The country began to sacrifice less for children, but there were more volunteers. Coronavirus turned the life of children's charitable foundations

In 2019, 47% of all donations went to the rescue of children. In 2020, there were 45%of them. The decrease is small, but fundamentally important. Indeed, with restrictions due to Covid-19, charitable foundations have more frames. Requirements. Expenses.

About how the children's non -profit sector is experiencing a pandemic, and what the help of charity is expecting from the state, the employees of three funds and their wards told “new”.

Tatyana Dorokhova

Franjizer of the House of Charity Fund

- The life of the fund with the advent of restrictions has changed greatly. In general, we work with the most vulnerable families in social and material terms. Many of them have no registration in St. Petersburg. Some have no citizenship. Everyone has children.

Any shocks on our customers affect faster and stronger than others.

Already in early April, the number of appeals increased. They openly told us that there is nothing to feed children right now.

The “graduates” of the fund began to call, who had already improved life before the pandemic. They coped without the fund, but quarantine again put them in the position of survival.

Back in April -June, there were many requests from full families who had not previously turned to the funds for help. But one or both spouses in quarantine lost their jobs, while having children, a mortgage or removable housing ...

It was difficult. All our forces were thrown to collect grocery humanitarian aid. They attracted volunteers who were ready to buy and deliver contactless food, connected Ford partners. The first task was to provide food for people who were in isolation and without funds.

If not for volunteers, it would not be possible to organize this. Now in the volunteer group of the fund of 426 participants - not all of them are active, but the number of those who already help is growing all the time.

They help in different ways: someone transports humanitarian aid, someone is conducting tutorial consultations with children. Lawyers, IT, designers - specialists of various fields - support the Pro Bono Foundation.

I think volunteering is a great way to dump stress. Firstly, you immediately see the result, you understand that your actions are really changing someone's life. Many people lack this at the main job. Secondly, you realize that you are actually good.

Finally, people learn that in addition to state assistance, often clumsy, inaccessible, there are funds where a person in trouble can turn. This gives confidence that you can take both self -organizing and solving the problem. That we can influence something.

The pandemic showed us the importance of online tools-chats, seminars, teaching videos. But we need to return to real projects, live with families. This is more effective. Especially for children.

In the meantime, you have to use all the opportunities that the Internet gives. For example, now there is a virtual action "Bear is not guilty." The bottom line is that before the New Year, children from families in a crisis position are flooded with toys. They want to please.

At the same time, children are not closed in children: they need tutors, consultations of specialists, classes with a defectologist.

It is better to direct funds to this, and not to toys that children receive regularly.

Few people think about it if not involved in volunteering. Probably, this is the significance of the transition to online - this is how it turns out to tell people about the real, unobvious problems of children.

How can the state help?

To help children, it is important to support the family in which these children grow. To support the family, it is necessary that state social assistance be available precisely when they need it.

Now the situation is paradoxical. To arrange benefits, to achieve-it is this word-a place in kindergarten, defending their rights, only a resource family can deal with all the bureaucratic moments, which in general copes.

People who have fallen in a crisis situation, without documents, without registration, without the ability to withstand aggression, rudeness, who remained in social isolation, cannot take advantage of state help. For them, almost all doors are simply closed. Therefore, the main thing is the reform of the procedures for assisting.

Karina Timonina

The head of the program "Assistance to Children in Hospital" of the Interregional Public Organization of Social Assistance to Children "Our Children"

- In March, we were confused. We were forbidden to visit children in hospitals, orphanages, shelters, but we did not have a distance of distance work. Yes, and the necessary skills to go to the distance at first too ...

It was difficult for volunteers to get used to changes. I had to organize weekly online support groups with the psychologist of the organization. Previously, they were spent once a month.

But no one gave up, we gradually adapted. He who could not, for example, was on duty in hospitals, became an auto -volunteer - began to deliver hygiene, toys, sterilizers for bottles, and products.

Even new people appear - on average pandemia, on average, 17 people come to distance interviews. More than before. This is good, because some of our volunteers left the game. Someone is sick, someone on quarantine, someone cannot take the analysis.

Each volunteer should have a negative Covid-19 test with a shelf life of no more than seven days. You can’t return to children without it. This has complicated all, because the analysis is paid.

We see the future optimistic. We want to help graduates of orphanages and children with disabilities after adulthood. We want a new project to support future mothers. Even plans to expand the projects of assistance to children in hospitals in the Leningrad region, we are already making contact with three hospitals and three hospitals.

How can the state help?

It would be great if the authorities helped with the necessary analyzes for volunteers. It is with this that most organizations, including ours. Many already want to help, but simply cannot because of prices!

Natalia Provuskina

The mother of Twelve -year -old Victoria, seven -year -old Milan, three -year -old Timosha and two -year Koli, ward organization of assistance to children "Our Children"

- We met our children in 2019. Then the volunteers looked after our future son Kolya in the hospital, and Timosha and I lay in the same department. The volunteers looked after Kolya while my husband and I collected documents for him.

Our friendship with the organization continued. It continues now, to the pandemic - I call up with a psychologist, talk about the painful. Sometimes they come to us - we live far, behind the red village, but without gifts - never.

But we leave the house infrequently. Although at first the whole family was self -isolated, not believing in everything and scolding the whole world. For a long time they laughed at the massive bunch of buckwheat.

Then, when they began to sweep the medicines, it became scary - even now some antibiotics in injections disappear periodically.

We try to sit at home so that medicines do not come in handy. I had to cancel massage and rehabilitation at home, although the boys need it because of their health.

Burred on paid tests with emergency hospitalization of a child with an attack of seizures on an ambulance. Because they take the child, and the mother is sent to take a test, and if you take it for free, then the analysis is done from three days to a week. All this time your child is alone!

He does not say and cannot say that it hurts, ask for a drink, for example. He does not understand what happened, and, not seeing his mother, is very afraid. Therefore, you are running the most expensive - for 4000 rubles, so that the result on the same day ... For the entire pandemic, I have to do this four times.

It is sad that you have to spend so much, although with this money you could buy an important medicine for the child. Well this is how: doctors and nurses leave the hospital every day, go home, meet with people ... And parents are like in prison. So strange.

How can the state help?

It is logical if the state begins to provide support when entering restrictions. But this is not. What is 10,000 for a child for a parent who remained with nothing? It is necessary to either figure out how to continue work in the previous volumes, or help for real.

I faced a comic situation. To get at least some help from the Leningrad region, it was necessary to confirm the status of the poor. At the same time, the accounting department went to the remotes, a certificate of income, without which it simply cannot be received anywhere. As a result, we were left without additional help. The procedure, as far as I know, has not yet been simplified.

Lyudmila Uman

Director of the April charity foundation

-We conducted many educational and cultural and entertainment events for children from orphanages and families in difficult life situations. Every week, children from remote cities and villages came to us, we came up with an interesting weekend for them in St. Petersburg.

Pandemia changed everything. Now the children are sitting in the institutions freely, the trips have stopped. Our classes with tutors and master classes moved to Zoom.

In general, there is no direct ban on visiting institutions by NPO representatives. So they said in the Ministry of Education on July 31, 2020. But this is not a law, but the point of view of the Ministry of Education, therefore, the heads of institutions have the right to act according to their own understanding.

In practice, from all orphanages, only one is ready to accept our volunteers. Of course, in compliance with all precautions: tests, masks, sanitizers ...

The situation does not work for us. In the context of pandemia, the issues of adaptation and development of orphans do not seem to be issues of life and death, but they actually are them. In the pandemic, children are cut off from the world, from additional classes and impressions, from communicating with volunteers.

And their childhood is happening today - it cannot be postponed for tomorrow. Everything that will not be invested in the development and education of children now will already be missed tomorrow.

Another problem is due to the fact that volunteers can “get lost” due to an almost complete transition to online. But new ones come to their places.

Geography has expanded greatly. The hosts of our virtual meetings are now in touch with the guys not only from St. Petersburg, but also from New York or Silicon Valley, for example.

But we are supported. Monetary donations from individuals increased by almost 20%. There is a small outflow of corporate donors, so at the end of the year the total amount will be equal to last year, probably. We will continue to do our job anyway.

When everything opens, there will be a lot of work - children are very missing from our events. I think everything will be fine. I would only know when.

How can the state help?

Support for children is, first of all, the support of their parents in this case.

Pandemia showed that many people live on the verge. They have no savings, no airbag. But there are loans, rent, mortgages.

Small business suffered greatly - in any case, tourism, restaurants, non -state theaters and other leisure. Among its owners and those who work on them are many only breadwinners who drag elderly relatives and children on themselves. So they need state support. And now it is a little, which only increases the load on the funds.

Irina Kuznetsova, mother of six -year -old Artem, ward of the April April charitable foundation:

- I met Lyudmila Umanets and the April Foundation when I was in an orphanage. There I lived almost all my life. But I began to receive help only in 2017, then Artem was three years old. I get it now.

In the first months of the pandemic, it was the most difficult thing - there was no one to turn to, I don’t know what I would do without “April” and food aid. Then the kindergarten was closed, buses were canceled - my son and I live in the village of Kheilulya, we must go to the city.

Because of this, they reduced from work: there was nothing to get on and could not carry it. There was no way to look for a new one - there is no one to leave his son with. Now it has become easier. Again I work as a seller in a fishing goods store, Artem returned to the kindergarten, and the fund recently helped with the purchase of a new gas stove.

I would like to believe that life is getting better. But in the fall, the number of cases increased sharply. I would even say that in the spring and summer it was not as scary as it is now.

Therefore, we try to not leave home if possible, keep a distance with people. But with my work it is difficult.

How can the state help?

We received twice 10,000 in June and July, like all families with children under 16 years of age. And in the summer they issued a manual as a poor family with a child from three to seven years old. 6,500 rubles come a month.

It might not have this money from the state. So thanks for that! <...>

In general, when everything was fine, I got into loans. And the pandemic just began. It became hard, you have to deny yourself in many ways. I would like to close everything and live calmly. But no family is living without loans, probably.

Arina Vasilchuk , especially for "New"