1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,480 A decrepit Soviet-era apartment block on the outskirts of the Lithuanian capital Vilnius. 2 00:00:06,480 --> 00:00:11,200 In the hallways, children find refuge from the confines of their cramped flats. 3 00:00:11,200 --> 00:00:16,400 And in this 18-square-meter dormitory, 32-year-old Violita Lampinskiena lives with her husband 4 00:00:16,400 --> 00:00:19,000 and five children. 5 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:22,720 The flat is noisy and provides no privacy for parents or children. 6 00:00:22,720 --> 00:00:27,160 There is no hot water, no toilet, no proper kitchen, and barely enough room for this family 7 00:00:27,160 --> 00:00:28,680 of seven to sleep. 8 00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:37,680 This is where Enrika sleeps, this is where Artūras sleeps, this is where Leija and Samantha sleep, 9 00:00:37,680 --> 00:00:42,680 this is where Milana sleeps, and me and my husband sleep here on the floor. 10 00:00:42,680 --> 00:00:46,680 We sit down and sleep on the floor. 11 00:00:46,680 --> 00:00:49,680 Violita's children are not alone in experiencing hardship. 12 00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:55,680 Almost 20% of European youngsters are at risk of poverty, a higher rate than the adult population. 13 00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:58,680 In Lithuania, these figures are even steeper. 14 00:00:58,680 --> 00:01:02,680 Hundreds of thousands of people have left the Baltic states in recent years in search 15 00:01:02,680 --> 00:01:05,680 of better paid work in countries like Britain and Ireland. 16 00:01:05,680 --> 00:01:10,680 In Lithuania alone, 30,000 children have been left behind with relatives, foster families, 17 00:01:10,680 --> 00:01:18,680 and sometimes in institutions, putting them at even greater risk of poverty and abuse. 18 00:01:18,680 --> 00:01:22,680 This is the Alita State Children's Home, the biggest such institution in Lithuania, 19 00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:26,680 with 168 children aged between 4 and 18. 20 00:01:26,680 --> 00:01:31,680 The director of the home admits that institutional care is the worst possible solution for children, 21 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:36,680 but often the only alternative to even greater abuse and misery at home. 22 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:42,680 But some children are being placed in institutional care or with foster families for pure economic reasons, 23 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:48,680 because their parents went bankrupt, lost possession of their house, or fled abroad in search of work. 24 00:01:48,680 --> 00:01:53,680 This is the town of Pen Ywain in South Wales, one of the most deprived areas in Britain 25 00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:57,680 with high unemployment, child poverty, and teenage pregnancy levels. 26 00:01:57,680 --> 00:01:59,680 But it's not all doom and gloom. 27 00:01:59,680 --> 00:02:05,680 In this parenting class, young mothers are receiving advice on how to deal calmly with demanding babies. 28 00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:09,680 Helping young mums back to work and training is key to reducing child poverty. 29 00:02:09,680 --> 00:02:15,680 Genesis Wales, an EU-funded project, aids unemployed or unqualified people overcome 30 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:19,680 some of the barriers they face, learning new skills or returning to work. 31 00:02:19,680 --> 00:02:22,680 A lot of the children in these families, in these areas, you know, 32 00:02:22,680 --> 00:02:28,680 they could end up being second, third generation unemployed. 33 00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:32,680 They only see their parents as living on benefits, things like that, 34 00:02:32,680 --> 00:02:34,680 and they then don't raise their aspirations. 35 00:02:34,680 --> 00:02:37,680 But, you know, if the parents can ultimately get back into work, 36 00:02:37,680 --> 00:02:42,680 you know, that sets a good example for the children and obviously can lift them out of poverty, 37 00:02:42,680 --> 00:02:44,680 which is what we're aiming to do. 38 00:02:44,680 --> 00:02:46,680 It's all very well urging mothers back to work, 39 00:02:46,680 --> 00:02:50,680 but many parents find it difficult to juggle the demands of jobs and babies. 40 00:02:50,680 --> 00:02:54,680 Affordable, flexible and quality childcare is the answer. 41 00:02:54,680 --> 00:02:57,680 Britain is a poor performer in providing childcare, 42 00:02:57,680 --> 00:03:01,680 but in other areas it provides something of a model for reducing child poverty. 43 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:05,680 In the last decade, almost two million youngsters have been lifted out of misery. 44 00:03:05,680 --> 00:03:10,680 But a British child still has almost as much risk of growing up in poverty as a Lithuanian. 45 00:03:10,680 --> 00:03:15,680 All EU countries are signatories to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 46 00:03:15,680 --> 00:03:18,680 which states that all children, regardless of race or religion, 47 00:03:18,680 --> 00:03:24,680 have a right to a standard of living that is good enough to meet their physical and mental needs. 48 00:03:24,680 --> 00:03:28,680 At present, millions of children in Europe are being denied that right.