Social assistants, parents oppose institutionalizing disabled children

Social assistants and parents, backed by the Association “Femeia si copilul: sprijin si protectie“ (Woman and child: support and protection) from Criuleni, want to prevent institutionalizing disabled children and stand for treating them in community boarding centers. Orphanages do not have conditions to keep and treat these children, they told a news conference on July 16, Info-Prim Neo reports. For 9 years, the Association “Femeia si copilul: sprijin si protectie“ works with disabled children from 8 localities of Criuleni and Dubasari districts. The social assistants offer free services to those children both in boarding centers and to families educating such children. [Alexandra Grajdean], the director of the association, says the Moldovan society is not open to the disabled children. They often are not received in schools and kindergartens, in holiday camps, because they cannot talk and walk. “My son could not talk when 16. After keeping him three months in a state institution, I took him home because he was always cold and hungry. Now after he started to attend the Speranta day center, he started to talk a little and I am glad I can understand him,” said [Ana Doga], a parent from Molovata Noua village. “560 lei that the state gives me to keep my child staying in bed are not enough for his daily keeping. But I don't want to send him to a boarding institution, because they stay isolated there, and the teachers do not pay them due attention,” said another mother, [Mariana Popescu], from Hartopul Mare village. A boarding center for disabled children has recently been open in that village. [Ina Cazacu], a program coordinator, says special attention must be paid to enhancing the public awareness. “The healthy parents and children are very reluctant to issues of school inclusion of disabled children. That is why, we try to organize different activities, to prove all the children have the same rights,” the coordinator said. [Victoria Secu], a program coordinator with the association, works in a kindergarten and believes the earlier the intervention the sooner the children will pass over their disabilities. “Starting this year, we included children with severe disabilities into our programs, of up to 18 years, because many of them stay indoors,” she explains. [Vera Stahi] says the main aspects of the assistants' work is to find the families raising disabled children, not attending school or kindergarten. “We train parents at our seminars, make them familiar with the legislation, their rights, from which they do not know how to benefit when they want to get indemnities from the government,” said Vera Stahi. On September 1, the kindergarten from Criuleni town will start receiving disabled children in a pilot project of special services. The association “Femeia si copilul: sprijin si protectie” provides special services to over 150 school-age children and 50 kindergarten-age children with disabilities.