We celebrate Family Day on 15 May
This year the holiday’s motto is “My family – my country”. A strong family is the basis of state’s development. According to the recent 2019 census, Belarus has 2 612 413 families.
Belarus supports its social duties on assisting families with kids. The republic has secured the rise of childcare allowances, it implemented various financial supports for families and it gives a wide range of social services.
In honor of the Family Day, the government adopted a special plan of actions. The celebration program includes mass cultural, sports and recreational events for the whole family.
Today, every single EI of general secondary education hosts a unified lesson – “Family’s destiny in the history of a country”. The lesson will explain the role of a family and its importance in every human live and family values. The lesson also aims to give senses of love and respect towards family and close relatives.
“Family is the first stage of socialization, it is the base of human’s wellbeing and assurance in future”, says Elena Voitekhovich, she is the Chief Specialist of the Department of Social, Educational and Ideological Work of the Main Department of Educational Work and Youth Policy of the Ministry of Education.
Educational institutions will host a thematic event “Family readings” form may 15 to 20 to commemorate the Family Day. The aim of the event is to give another go to such a marvelous tradition as “family readings” as well as to promote curiosity towards books and use this mechanism as a mean for upbringing in a family.
Other events include essay and drawing contests, generational dialogues, parent-teacher meetings, thematic meetings, parent clubs, quizzes, round tables, sports, games, festive events, and master classes.
On May 23, the Academy of Postgraduate Education will host a forum of specialists in the field of organizing work with foster families, timed to coincide with Family Day and Children's Day. The event seeks the development of professional competencies of specialists, the exchange of effective work experience. An interactive exhibition of materials on accompanying foster families is in plans as well. There will be thematic platforms dedicated to the most pressing problems in the functioning of foster families: the upbringing of adolescents, the adoption of children from foster families, the interaction of foster families and schools, as well as the placement of orphans with disabilities in families.
From April 17 to May 22, the National Center for Admission, the Belarusian Professional Union of Education and Science Workers hold a letter contest for adoptive parents, foster parents, parents-educators of family-type orphanages called “The First Day in the Family”. The focus is on promoting family forms of placement of orphans, disseminating the experience of accepting orphans into families.
It should be noted that the number of adopted children increased by 17% over the year. Today, 7385 children live in families of foster parents. Professional substitute parenting is also developing. Thus, there are 309 family-type orphanages, where 1828 children grow up, 1505 foster families raising 2661 children. Work to create conditions for the living of disabled children in special residential premises of the state housing stock, built to accommodate family-type orphanages never stops. At the end of 2022, twice as many children with disabilities transferred to the family form of the device than in the previous year. Today, 12,387 children are in such families. In general, the proportion of orphans who live in families is quite high and amounts to 88.6%.
It is possible to attend thematic events at the National Library of Belarus, including book exhibitions, educational excursions, various competitions and promotions.
Support for families with children is a national priority. According to the Constitution of Belarus, marriage, family, motherhood, fatherhood, childhood are under the protection of the state.