Joanne Rowling's Lumos Foundation will help implement the reform of orphanages in Ukraine's Zhytomyr region under a pilot project, according to the Ukrainian media company NewWest Media.
Representatives of Lumos are to sign a memorandum of cooperation with Ukrainian presidential ombudsman for children's rights Mykola Kuleba and Zhytomyr Regional Administration in Zhytomyr on October 31, 2017, the National Deinstitutionalization (DI) Reform office said in a press release, NewWest Media reported.
The Foundation of Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling will provide orphanages in Zhytomyr region with technical, expert and methodological assistance in implementing the pilot project for ending the harm of institutionalization of children. Under the project, support will be provided to crisis families to reduce the number of child abandonment cases and let children regain a family life.
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Now Lumos plans to help Ukraine with the de-institutionalization reform, which began this summer.
The pilot project will be coordinated by the National Deinstitutionalization Reform office, created under the Ukrainian presidential ombudsman for children's rights with the assistance of Canada's Expert Deployment for Governance and Economic Growth (EDGE) Project, which is helping Ukraine move towards a democratic and prosperous society by advancing citizen-centered democracy and promoting sustainable economic growth.
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Ombudsman Kuleba says that 1.5% of Ukrainian children are now living in orphanages. Under the National Strategy, their share should shrink to less than 0.5% by 2026, and they should go into family-based care with up to 15 children in one institution.