SOS Children's Villages' crisis center for women is the first of its kind in Belarus - Photo: Marko Mägi

August 3, 2010: With a presence in Belarus since it opened the first SOS Children’s Village in that country in 1995, SOS has just passed a new milestone.  Its brand new Children's Village in Mogilev, in northeastern Belarus, features the country's first women’s shelter that offers long-term protection from domestic violence.

SOS-Mogilev has put aside two houses that serve a separate function from its 11 family homes for children being raised by SOS mothers. These two structures offer something unique for women in need.

According to Tatiana Burova of SOS-Belarus, one house is for women in crisis -- normally single, teenage mothers who have nobody to turn to for help. These women have many problems and are not ready for parenthood.

The second house is a shelter for children and women who have been victims of domestic violence. "We have a hotline for such women, and we decide on a case-by-case basis if they need the shelter or some other kind of help,” says Tatiana.

Women and their children can stay at the center for three months, sometimes even longer - Photo: Marko Mägi

Helping to Meet an Enormous Need

The project helps more than 80 families and 150 children every month. Once fully operational, the center will be able to serve 250 children. “Each month 50 to 60 women call our hotline for help; minimally we counsel them. Unfortunately, the crisis center is too small to accommodate all of them," notes Tatiana.

Women who are victims of domestic violence can stay at the shelter for three months or longer if necessary. Teenage mothers and mothers in crisis can stay up to one year.

The crisis center is the first of its kind in Belarus. Some centers help women during the day but do not allow women to spend the night, let alone stay for a lengthy period.

Photo: Marko Mägi

SOS Services

Women in crisis who come to SOS-Mogilev receive counseling and learn parenting skills. SOS also provides food for their children and clothing when needed. A specialist offers the women legal advice once a month, and SOS provides their children with education and basic medical attention.

SOS alone cannot meet the need for such facilities. “The main problem is that a whole generation has grown up in impoverished families where they learned no parenting skills; now they are having children themselves, so it's a vicious circle,” says Tatiana. She welcomes the creation of other such shelters in Belarus.

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