A daycare for children with intellectual disabilities has opened in Balti with the support of the European Union and the Soros Moldova Foundation. At least 60 children, including with autistic spectrum disorders, from Bălți municipality and from other parts of northern Moldova will enjoy free services at the center, including ABA cognitive-behavioral therapy, sensory integration therapy, play therapy and socialization.
The facility was renovated and endowed with sensory equipment. It has rooms for group and individual activities, including an ABA therapy room. Also, the daycare features a room for recreation and a sensory room equipped with different types of stimuli and specialized equipment for the rehabilitation of children with developmental and behavioral disorders.
“We, the community of parents with children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, wanted very much to develop high standard services focused on the needs of our children, here in our city. We have worked very hard for this in the last two years. In creating the Center, we carried out awareness and fundraising campaigns to cover the costs of the project. We have learned in the process that we have many friends and supporters, to whom we are very grateful”, said Liuba Baciurin, project manager and president of the Autism Hope NGO, during the ribbon cutting ceremony.
“We are delighted by the support offered by the EU Delegation and the Soros Foundation Moldova to the local authorities, which opens up new opportunities to strengthen social services”, said Nadejda Crijanovschi, representative of the Balti Directorate of Social Assistance.
Attending the event, Irina Beșliu, project manager at the EU Delegation to Moldova, declared that civil society organizations create solid partnerships with public authorities and, with the financial support of the European Union, quality social services are created, which are so necessary for communities around the country.
The daycare for children with intellectual disabilities in Bălți is the second social service project developed with the support of the European Union in the municipality of Bălți within the project “Civil society organizations act for better social services”. “We are glad that there is openness at the local level and thus the developed services are sustainable”, said Diana Teacă, representative of the Soros Moldova Foundation.
The project to create the Center has a budget of 52,000 euros from the European Union and co-financing from the UK-based MAD-Aid NGO (5,000 pounds), the contribution of the Autism Hope NGO (117,000 lei) and the Balti City Council (10,000 lei). This social service facility is one of the 40 services created within the project “Civil society organizations act for better social services”, financed by the European Union, co-financed and implemented by the Soros Foundation Moldova in partnership with the Keystone Moldova Association and AO Institutum Virtutes Civilis.
