Why is he still here? During a visit by the leaders of his interim administration “The Ark of Peace” in the organizational structure, one of the children complained about a particular employee for abusive behavior and asked why he was not fired. “This was not the only such case,” emphasizes Yannis Mataliotakisresponsible for social services.

Such as – the leaders of the interim administration explain to “K”.“When we started the case, we had no idea about the names of the employees associated with this case. Today, 40% of the organization has been updated.”

These incidents are indicative of the challenges faced by the interim administration of the Ark, appointed in December last year by the prime minister himself for a one-year term. The new administration led by Alexandra Martinoucame into force after a scandal that led to the indictment of seven people, including the founder of Kivotos, Father António, and caused great upheavals in the sensitive area of ​​child protection in general. But the state continues to be essentially absent.

“The state should, after everything that has happened, modernize control mechanisms, provide funding and plan for the next day with vision, consistency and understanding of the Greek reality to protect children,” says “K” general director of “Kivotos”, Maria Chacinikolaki. “On the occasion of Kivoto, the child protection system in Greece must be fundamentally changed. Instead, the government gives the ball to private initiative, with all the ensuing consequences.”

“We are not taken”

Donations have dried up, and finding dedicated staff is particularly difficult.

While the organization’s reserve remains at €13 million, management notes that the annual costs are between €5 million and €6 million, posing a medium-term financial sustainability issue. “It’s not just that donations have dried up,” says Ms. Chatzinikolaki. “Big companies avoid taking us even as clients. for administrative oversight or for health insurance of staff.” In such a climate, it is very difficult to find qualified personnel, especially in the region. The general director of the organization refers specifically to psychologists and child psychiatrists, as well as to qualified educational workers. At the same time, the new administration is being considered in circles , close to Father Antonio, as illegitimate, signs and monsters are spread about her actions.

Kivotos tou Kosmos currently hosts 110 children. The new administration, in order to protect the organization, created a scientific committee for the protection of children and introduced mandatory dispensary supervision of personnel. He also staffed all of the organization’s homes with the right mix of educators, social workers, administrative workers and support staff, while adopting a dual category C (instead of B) accounting system that fully reflects movable and immovable property. organization property.

He also put an end to the practice of alienating the children he adopted from their biological families, attempting to restore those relationships where possible, as well as to reunite siblings who had previously been housed in structures with large geographical distances between them. “When the leadership changed, we received a flurry of calls from families with children in Kivoto. They told us that they had lost them, since communication with them was rare. Very easily, under various pretexts, they were denied visits so that they would not see them,” says Mr. Mataliotakis.

In addition, according to the new administration, during the last semester, the children’s medical and mental records were revised from scratch and all the necessary medical tests were carried out. “In some cases, the necessary procedures for diagnosing difficulties were not carried out. Others have been diagnosed but not properly treated,” says Mataliotakis.

Finally, as Ms. Chatzinikolaki says, there is a concerted effort to introduce children to the outside world. “Many have never traveled by bus, have never taken the subway. They were completely institutionalized.”