What You Can Do About this Site Jewish Children in the Former Soviet Union Since the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, and especially since the 1998 economic disasters in the region, the plight of orphaned, abandoned, and neglected Jewish children has become increasingly desperate. Several organizations run a handful of orphanages and children's homes in the former Soviet Union. Not all of the children in these institutions are true orphans. Some have at least one living parent or other relative, but their families are unable to care for them for reasons of alcoholism or drug abuse, incarceration, mental illness or other health problems, or simply severe poverty.
Some families abandon children they can no longer afford to feed.
All of the orphanages are full and have long waiting lists. They are prey to pimps, pedophiles, and diseases that include HIV and tuberculosis. Needless to say, children in secular orphanages and on the streets have few opportunities to learn about or experience their Jewish heritage. Many people are surprised to learn that the situation is so bad. However, the Joint focuses its efforts on the needy elderly and provides only minimal support for one of the orphanages.