Georgi

Georgi was taken from his parents at birth and spent the first six months of his life in an orphanage with no one to comfort, cherish or protect him. His mother, Petya, and his father, Ivan, were heartbroken but, because Georgi has Down’s syndrome, the authorities told them that they would never be able to care for their son themselves and that he’d be better off in an institution. But orphanages do not protect children, they harm them. By exposing children to neglect and abuse and denying them someone to love them, orphanages damage children’s development in ways that can last a lifetime.