By Dana Liss, Staff Writer, Kyiv Post, Kyiv, Ukraine
10 May 2002

Ukraine's social service agencies are disputing a claim by state authorities that the number of vagrant children roaming the nation's cities has dropped dramatically in the past year.

Non-governmental organizations in Kyiv claim they are seeing more children than ever at soup kitchens and in shelters.

At issue is a study conducted by the State Committee for Family and Children in September that indicated there are 300,000 homeless children in Ukrainian cities, a drop of 25 percent from last year.

Zinayida Kyyanytsya, deputy head of the state family and youth committee, said every major city in the country has seen a drop in the number of homeless children.

State officials credit a 1996 law that required the ministries of education and internal affairs to work together to keep kids off the streets by herding them into orphanages or temporary rehabilitation centers. "Until 1996, the homeless problem was the sole responsibility of the Ministry of Internal Affairs," she said. "Now we have social workers, teachers and the ministries working together to lure kids back to their homes or into orphanages."

But Viktor Karpenko, program officer of the United Nations Children's Fund said that in Kyiv the number of homeless children appears to be growing, not falling.

"Yes, there is a decrease in homeless children nationwide, but not in Kyiv," he said.

Karpenko said the study doesn't reflect the trend of homeless children migrating to Kyiv from other Ukrainian cities.

"Like in many countries, the homeless and poor migrate to their capitals where there are better opportunities for them to make money," he said.

Counting the uncountable

In August 1999 police and social workers began conducting annual, month-long raids on the nation's homeless to determine the scope of the problem. Only those children picked up for begging, stealing and vandalizing were counted as homeless.

Karpenko questions the accuracy of such a methodology and thinks the actual numbers are much higher than lates study suggested. He said that the study didn't include children not caught in police dragnets.

"You can't conduct a homeless census by counting only the vagrants the police happened to catch during a raid," Karpenko said.

While Karpenko does not have his own statistics, he said the city's youth agencies, like the Kyiv City Youth Service, are serving more children than ever.

"It is difficult for any [Ukrainian] agency to get hold of approximate numbers in this field, especially when they have little experience conducting this type of survey," Karpenko said.

While Kyyanytsya agreed that exact numbers are hard to come by, she said the study paints an accurate picture.

"Yes, it is difficult to know exactly, but I believe the numbers are as accurate as we can get," she said.

Staff workers at Father's Care, a faith-based non-governmental organization, said that they have witnessed a growing number of homeless children visiting their soup kitchen.

"Every month we see an average of three to six new faces," said Serhy Nikitin, who works for Father's Care. "I don't know if it's because if there are more homeless or because more kids know about this place."

Ragged children

For the past year, Father's Care has offered Kyiv's homeless and neglected children what, for many, is their only meal of the day.

Located in a bare basement a couple of blocks away from Livoberezhna metro, the soup kitchen also gives the kids a break from their tough, violent lives on the streets and at home.

For Nikitin and the 35 kids who frequent the center, the debate over statistics is irrelevant.

"Children come here to pray and eat," he said. "Once fed, the kids are back on the streets, hanging out, drinking, pick-pocketing or sniffing glue," he said.

"They have a difficult time being restricted," Nikitin said.

Indeed, the kids actually pride themselves for their street smarts.

"I don't want - nor do I need - to go home," said Denis, a sullen 15-year-old in torn sweat pants and faux Adidas baseball cap who has been living on the streets for eight years. "Everyone at home annoys me."

Denis, his breath reeking of alcohol, is one of the uncountable ragged children who trudge through Kyiv's underground or hang out on street corners, begging and pick-pocketing for enough money to sniff glue, drink vodka or take drugs.

"I make plenty of money on the streets," Denis said, adding that he can get up to Hr 100 per night pick-pocketing.

While some kids resort to stealing, dealing drugs and committing petty crimes, others, like Vova, 14, do odd jobs.

Abandoned a year ago by his parents, who were jailed on narcotics charges, Vova now spends his nights scavenging in Hydropark.

"I don't sniff glue or steal; I collect bottles," he said.