'Smile of the Child' charity says it will shut down
The head of the children's charity 'Smile of the Child' Kostas Giannopoulos on Monday, 10/11/2014, warned that new rules recently introduced by the labour ministry on October 17 for privately-funded child welfare bodies were a 'death knell' for the 13 homes operated by the charity, providing shelter and care to 330 children.
In a press conference that marked the 20th anniversary since the charity was established, Giannopoulos said that the new rules for founding and operating child protection agencies, if implemented, would exclude 'Smile of the Child' and similar charities, forcing them to close.
He noted that the rules discriminated between children growing up in premises owned by Private-sector Legal Entities and those growing up in public-sector welfare bodies.
At the same time, he said, there was no provision for setting up family model for the children as advised by appropriate European ministers' council regarding the rights of children in child welfare institutions.
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