Today Anatoliy Zabolotny, Director of Foundation for Development of Ukraine (FDU), and Viktor Plakita, Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Autonomy Republic of Crimea (ARC), attended the ceremony of signing the Memorandum on cooperation between the Council of Ministers of the Crimea and the Foundation for Development of Ukraine.

The FDU has suggested to launch the project of providing charitable help to large families in the Crimea under the initiative of the President of Ukraine “Warming a Child with Love”.

The Foundation has pledged to buy houses for large families in the Crimea that have 10 or more underage kids. The Council of Ministers will in turn encourage initiatives of the Foundation and consolidate efforts of NGOs and state organizations in the area. The Memorandum provides for developing and supporting social partnership and mutual trust between state institutions and the Foundation.

A.Zabolotny reported that the Foundation had granted UAH 15m to buy houses for large families in four areas of Ukraine: Donetsk, Luhansk, Zaporozhye regions and the Crimea. Six families from the Crimea are to receive comfortable housing in 2008. The Foundation targets in its activity to provide social protection to low-income people, particularly orphans, disabled, and large families.

V.Plakida says the Crimea is realizing to full extent the national policy on supporting large families. The region comprises 9,024 large families that bring up 30,115 children, with 28 families having 8 and more kids (total number of children in such families comes up to 249). Local authorities care for large families and assist in solving financial and housing problems as well as personal development of young Ukrainians.

Today the Crimea runs 17 family-type children homes. Also, 27 foster families bringing up 174 orphans and children deprived of parental care live in the Republic. In 2007, special passports were issued to large families. In addition, each town and region created a database of such families to provide social assistance.

Centers of social services for families, children and youth are working widely with families that require social aid. In 2007, the centers rendered social services to 3,611 families (including 637 large families).

Educational institutions provide free meals, school uniform and text books to children from large families. Orphans, children from large or low-income families receive necessary medical treatment.

In 2007, the Crimea allocated UAH 7.909m on programs for health improvement of children from disadvantaged families. The amount exceeds by 28% the figure in 2006.

In summer 2007, 638 children health improvement centers started to work and hosted 150,000 secondary school students including 10,000 kids from large and low-income families.