In 2014-2015, said
Rabbi Glick, 14 boys reside in the boys' home, including two internally
displaced boys from Donetsk. The girls' home
also has 14 residents, including several from Poltava.
The two homes receive
operating funds from the Philanthropic Fund of the Dnipropetrovsk Jewish
Community (Благотворительный фонд Днепропетров-ского еврейского общины), said Rabbi Glick,
but it has been very difficult in the current economic environment to raise additional
money for recreational activities.
Therefore, the homes have ceased such activities as music lessons and
sports. Resident children "camp
hop" during the summer, moving from one Chabad camp to another; the
different camp directors will receive them for a two- or three-week session and
then send them to another camp.
Both homes are
supervised by counselors, most of whom are only several years older than their eldest
charges and none of whom has relevant education/psychology/social work
background. Some do not speak Russian or
Ukrainian. The two facilities are
guarded by security personnel throughout the day and night.
7. Старший брат, старшая сестра (Older Brother,
Older Sister) is an outgrowth of the Dnipropetrovsk Kehilla Project
of Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston, the Jewish
federation in Boston. Adapted from Jewish Big Brothers/Big
Sisters of Greater Boston, a constituent agency of CJP, the Dnipropetrovsk
program is completing its Bar Mitzvah year.
It is funded by a CJP grant.
Tanya Kaplunskaya, the director of the
Dnipropetrovsk project, said that 75 pairs of older/younger siblings (mentors/mentees)
are now active, an increase of five over the previous year. However, she continued, the program is now
encountering two problems. First,
it is increasingly difficult to find big brothers/big sisters because the
Jewish young adults who usually fill these roles are leaving Ukraine in large
numbers due to the economic situation in the country. Second, the economic situation itself has
created additional burdens for families, especially for the single-parent
families whose children need Older Brothers/Older Sisters most critically, and
has limited the capacity of Older Brothers/Older Sisters to operate programs on
which its constituency depends. Because
many students and young adults in Ukraine lack resources to carry out the
two-person events that characterize JBB/BS relationships in the United States,
the Dnipropetrovsk project has organized a number of large programs, such as
excursions to ice skating arenas and amusement parks, in which mentors and
mentees can participate. Now, Ms.
Kaplunskaya continued, funding for these outings is very scarce, causing the
project to reduce its offerings, the first time in its history that it has had
to cut back on these opportunities. The
Chabad Philanthropic Fund provided some resources for a Pesach program, but some
other programs have been eliminated.
Most of the younger
siblings, said Ms. Kaplunskaya, are pupils from School #144. Two youngsters have Down syndrome, one has
cerebral palsy, one is confined to a wheelchair, and one has serious
psychological issues. Perhaps four are
internally displaced children from the combat zone in the east. Not all are halachically Jewish. Through contacts in the day school and
elsewhere, she learns of children who would benefit from a relationship with a
mentor. The program is sufficiently
well-known in the community that some parents or other adults even approach her
on the street to recommend a child in need of an older companion.
Most of the big siblings
volunteer through the Hillel student organization or through Jewish Agency young
adult programs. Ms. Kaplunskaya, who is
a psychologist, interviews all participants and matches mentors and
mentees. She is always looking for new
opportunities to bring the older and younger siblings together; in addition to
excursions to parks and sports arenas, some pairs also have participated in
Holocaust memorial events and in a "telebridge" event with
Russian-speaking senior adults in Boston. Other pairs visited a nearby military
hospital, bringing gifts to soldiers from all over Ukraine who are recuperating
from battle wounds there.
A psychologist by education and
training, Tanya Kaplunskaya brings considerable professional experience to her
work as director of the Старший брат, старшая сестра (Older Brother, Older Sister) program in
Dnipropetrovsk. Her parents, who now
live in Israel, were among the first local Jews to welcome Rabbi Shmuel Kaminezki
when he came to Dnipropetrovsk in 1990; both of them subsequently worked in the
Jewish community for many years. Ms.
Kaplunskaya's daughter also lives in Israel.
Photo: the writer.
In response to a
question about the general mood in the city, Ms. Kaplunskaya said that
people are very positive, very patriotic.
They don't talk about the war or about Vladimir Putin of Russia. Generally, people do not follow the news
compulsively, if only because no one trusts news sources, whether from Ukrainian
or Russian broadcasters. The economic
situation is terrible (ужас), but it is
"necessary to live" so people try to be reasonably cheery and to help
each other. Because Dnipropetrovsk is a
major assembly and medical care nexus for the war in the east, many wounded
soldiers, some of whom are seriously maimed, are in the city. Thus, she continued, the reality of the war
is very visible. The presence of troop
movements and wounded soldiers has led to a great deal of volunteer activity,
which bolsters the sense of unity and patriotism.
8. A Special Needs Educational Resource
Center, located in a wing of the Beit Chana Jewish Women's Pedagogical
College, enrolls 60-62 children
and adolescents, as well as a few young adults.
Another five youngsters receive care at home. For most participants, their time at the
Resource Center or in homecare is their only regular education experience;
however, several are enrolled in public school classes and come to Beit Chana
for individual assistance, and others also attend a social/recreational program
operated by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (Joint), which
meets less frequently and is less educational in nature.
In response to a
question, Resource Center Director Tamara Olshanitskaya said that the
Center does not enroll any children from internally displaced families
currently residing in Dnipropetrovsk.
The Center has been approached by several such families, she continued,
but declined their enrollment because of space limitations and because of a disinclination
to work with youngsters suffering from trauma related to their displacement as
well as fundamental special needs.
Many of the Resource Center children are
autistic, stated Ms. Olshanitskaya, and many others are intellectually impaired
and have other disabilities as well. Due
to improved obstetrical care, the number of youngsters with cerebral palsy
actually is declining, she said. A few
clients have not been diagnosed precisely, Ms. Olshanitskaya con-tinued, but it
is clear that these youngsters are severely impaired and unable to attend
conventional public schools.
Tamara Olshanitskaya, right, has
directed the Resource Center since its inception. She has spent considerable time in the United
States, where her daughter and grandchildren now reside.
Photo: the writer.
When the program first
started some years ago, she responded to a question, about 65 percent of the
children were Jewish. Today, only about 40
percent are Jewish. Many Jewish
families with a special-needs child emigrate to Israel where opportunities for
youngsters with disabilities are far greater than in Ukraine.
Youngsters attending
the Resource Center are placed in one of four groups according to age,
type of disability, and degree of impairment.
Some younger children are prepared for public school special education
classes, but others are so seriously afflicted that public schools are unable
to accommodate them. In addition to the
five who receive care at home, several young adults who have outgrown the
conventional program, come to the Center for individual therapy. The few available private institutions for
children with disabilities are too expensive for most families, said Ms.
Olshanitskaya. Additionally, she
commented, many families find the smaller Resource Center to be more welcoming
and comfortable. The Resource Center
operates an extended day program. It is
closed for one month during the summer, stated Ms. Olshanitskaya, in order to
provide a vacation for its overworked staff.
The Resource Center premises include
eight teaching/therapy spaces in five classrooms of various sizes, a
sports hall, and an outdoor play area with equipment designed for special needs
youngsters. The program offers
basic literacy and mathematics skills, speech therapy, art and music therapy,
physical education, and massage. The music
therapist, noted Ms. Olshanitskaya, studied in Israel and is very talented.
Additionally, the program offers horse-centered animal therapy; youngsters are
able to ride horses and to feed them.
A group of Resource Center children,
their mothers, a teacher, and a trained volunteer are seen in the photo at
left. Much of the equipment in the
Center has been provided by Combined Jewish Philanthropies of Greater Boston.
Photo: the writer.
Medical care is provided through the
Jewish Medical Center, said Ms. Olshanitskaya. The primary JMC pediatrician is very
experienced and understanding, Ms. Olshanitskaya stated, and has excellent
connections with all medical specialists and services in the city. Psychologists are on staff and work with both
children and parents.
The Resource Center is
unable to afford all of the professional staff that it requires. It needs additional psychologists, social
workers, and special education teachers.
It is very dependent upon volunteer helpers, among them retired
teachers who come to the Center several days each week to work with individual
children. Parents and grandparents of
client children also have undertaken responsibilities that extend beyond their
own children or grandchildren.
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