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Answering a new challenge to the society

26.02.2019

The Rinat Akhmetov Foundation held an experimental meeting in Kyiv devoted to the topic of “How an adolescent from a boarding school could be motivated to develop their potential and helped find the Superpower?”

Tetiana Kukhotska, the Foundation’s Director for Project Development says that the main goal of the experimental meeting was developing a plan of providing effective help to students graduating from boarding schools. According to Mrs. Kukhotska, during the 10 years of the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation’s “No to Orphanhood!” program the attitude in the Ukrainian society toward adoption and orphanhood has drastically changed. But that concerns not all aspects of this problem.

‘10 years ago, when “No to Orphanhood!” program was conceived, the Foundation was on the threshold of solving a huge problem. Adoption wasn’t a subject for discussion in the society. This topic was so tabooed that there were only a few who wanted to adopt a child. How to adopt a child and what problems could arise? There was no-one whom these questions could be asked. During these 10 years, a huge step forward was taken in the country thanks, in particular, to “No to Orphanhood!” program from the Rinat Akhmetov Foundation, which is the driver of this topic. Today, people routinely talk about adoption, and that helps increase the number of adopted children. The society went a long way from “ashamedly” to “routinely”. We are now facing a new challenge: how to help children over 13 years of age who, unlike the kids under three, almost never get adopted. The society has the task of making sure that these children feel themselves its full-fledged members’, Tetiana Kukhotska explains.

For the first time in Ukraine, the discussion of such a difficult topic involved not only representatives of public institutions, psychologists and adoption specialists. In addition to them, representatives of business circles, creative agencies and culture also participated in the experimental meeting.

The event was held in the expert group format.

‘The Foundation has raised a very important matter of helping adolescents without family or parental care. This is the age category that falls out of sight of both public institutions and NGOs. This event brought together people of various professions with different life experience, all of whom want to help these adolescents’, Liubov Loriashvili, a psychologist and lead specialist at Kyiv Center for Social Services says.

At the end of the meeting, the groups presented their findings. In the opinion of the attendees, motivational meetings for children at boarding schools play a huge role. The Foundation’s experience proves that, when last year it held a campaign called “Rinat Akhmetov to Children!” at boarding schools in the Donetsk Oblast in the format of motivational meetings. These meetings were conducted by the Foundation’s ambassadors – well-known presenters from Ukraina TV Channel. By telling their own stories, the TV personalities showed the kids that there are no insurmountable obstacles in life.

‘The adolescent period is a special period in personal development. Adolescents begin to compare themselves with adults and contemporaries, and realize their own value and uniqueness. The most important thing is to identify one’s own talent, own gift, for everyone has it and it is always unique’, Marina Kukhar, a presenter at Ukraina TV Channel and one of the campaign’s ambassadors said.