Позитивные изменения. Том 3, № 3 (2023). Positive changes. Volume 3, Issue 3 (2023)

EVOLUTION OF SOCIAL TECHNOLOGY: OUR CHILDREN FOUNDATION’S EXAMPLE

Our Children Foundation started operations 17 years ago. Like many foundations with such a long history, we started with volunteer trips and a heartfelt desire to bring happiness to children through gifts, workshops, and celebrations. However, like others in similar endeavors, we soon realized that these actions alone would not solve the challenges faced by orphaned children. A comprehensive approach was needed, which involved long-term commitment and systemic interventions.

It was only logical that we ventured into a new area of work — prevention of social orphanhood. We recognized that preventing a child from ending up in an orphanage was clearly more advantageous, simpler, more cost-effective, and more effective overall than having to deal with the consequences of institutional care.

As we accumulated information and practical experience, and developed new approaches and methodologies, we realized it was time to get even more ambitious with our efforts — trying to transform the entire child protection system in the country.

Probably the best way to reflect the evolution of our Foundation’s work over the years is through its three missions. Our first mission was formulated as follows: “Transforming the present and future lives of children without parents by providing help and support from A to Z.” Several years later, our mission statement evolved: “Preventing social orphanhood and facilitating the successful integration into society of children left without parental care.”

Both missions were process-based; that is, they described our ongoing activities, illustrating the gradual expansion of its scope. The first mission catered to a single group of beneficiaries, namely children from orphanages, while the second mission extended our reach to include crisis families. This change in mission reflected the shift in the focus of our activities.

Another three years later, we recognized we had grown bigger and our mission had broadened far beyond merely assisting individual families and children “on the ground.” Our new objective was to overhaul the entire system, making sure the second group of beneficiaries would no longer exist. Therefore, the current mission of Our Children Foundation is “Changing the child protection system in the country to ensure children grow up in families and become prosperous adults.” This statement encompasses a call for systemic impact at the federal level, as well as a long-term vision, and another expansion of the scope of our beneficiaries.

By embracing and employing evidence-based practices, we become an important partner to the government agencies and key businesses in shaping the system. Furthermore, it enables us to scale our activities more effectively. Technology, in this context, serves as the most direct path towards achieving our intended outcomes.