Siberian Juvenile Home Survives Russian Economic Crisis with American Red Cross Help

Written by Stephanie Kriner, Staff Writer, RedCross.org

Nickolay Yurchenko has dealt with many challenges in his 25 years as head of a Siberian center for boys. Lately, things have gotten tougher. Economic stresses following the breakup of the Soviet Union contributed to a meltdown of family values, Yurchenko said. As a result, many boys ended up at the center because they had no parental guidance. The change also had grave effects on the ability of the country's government-funded institutions to look after those put in their care.

The 1998 Russian economic crisis nearly pushed many of these institutions over the edge. Unable to meet the dietary needs of its young residents, the center couldn't begin to address the myriad of issues faced by these young boys, whose families had been thrust into poverty. The center, located in the eastern Siberian city of Angarsk, lost 40 percent of its budget due to government cuts. Although it costs only 37 cents per day to feed one youth, the institution was forced to decrease the portions it served residents in order to keep running.

"Our boys didn't get enough calories," Yurchenko said. "They needed more calories in order to grow and be healthy." Thanks to the American Red Cross and Russian Red Cross, the Angarsk center made it through the economic crisis, he added. "The Red Cross noticed the problem we were facing in feeding the boys," he said. With the help of the American Red Cross and a donation from the United States Department of Agriculture, the Russian Red Cross has distributed food to vulnerable institutions and individuals in eight regions in Siberia since the 1998 collapse of the Russian ruble.

The regions selected to receive the aid are now suffering through their harshest winter in 30 years, according to an American Red Cross press release. Many lost power at the height of a cold front last week in which some areas dropped to negative 57 degrees Celsius (-70 degrees Fahrenheit). Some hospitals being served through the Red Cross program were overrun with patients with frostbite.

Throughout these regions, many institutions — home to some of the most vulnerable people living in youth homes, psychiatric hospitals, nursing homes, boarding schools, tuberculosis and cancer dispensaries, homes for invalids and orphanages — continue to run on no more than 30 percent of their required budgets. Most are also in debt from purchasing desperately needed supplies on credit.

At the Angarsk center, a colony of brick buildings in the middle of a field of snow, the signs of the country's economic struggles are clear. The center's "hospital" staff cannot afford to give medicine to everybody in need, and must choose who will get treatments. Often, those with the most serious conditions also require the most expensive medications, and therefore go without help.

Rooms have only wooden benches or cots for furniture and the buildings are aging with chipped paint on their walls and cracks in the floors. Although there is a school, there are no signs of school supplies or books, even in the study lounge where a group of boys have gathered.

The American Red Cross food project contributes up to 25 percent of the daily-required caloric intake of some 108,000 Siberians in institutions. Another 132,500 vulnerable families also are receiving assistance. Each beneficiary receives 30 pounds of flour, six pounds of rice, six pounds of beans, six pounds of buckwheat and four liters of oil every three months.

Despite the aid, the center still cannot meet all nutritional needs of those in its care. As the institution begins to recover from its financial troubles, Yurchenko hopes that it will be able to afford dairy products and meats that are missing from residents' diets.

Although the current food shortage was triggered by Russia's struggling economy, Siberia's harsh environment exacerbates the problem of poor nutrition. Long winters and a dry climate prevent the area from developing agriculturally. During Soviet times, the government shipped vital supplies (medications and food) to the most remote Siberian regions, enabling people to survive the long winters. Now, people and government institutions must find a way to deal with the harsh climate on their own.

As a result of the extreme weather and the economic crisis, good nutrition is a problem throughout much of frosty Siberia, said Leslie Van Sant, a spokesperson for the American Red Cross. "We look to help people who are the most vulnerable. In a place like Siberia, there are a lot of needs to be met, a lot of people in crisis," she said. "With this program, we have been able to help reduce the impact of malnutrition."