Parent-educators intend to set up national network of family-type children’s homes

The creation of a network of family-type children’s homes (FTCH) that will promote the interests and help solve the problems of children deprived of parental care was discussed at a conference on November 8. The national forum themed “Family-Type Children’s Homes – important service for children in difficulty in Moldova” brought together the FTCH parent-educators from the whole country for the first time. Tatiana Banzari, parent-educator of a FTCH in Cahul, said at the conference that it is very important that all the families communicate with each other and share their experience in educating the children. The parents need moral support not only allowances, said Tatiana Banzari, who set up a family-type children’s home together with her husband in 1991. Though they raised nine children and have eight grandchildren already, the Banzari couple is now taking care of a little girl aged one year and eight months. According to Tatiana Banzari, the parent-educators face economic problems like the remuneration, nourishment and rest, but also psychological and social problems related to the formation of the personality and integration of the children into the community. Rodica Braileanu, parent-educator in Floresti, said that two months ago her family took two girls and their brother from a children’s home to look after them. Now they educate eight children and, according to the mother, the children and parents started to develop good relations. Speaking about the decision to create a FTCH, Rodica Braileanu said that each person should share love because the love they will get from God will be tenfold greater. Ion Traian, student of the Police Academy “Stephan the Great”, spoke about the life in FTCH. One of the five children brought up in a children’s home set up by a family of teachers in Dubasarii Vechi village in 1989, Ion became recently the older brother of another three orphans taken by the family. He says that he is grateful to the Traian couple because they offered him parental love and cultivated his love for books. The family-type children’s home is an alternative form of looking after orphans and children that remained without parental care. The first FTCHs were set up during1989-1996. There are 47 such homes in Moldova at present. Twenty-two of these were created in 2007 as part of the project “Development of Integrated Social Care Services for Vulnerable Families and Children at Risk” implemented by UNICEF and the European Union to support the reform of the residential childcare system initiated by the Government of Moldova in 2002. The parent-educators receive a monthly salary and monthly allowances for paying the public utilities and for purchasing wood and coal. Their length of service as part of FTCH is included in the work record book. The children placed in family-type children’s homes are provided with yearly allowances of 3,000 lei and monthly allowances of 450 lei. They do not pay the rent for textbooks and are provided with free food at school. They also receive a lump sum payment of 1,000 lei when they turn 18. The national conference was organized by “CCF Moldova – child, community, family” in partnership with the British charity organization “Hope and Homes for Children”, the Ministry of Education and Youth, the Ministry of Social Protection, Family and Child and UNICEF Moldova.