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Chapter 3. Description of Results

After leaving orphanages orphans face problems when starting to live on their own. In Kazakhstan sufficient attention has not been paid to this issue, but it needs investigation as every year a group of teenagers leaves orphanages and each of them has to start their own way in life. The aim of this report is to investigate the problem and find out if there are ways to prepare orphans for independent life, how the government can help them after leaving orphanages, not just abandoning them without any care. For this purpose three qualitative interviews were conducted: a structured one with a young man who used to live in an orphanage and left when he was sixteen, and with two volunteers who work with orphans (both of them were semistructured). Also the general secretary of the Youth Assembly in Almaty was interviewed. That interview was structured. In addition, twenty questionnaires were distributed among students of KIMEP. The results of the interview with the young man are presented first as they reflect the view of a person who has directly experienced the problem. Results of the interviews with the general secretary of Youth Assembly are then presented, the interviews with volunteers follow. The results from questionnaires are given last. Connections and differences in the interviews and questionnaires are highlighted.

1. Philip[‡] is a young man of twenty-five years old and ethnically Russian. He is married and has a child. Philip gave his agreement to be interviewed at once, and scheduled it for March 6th in Ramstor supermarket in the food court. He refused to be recorded; notes of his answers were taken. Philip is an orphan and he stayed in an orphanage from the age of thirteen. At the age of sixteen, in 2003, he was made to leave the orphanage, though the age when orphans are supposed to leave orphanages is eighteen. Philip said that he and some other young men were just told: “Good bye”. Forty-three orphans left the orphanage that year, but there were only three places in a youth house. These places first of all were given to the ones who did not have any relatives at all. Philip had an elder sister, so there was no talk about a youth house.

“The problems with education and housing are the ones which appear immediately”, he said. Orphans were taken to professional lyceums (where education is free for everyone) and they did not have a choice of profession. When leaving the orphanage Philip was paid four thousand tenge once and that was all. Only when he was twenty-four did he learn that he was entitled to monthly welfare payments, but no one had told him about this before. The presence and level of help provided by orphanages to orphans after their departure depends on a financial level and sponsors of the orphanage. If the orphanage is private, sponsored by local or foreign sponsors, they usually try to organize better conditions for orphans when they start independent life. If the orphanage is public, they do not help orphans after leaving because there is no money for this.



Philip mentioned that orphans are still better prepared for independent life than children with parents. During the whole interview Philip used to repeat that an ordinary person who grew up with parents cannot understand all the feelings of orphans in full measure and he seemed proud because of his knowledge and experience. Philip said that orphans need individual attention even after leaving orphanage, but no one pays attention to them. There are some social funds which somehow deal with orphans but only if they address these funds, but no one inform orphans that there is such an opportunity for them.

When asked what help from the government would be useful, Philip answered that education should be more available for orphans. There should be more grants and scholarships. Very often orphans want to study, want to have a successful start to their life, but education, even if they want to receive, is unavailable for them. In addition, the government should provide some privileges in payment for utilities (preferably 50%). There should be a monthly welfare payment for orphans for the whole period of their studies. Also help with getting a job would be very useful. Philip never mentioned in his CVs that he had grown in orphanage, because he believed a head of a company never would hire an orphan. Philip stressed that there is an extremely bad opinion about orphans and attitude to them in the society. People are sure that if a teenager has stayed in orphanage, there is nothing good in him. Philip stated that orphans must be informed about their rights. When they are still in orphanage they must be taught what rights and duties they have.

2. The following interview was with Aidana. She is the general secretary, HR director of Youth Assembly in Almaty. During recent years this organization has been paying much attention to orphanages, orphans, does charity and holds seminars where participants discuss which help can be provided to orphans. Aidana agreed to answer the questions of interview by phone on March 9th. Notes of her answers were taken.

Aidana said that there are a lot of cases when orphans get used to constant care and when facing life outside orphanage they just do not know what to do. Her answer contradicts the statement of Philip who said that orphans are prepared for starting independent life much better than those teenagers who have parents. “Many orphans are children of people whose style of life was pretty miserable; they drank, smoked, used drugs, and did not care about their health and health of their children.” Aidana explained that as a consequence many orphans inherit weak health and that is why very often it happens that work is hard for them. In addition, a sense of responsibility is not familiar to many orphans. They may easily leave a job they had just started.

Contradicting Philip once more, Aidana said that in Youth houses there are places for each orphan who left orphanage. “It is just like a guy finishes school, and there is a place for him in a university”, she explained. Aidana said that orphans have a choice when deciding which profession they would like to get. Their tutors from orphanages help them to find a college or a university where they can get the profession they like and seek free education.

Aidana stressed that orphans face a lot of financial and emotional difficulties after leaving orphanage. When they are among peers at college, for example, they have a feeling of not fitting to society, staying “a black sheep”. Orphans have rights to get free medical care, free education and free housing, BUT for the last fourteen years none of orphans in Almaty received a flat to live in. There is such a paragraph in the Law, but orphans do not know about this and no one informs them. Things which are easy and obvious for an ordinary young person are not so easy for orphans. It is difficult for them to collect documents to get a job or to search for a job.

Aidana mentioned that the government provides orphans with a monthly welfare payment of 14,500 tenge. There is a “Evraziya” fund which provides orphans with free education. In Aidana’s opinion the government should provide orphans with grants, scholarships, help with getting qualitative education because nowadays education is so important for young people, without it youth cannot find a well paid job. There should be help with getting a job, too. Today it is not that easy to find a job. Aidana offered an idea: employers who hire orphans should get bonuses, discounts on taxes, and promotion from the government.

3. A semi-structured qualitative interview with Tamara, a volunteer who works with orphans was conducted on March 11th by phone. Notes of her answers were taken. Tamara has worked with orphans as a volunteer for several months, but during this time she saw orphans’ life and their problems closer.

Her answer to the question about Youth houses was totally different from answers of Philip and Aidana. She said that only orphans who have had good behavior in an orphanage can be taken to Youth houses. The aim of such policy is security and stability in a Youth house. Orphans with good behavior are the ones who will study and work. The answer to the question about difficulties which orphans face after leaving orphanage was very similar to what Philip and Aidana answered: “It is very hard for orphans to find a job and that is a consequence of unavailability of qualitative education for them. They are not qualified workers. That is why employers do not trust them”, Tamara said.

To the question about the help the government provides to orphans, Tamara answered that in agencies of employment orphans are the first in a queue to get job, but the problem still remains. Tamara repeated Aidana’s words, saying that orphans are entitled to receive a flat from the government, but no one tells them about this and they are not aware of this.

There are some charity organizations which help orphans, explain their rights, hold fairs of job vacancies. Tamara also mentioned, as Aidana did, that orphans can choose professions, but they do not have so much choice among universities, because not every university is ready to provide free education. Usually orphans study at professional lyceums. That is the same as Philip said. Tamara said, that in some Youth houses tutors help orphans to find a university where orphans can prepare for the profession they would like and write a letter to this university with a request to provide free education.

Tamara thinks that everything depends on the government. If the government pays attention to orphans and their problems, the situation will be much better. If there is a law, guaranteeing something to orphans, the government should make sure this law exists not only in writing, but also in reality. “There should be a strong education for orphans about their rights and how to fight for them”, Tamara states.

4. Maria[§] used to work as a volunteer in a Youth house of Almaty. A semi-structured qualitative interview was conducted with her because she saw the life of orphans after their leaving orphanages, how they live in Youth houses. The interview took place by phone on March 5th; notes of the answers were taken. She said the level of care of orphans after they leave orphanage depends on the funding. For example, there is a Youth house “Bobek” in Almaty. It was founded by the First Lady, Sara Nazarbayeva, and has sponsors all over the world. Here teenagers are watched, cared for, paid a monthly welfare. When they study, they receive a scholarship. “But this has a bad side, too, - stresses Maria, orphans get used to constant care, they start to ignore studies, sleep all day long and do nothing”.

According to Maria the situation is different in the regional Youth house “Baganashil” which is located in Almaty. Here orphans live on their own, like in a dormitory. They do not receive the care which teenagers in “Bobek” get. “Baganashil” does not have such a financial basis as “Bobek” has. Tutors in “Baganashil” are just a formality. Orphans here need house utensils and have many other needs.

Part B. Twenty questionnaires were distributed among students of KIMEP. They were chosen because in future KIMEP students could become leaders in governmental, economic, social spheres of the country. How much attention will be paid to orphans in the nearest future may depend on them. Below the chart is given, which demonstrates the amount of people who evaluate the level of help provided by the government to orphans after they leave orphanages.

Figure 1

. Majority of people (55%) think that the level is low. None of respondents think that the level is high or very high.

 

The next chart demonstrates the level of preparation for independent life that orphans get in orphanages in students’ point of view.

Figure 2

The majority (40%) thinks that the level is low; the minority of students (15%) chose the answer “High”. None of the students think that the level is very high.

The following chart represents the amount of positive and negative answers to the question: “If you were a boss of a company, would you hire a person who grew up in orphanage?”

Figure 3

Only one person said he would not. Fifteen people (75%) said they would, and four people (20%) decided that it depends on orphan’s professionalism and personal qualities.

To the question, how can the government can help orphans after leaving orphanage, students gave similar answers: help to find a job, provide quality education, a department should be founded which will help orphans, look after them, provide orphans with permanent housing, pay welfare, to provide them with privileges on payments for utilities.

The question about preparation of orphans for independent life in orphanages was answered by students similarly, as well: give them opportunity to receive qualitative education in school, implement a new subject, during which orphans will be taught about their rights, information which they should know when starting independent life, give them freedom in leaving orphanage for they could communicate with their peers from families, let them have a part–time job, to have more entertainment events out of orphanages.

For better and deeper understanding of the problems orphans face after orphanages and the help they need, four qualitative interviews were conducted: a structured one with Philip who used had been in orphanage for three years; a structured interview with Aidana, general secretary and HR-director of the Youth Assembly of Almaty; semi-structured interviews with two volunteers in orphanages Tamara and Maria. In addition, twenty questionnaires were distributed among students of KIMEP. The information received from these people showed that there are ways how the government could prepare orphans for independent life, such as: introducing family type homes for orphans, implementing a new course in their studies. Also the government could help orphans after leaving orphanage by helping them to get quality education and find a job, giving privileges in payment for utilities, transportation and medical care. These and some other solutions were analyzed more detailed in Chapter 4.



Date: 2016-01-03; view: 606


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