Email to coss@vircom.net
Copyright © CoSS, 2003
CoSS
Frequently
Asked Questions
'can you help us adopt'
Certainly the children at SvirStroiski Detsky dom are adorable, loveable and deserving of a stable home environment with loving parents as are children everywhere. Several of the children are available for adoption. However, we at CoSS, have decided not to advocate for foreign adoption of Russian children. Russia's population is declining at an alarming rate because of emigration, infant mortality and early death rate. We understand that would seem to lobby for removing innocent children from the situation and we are sympathetic to that view. However, adoption takes a long time, relatively few of the children are eligible for adoption and we feel that adoptions seem to fail too often for the children's good. We feel that our money and time is much better spent nurturing and educating children now, where they are.
'why are they there'
According to recent figures released by the Russian government, there are about 2,000,000 orphaned, abandoned and displaced children in Russia. The children at Svirstroiski Detsky Dom are there for many reasons. They are there because their parents are no longer living and their extended families do not have the resources to care for them. They are there because their parents are in prison and the children have become wards of the state. They are there because they have some disability that makes it too difficult for their parents to care for them in the current economic situation. They are there because armed conflict in other parts of the CIS or NIS has destroyed their homes and families.
'why do they need our help'
They need our help because they are children and vulnerable and unable to fend for themselves. The adults in their lives have been forced by some series of circumstance to give their care over to the state. They need our help because the Russian government finds itself unable adequately to fund their care. They need our help because, despite the courageous efforts of their caregivers, there never is enough.
'where does our money go'
All of the money
CoSS collects goes directly to projects and programs to aid the children. Donors can provide money for either specific projects or the general fund; either way, 100 percent of the donation will be used to benefit the orphanage. Click here for list of projects. Our ongoing projects include sending regular shipments of toiletries, food, clothing and school supplies to the older children who are away at vocational schools. We send food, clothing, toiletries, medical supplies, school supplies and curriculum materials to individual children and caregivers at the detsky dom as well. We write letters on a regular basis to each of the children.
'why we don't bulk mail'
Our postage costs are a major part of our budget. We've made the decision to accept that because we feel that mailing small packages to individuals is more effective in many ways. The most practical reasons in the short term are that the packages seem to get through. They are less likely to be opened and pilfered along the way and the small size seems to make them more likely to be delivered - or returned if they are not deliverable. At least 90% of the packages we've sent have been received by the child or caregiver to who the package was addressed.
For us, the most important reason for spending so much on postage for individual packages is the children's self esteem. Undermined constantly by feelings of invisibility, receiving a package with their own name on it and with contents that seem chosen specifically for them goes a long way toward affirming their identity as individuals. Many of these children don't even know when their birthdays are or where they were born. Anything we can do to make them feel like valued individuals will find a place in our budget.
Email to coss@vircom.net
Copyright © CoSS, 2003