Right for clean water

In Kyiv Pre-Conviction Detention Centre there is about 3 thousand prisoners, about 40 – under-16s. There is now a baby aged 7 months together with his mother and 3 children are about to be born in the nearest time. All people in detention drink water directly from the tap - yellow, dirty, dangerous. In March Caritas purchased for under-16s and pregnant filter-jugs of water. However, in June, cartridges will expend all its resources. We ask for your help and support in raising money to buy new cartridges.

Tap water in Lukyanovsky prison in Kyiv is dull yellow color. This water is not only tasteless, but extremely dirty. People at liberty use well-rooms, and filters, or they buy water. Juvenile delinquents do not have such possibility, so they mostly boil the water or drink the one from the tap. Pregnant women, mothers with small children are also held in pre-conviction detention centre - they also have to drink clean water! These are the people whose guilt has not been proved, for what they punish and "kill" their health drinking dangerous water?

Thanks to people’s donations we bought 8 pitcher filters ‘Barrier-4’ with cartridges for 8 cells in March 2013, these filters purify the water well and are fairly cheap. But in early June the cartridges are going to exhaust their resource. The quality of water worsens in summer; therefore, the cartridges need to be changed oftener. We hope to provide 9 cells with juveniles and 1 cell for women-mothers for summer-autumn 2013 with 10 cartridges each. Among different kinds of 20-year activity and support to thousands of the needy, Caritas Kyiv has a considerable experience of supporting people, who are incarcerated. A special emphasis is put on the support for imprisoned women and their children, born in places of incarceration. Young delinquents and men are also supported, if possible.

Considering the demographical gap of middle 1990s the fictitious reduce of juvenile crime is being observed. But this is far not due to more human courts or juvenile justice elements implementation. It is just that many children did not have the chance to be born because of the large number of abortions. According to the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine, as of 1 May, 2013 1169 young delinquents are held in 8 juvenile detention centres. Over 600 juveniles are held in pre-conviction detention centres. Their conditions are better due to the attention from press, church, human rights and socially responsible organizations. However, the main factor of keeping healthy – clean water - has been unnoticed so far. This is the same as to feed the detainees with food for animals or not to allow breathing clean air! It can’t go on this way! Give children, pregnant women and lactating mothers from Kiev pre- pre-conviction detention centre, clean water!