Mykolaiv Regional Children's Home Faces Allegations of Inhumane Conditions

A public inspection was conducted at the Mykolaiv Regional Children's Home.

The results were reported by Inna Miroshnychenko, a member of the Ombudsman's Office monitoring group and lawyer.

According to the lawyer, the institution annually receives funding from the state budget in the amount of almost 23 million hryvnias. There are only 20 children in the home, who are cared for by 89 employees. However, Miroshnychenko called the conditions in which the children live "inhuman". In particular, the children spend all their time tied to chairs and armchairs, without any walks or activities.

She also told about a case when a child on tube feeding had his hands fixed with homemade plastic devices until they were bruised. In addition, the inspection revealed that children are constantly left in front of cartoons on so that they do not disturb the staff.

Photo: Screenshot from Inna Miroshnychenko's Instagram page

"You're just a prisoner. You sit like this all day long so as not to disturb anyone. When you grow up, you'll be put in front of a cartoon. You'll live like that. And then no one will know why you have such profound developmental disabilities. Because in fact, you had no access to anything... Your brain did not develop. Your body did not develop. All children are so isolated. And everyone is silently swaying. They calm the nervous system," Inna Miroshnychenko wrote.

Also, the institution does not provide rehabilitation services to the children, despite the availability of a special room. In the journals for the last six months, there was not a single record of children from the orphanage being admitted - only private clients.

Photo: Screenshot from Inna Miroshnychenko's Instagram page

The orphanage does not officially have an equipped shelter, although they have created something similar in the basement. However, according to a member of the Ombudsman's Office monitoring group, children are not taken there during air raids.

In addition, according to the lawyer, the institution has many other problems. In particular, with sanitary conditions - the premises are full of cockroaches, and instead of individual underwear, they use shared underwear laid out on shelves separately for girls and boys. At the same time, the warehouses are overflowing with humanitarian aid.

The police opened a criminal investigation into the violations under the article on torture. The ombudsman's team announced its intention to bring the case to the European Court of Human Rights, if necessary.

Intent tried to contact the management of the orphanage, but failed to get through. However, the publication is ready to publish the comments of the management of the Mykolaiv Regional Children's Home.

Андрій Колісніченко