Adoption Division Co-Chief
Office of Children’s Issues

I have attached below the latest communication from the US embassy in Kyrgyzstan. They confirm that the adoption process is supported and that it is a matter of when they will move forward. I think it significant that the Consular indicates “certainly not this week”. I would hear this as they think this could happen soon but again no one knows at this time. Let us all hope this is soon. I will keep you informed as we receive new information.

Warm regards,
Brent Brent E. Yoder, LCSW

As you may know the Parliament convened a special adoption commission to investigate the cases. Now the Parliament should discuss findings of this commission among 3 committees: Safety and Security, Migration and Children’s issues. After that the findings and recommendations will be discussed by the whole chamber and the Parliament will elaborate recommendations to the Government. According to our contacts, the adoption commission has changed its originally negative attitude, it sounds much more benevolent now. Its prediction is that eventually everything will be fine – however it is hard to predict when, certainly not this week. Government in its own turn is waiting for completion of Parliament’s work on adoptions. At the same time the Government is revising adoption regulations and working out provisional measures for 65 pipeline families. We have notified both Government and Parliament of immigration procedures and benefits for adoptive children. Currently we are closely cooperating with the General Prosecutor’s office which is investigating a few fraudulent adoption cases, by providing it with explanation of adoption procedures for U.S. parents. We continue working with the MFA regarding authenticatio fees for adoptive parents.
Sincerely
Consular section