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You're watching UNICEF Television.

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It's time for school in the village of Tianeti, Georgia.

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And 14-year-old Meleton is glad to be here

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and catching up with the other children.

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He has been in an institution for two years

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due to family difficulties.

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Authorities here have returned the institution's 140 children

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to their birth families or located them with foster families.

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Meleton now lives with his aunt Tamar,

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who brings him up at home.

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Institutionalization of children was common here

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during the Soviet period.

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UNICEF is supporting the government

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to promote family-based childcare practices.

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Transformation of the Tianeti Children's Institution

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into a daycare center is an example.

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Children are in families now and they go to regular school.

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The children come to the center in the afternoon

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where they can have a meal, do their homework

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and get involved in the center's activities.

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The center takes the pressure off families

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who could not afford to keep their children.

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Clearly, psychologically, children have changed.

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When I started working in the center,

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there was a large number of children that were socially withdrawn.

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They wouldn't speak to each other

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and, needless to say, they couldn't engage with the school.

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16-year-old Mariam Amadashvili

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returned to her mother Gulo 14 months ago.

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She was institutionalized for five years

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because her mother had to look for work

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and could not afford to feed her.

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It really hurts when a mother misses her child

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and a child misses her mother.

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She recently found work for 100 lari per month.

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That's less than $2 a day.

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The Ministry of Education at UNICEF

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gives 60 laris per month as a supplement

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to support Mariam and to meet their basic needs.

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Before, I couldn't afford a simple thing

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like a pen for my daughter.

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Now these things are possible.

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I have a salary and people standing by me.

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Mariam's study has improved.

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She has more friends and feels that she's back in a family.

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What is most important is that I'm home with my mom.

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The support given helps them become that family again.

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The support given helps them become that family again

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where nobody feels alone.

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This is Vladimir Lazinski reporting for UNICEF.

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Unite for Children.