A brighter future
£27,500 to improve care for Romania’s orphans
Helping to drive forward a complete cultural change in how Romanian orphans are treated is a key goal of the Foundation for the Relief of Disabled Orphans (F.R.O.D.O.).
And it is a step closer to reality, thanks to a £27,500 cash injection from the Halcrow Foundation.
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Video produced 2011
11,000 children with disabilities live in Romanian state orphanages, many of those responsible for their care have no formal qualifications and limited support. F.R.O.D.O. has introduced CARIS, a training programme for carers in Romania, giving them support and new techniques.
More specifically, the funding has directly impacted on retraining staff at Crinul Alb – a Bucharest placement centre for children with physical and learning disabilities. Crinul
Alb was the subject of a 2008 undercover television exposé about a visit by the Duchess of York.
Viewers were shocked by images of traumatised children tied to their beds for hours on end. With the full support of the Romanian authorities, UK charity F.R.O.D.O. has been working with the children and staff to improve the quality of care. It aims to create a new concept of residential care that combines education, including practical vocational skills for older children, with a therapeutic approach.
The charity is implementing its ‘institutional transformation’ programme to deliver dramatic improvements to the children’s lives. It aims to accelerate the children’s development in the hope that it will shorten their time in the institution through placement with family members or foster carers.
Vanessa Cummings, F.R.O.D.O. chief executive, said: “We are committed to do whatever we can to stop the damage that typically occurs to a child from long-term institutionalisation.”
Despite the Romanian government’s commitment to deinstitutionalisation as a priority in its child-care policies, this cannot be achieved overnight, says Vanessa. “More than 20,000 children continue to be institutionalised in Romania,” she says. “By working with us, we can help ensure that they receive loving care, where their personalities and talents can be developed, where their disabilities can be managed properly and where they can look forward to a future of hope.”
F.R.O.D.O hopes to roll out the scheme as standard practice across Romania and believes the programme has the potential to change how orphaned and disabled children are cared for across Eastern Europe.