The price of a mistake is children’s life: what will change for funds and fees for treatment

In order for charity to develop in Belarus, and a blank barrier stood in the way of fraudsters, the President signed a decree “On foundations and charitable activities in the field of health care”. Everything will be fair and as transparent as possible. If you donate money, you can track where it went.

Ten years is the age when all dreams seem achievable and the world is endlessly interesting. Vanya Kondratovich fights for his – earthly. His family, like many others, has to seek help for expensive treatment. At the same time, cases of fraud jeopardize the credibility of charitable collections.

The story of Vanya Kondratovich

“To go with friends to the schoolyard, to ride a bicycle. I want to recover quickly, to recover, so that everything was as before, says Ivan Kondratovich.

The boy tries not to appear weak. The most painful thing for him is to see his mother’s tears, because he is an older brother. Two years ago, Vanya was diagnosed with blood cancer. He underwent chemotherapy and bone marrow transplantation and then learned to walk again.

The disease receded, but the treatment provoked another serious condition. Niktimvo has been tested on 76 patients worldwide. It's imported and very expensive, but it helps.

“The skin has become softer, the adhesions diverge. We see that Vanya is more active, his mood has improved. After receiving a detailed dose calculator, Vani's weight changed. Because of this, we do not have enough funds to complete a six-month course, and for another three months we need to buy 12 bottles of this medicine, says the boy’s mother Ekaterina Kondratovich.

The cost of the drug is 46 thousand euros. If it is not administered on time, all previous treatment may lose its meaning. When the family does not cope on their own, charitable foundations come to the rescue. So it was possible to raise money for the first batch of medicine for Vanya, now a second fee is needed.

Work of charitable foundations

Chance International Charitable Foundation specializes in helping children with complex diagnoses, when all medical drugs and approaches are exhausted and the necessary solutions have to be sought all over the world.

“The purpose of our fund is to accumulate funds from philanthropists. Parents or medical specialists contact us, informing us that the child needs specific help, says Natalia Makhanko, director of the International Charitable Foundation for Children’s Assistance Chance.

“For example, 14 people have applied. We will raise money for one or two children, and the rest will be helped by regular benefactors. The most difficult thing is to communicate and refuse parents, knowing that we can not help if the amount is unaffordable and amounts to several million dollars. We approach systematically and understand that we must help not only one child, but also other children, adds Natalia Makhanko.

Externally, the work of the fund resembles accounting: calculations, reports, calls, charter and current account. However, legal responsibility is no less than moral responsibility, which increases with the understanding of who needs money and why.

That is why charity should be strictly within the law. On the one hand, there are people who need help, and on the other, there are those who are willing to help. The specifics of this work require transparency, since trust largely depends on the final result, and therefore the lives of thousands of people.

How fraudulent schemes work

Fraud cases undermine the credibility of charity. In Grodno, a young blogger organized a fundraiser allegedly for a seriously ill child who needed an expensive injection. At first it looked like a broad gesture of kindness: the audience donated money and participated in pranks.

However, the child received only an eighth of the amount collected. The other money the organizer spent on personal life. The fraudster was convicted, and the funds that he did not have time to spend, the court confiscated in favor of the child. The boy managed to inject the necessary medication.

But the story didn't end there. There was a whole series of fraudulent schemes in the country. In Grodno, volunteers of the Miracle for Children Foundation also raised money for the seriously ill, unaware that the leadership had other goals.

“Foreign citizens aged 21 and 24 left the organization on the territory of Belarus. To create the appearance of the Fund’s activities, only a tenth of the funds were allocated to statutory activities. The rest of the money – almost 400 thousand rubles – the attackers took out of the country. There are reasons to believe that the real amount is much more, said Mikhail Tatarevich, deputy head of the UBEP of the Grodno Regional Executive Committee.

The story of Bori Mialik

In his three years, Borya is a real hero. Every movement is given through effort and pain. The boy was born too early and weighed only 900 grams. Now he needs rehabilitation, classes in various methods and trips to specialized centers.

Last year, the family turned to a charity.

“We took every step, every innovation. We considered a trip to the Czech Republic, as the specialist was from there. We didn't have enough money, but we can't stop the class. You need to study and simultaneously collect money, says mother Bori Olesya Myalik.

According to her, information about the collection appeared on social networks, some organizations transferred money for the treatment of the child. However, it was later revealed that the funds were part of a fraudulent scheme.

The money raised never went to the hospital. The family saw the organizer on television, he was already in custody and even used a false name.

“Polite or impolite, this man became my family. And when I heard him on TV, it was horrible. The money didn't make it, it didn't make it. People sent them, ordinary people, and we never saw this money, says Olesya Myalik.

The amount was collected on their own - helped relatives and friends. The family went with Borei for rehabilitation in China. The treatment gave the result: the baby began to walk, although recently barely held on to the support.

Age, when the brain is particularly plastic, does not leave time to wait. Rehabilitation is expensive, so the family opened their own charity account.

In some stories justice has prevailed, others are waiting for the verdict of the court. But even more dangerous is the impact on the reputation of honest foundations, since someone’s life may be behind the time lost.

New Charity Rules

The new presidential decree concerns charitable activities in the field of medicine and defines the very concept of charity. Free and voluntary assistance may be directed to treatment, medicine, food and medical equipment, including abroad.

The document defines the mechanism of fundraising. Money spent on treatment cannot be a profit. The procedure for collecting and spending funds, including those remaining after the collection is completed, and control over their use is provided.

“If we are talking about a person who needs help himself or his close relatives, he can open a charity account. This is a long-standing institution, nothing changes here. All people can donate their own money, said Kirill Stoyakov, deputy head of the Belarusian Ministry of Justice.

Responsibility of funds

It will become more difficult to create a charitable foundation: the statutory fund has been doubled. This should raise the bar of responsibility for the founders.

“The fund collects money, but some of the funds may go to wages, workers' wages and business activities. The new provisions define the amount of funds that can be used to pay for labor, said Elena Kirichenko, Head of the Department for Non-Profit Organizations of the Ministry of Justice of Belarus.

According to her, if the fund in the field of health care violates the procedure for collecting funds or sends money to the wrong place where they were going, this may become the basis for the liquidation of the organization.

Assistance through community associations

Public associations have the right to raise money for medical purposes, in addition to funds. A charity account has been opened in the Belarusian Women’s Union for this purpose.

“We accumulate funds that women wish to transfer voluntarily. In order for them to be sure, we sign our own reputation and the reputation of the Belarusian Women’s Union that all the money transferred will reach the recipient, said Olga Shpilevskaya, Chairman of the Belarusian Women’s Union.

According to her, people transfer funds in different ways: someone does it once, someone helps monthly, someone transfers money on behalf of the organization.

In just six months, when we threw the cry, we had accumulated 220 thousand rubles. By the decision of the board and the statement of the Ministry of Health, this money was transferred to the treatment of a child with spinal musculoskeletal atrophy, added Olga Shpilevskaya.

Help is needed as soon as possible Vanya Kondratovich, Bora Myalik and hundreds of other children whose lives depend on the responsiveness of people. That was fair.