Maternal shelter in ‘danger zone’ to transform lives of mothers & children
District 5 is the poorest and most dangerous part of the Romanian capital. Eighty per cent of its residents are Roma who squat in old buildings, some of them without electricity or running water. Crime is high and many taxi drivers refuse to take passengers into Ferentari.
On Zabrauti Street, 60% of residents don’t have identity papers and the majority live in abandoned apartments. Drugs and alcohol are readily available and abused. In 2006 four Roma children died of asphyxiation when a fire started by candles overwhelmed them in a basement where they lived without electricity. Riots among tenants ensued, who blamed the authorities for neglect.
Social workers report incidence of malnourished children living in unsanitary and insecure conditions. One case described six children sleeping in two small dirty beds covered with flies. The children struggled to breath in the stale air and were full of scars and eczema, and layered in thick dirt.
One case described six children sleeping in two small dirty beds covered with flies. The children struggled to breath in the stale air and were full of scars and eczema, and layered in thick dirt. Their mother was a prostitute and neglected all of her children. World Vision located the children’s grandparents, helped them move outside Bucharest and then assisted with the process of reintegration when the living circumstances improved.
World Vision hopes to help many other children and mothers in similar circumstances and a new project in district 5 is promising positive changes.
Together with local authorities, World Vision is helping to transform an old placement centre (children’s institution) into a maternal shelter, with accommodation for unaccompanied children. World Vision has undertaken a similar project in the city’s district 1, which has reaped overwhelmingly positive results over a three-year period.
World Vision staff have worked in the current placement centre for more than two years, helping to reintegrate children back into their families. It believes that the new shelter due to open in October 2008 will facilitate and encourage the integration process.
“It’s a great move. I’ve been working in this placement centre for 17 years now. Even if we shouldn’t get emotionally involved too much, sometimes we start caring a lot about the children in the centre and they respond the same way. Years after they’ve left, they still come to visit us. But I do realise that living here is like a trap and a child without a family has a destroyed soul. Building the centre for mothers would be a tremendous chance for other children that are in distress and with the proper counselling and help for the mothers, children won’t be abandoned as easily anymore,” says a teacher from the placement centre.
Building the centre for mothers would be a tremendous chance for other children that are in distress and with the proper counselling and help for the mothers, children won’t be abandoned as easily anymore .The abandonment of children born into poor families or even by mothers who live on the streets is common practice in a neighbourhood such as Ferentari. World Vision aims to provide more than just a shelter for the mothers. Staff will also try to counsel the mothers, help them to find gainful employment and a stable place in which to live with their child or children.
“It’s vital to have a maternal shelter in Ferentari, but it’s also a big challenge. For example we have a two-year-old boy here who was abandoned at birth because of his disability. He cannot move his hands”, shares a doctor from the centre.
“His teenage mother visited him once with a friend, took a picture of the baby with her mobile phone, laughed a little with her companion then left and never came back. It would be great to have a service that tries to prevent this type of case”, she continues.
The doctor went on to describe the plight of young girls and their lack of education. She believes that if women are counselled from the time of conception and assisted to find a job, many abandonment cases can be prevented.
“Years ago, when I worked in the other maternal shelter created by World Vision in district 1, we counselled a 15-year-old girl with a small child. She stayed in the centre for several months and learnt to read and write”, shares Doina, a social worker for World Vision.
“When the first maternal centre was created we realised how many things a place like that can change in a person’s life. That’s why we decided to use our experience in creating a similar shelter in district 5”, adds Mariana Arnautu, coordinator of the project.
Many lives have been changed through the maternal shelter in district 1, giving World Vision hope that a similar centre can also bring about real and lasting change.
Mihaela, an orphan and single mother says, “All I know is that the day I went to the hospital, I was sure that somehow God would find a solution for me. World Vision appeared in my life when I needed help the most. Only God made this possible, I’m sure!”
All I know is that the day I went to the hospital, I was sure that somehow God would find a solution for me. World Vision appeared in my life when I needed help the most. Only God made this possible, I’m sure!
Mihaela used to sleep in a basement and knew that it wasn’t an appropriate place to raise a child. World Vision offered her a room in the maternal shelter, taught her how to care for her infant and helped her to find a job as a gardener. When she started the job, her baby was cared for at the Day Care Centre, which is part of the maternal shelter.
Eight months later, Mihaela was able to take her life into her own hands and find a suitable place to live with her child.
Over the years, many mothers have passed through the maternal shelter: women who lived with their children on the streets, women who were abused and left home, or adolescents who were chased away by their families.
“We always tried to help them restore their lives. We encourage the bond between the mother and the child and teach the mother and help her to find a job in order to support herself and the child”, says a social worker with World Vision.
World Vision hopes that district 5 will no longer be synonymous with poverty and dejection, but as a place where transformation is really possible.
On Zabrauti Street, 60% of residents don’t have identity papers and the majority live in abandoned apartments. Drugs and alcohol are readily available and abused. In 2006 four Roma children died of asphyxiation when a fire started by candles overwhelmed them in a basement where they lived without electricity. Riots among tenants ensued, who blamed the authorities for neglect.
Social workers report incidence of malnourished children living in unsanitary and insecure conditions. One case described six children sleeping in two small dirty beds covered with flies. The children struggled to breath in the stale air and were full of scars and eczema, and layered in thick dirt.
One case described six children sleeping in two small dirty beds covered with flies. The children struggled to breath in the stale air and were full of scars and eczema, and layered in thick dirt. Their mother was a prostitute and neglected all of her children. World Vision located the children’s grandparents, helped them move outside Bucharest and then assisted with the process of reintegration when the living circumstances improved.
World Vision hopes to help many other children and mothers in similar circumstances and a new project in district 5 is promising positive changes.
Together with local authorities, World Vision is helping to transform an old placement centre (children’s institution) into a maternal shelter, with accommodation for unaccompanied children. World Vision has undertaken a similar project in the city’s district 1, which has reaped overwhelmingly positive results over a three-year period.
World Vision staff have worked in the current placement centre for more than two years, helping to reintegrate children back into their families. It believes that the new shelter due to open in October 2008 will facilitate and encourage the integration process.
“It’s a great move. I’ve been working in this placement centre for 17 years now. Even if we shouldn’t get emotionally involved too much, sometimes we start caring a lot about the children in the centre and they respond the same way. Years after they’ve left, they still come to visit us. But I do realise that living here is like a trap and a child without a family has a destroyed soul. Building the centre for mothers would be a tremendous chance for other children that are in distress and with the proper counselling and help for the mothers, children won’t be abandoned as easily anymore,” says a teacher from the placement centre.
Building the centre for mothers would be a tremendous chance for other children that are in distress and with the proper counselling and help for the mothers, children won’t be abandoned as easily anymore .The abandonment of children born into poor families or even by mothers who live on the streets is common practice in a neighbourhood such as Ferentari. World Vision aims to provide more than just a shelter for the mothers. Staff will also try to counsel the mothers, help them to find gainful employment and a stable place in which to live with their child or children.
“It’s vital to have a maternal shelter in Ferentari, but it’s also a big challenge. For example we have a two-year-old boy here who was abandoned at birth because of his disability. He cannot move his hands”, shares a doctor from the centre.
“His teenage mother visited him once with a friend, took a picture of the baby with her mobile phone, laughed a little with her companion then left and never came back. It would be great to have a service that tries to prevent this type of case”, she continues.
The doctor went on to describe the plight of young girls and their lack of education. She believes that if women are counselled from the time of conception and assisted to find a job, many abandonment cases can be prevented.
“Years ago, when I worked in the other maternal shelter created by World Vision in district 1, we counselled a 15-year-old girl with a small child. She stayed in the centre for several months and learnt to read and write”, shares Doina, a social worker for World Vision.
“When the first maternal centre was created we realised how many things a place like that can change in a person’s life. That’s why we decided to use our experience in creating a similar shelter in district 5”, adds Mariana Arnautu, coordinator of the project.
Many lives have been changed through the maternal shelter in district 1, giving World Vision hope that a similar centre can also bring about real and lasting change.
Mihaela, an orphan and single mother says, “All I know is that the day I went to the hospital, I was sure that somehow God would find a solution for me. World Vision appeared in my life when I needed help the most. Only God made this possible, I’m sure!”
All I know is that the day I went to the hospital, I was sure that somehow God would find a solution for me. World Vision appeared in my life when I needed help the most. Only God made this possible, I’m sure!
Mihaela used to sleep in a basement and knew that it wasn’t an appropriate place to raise a child. World Vision offered her a room in the maternal shelter, taught her how to care for her infant and helped her to find a job as a gardener. When she started the job, her baby was cared for at the Day Care Centre, which is part of the maternal shelter.
Eight months later, Mihaela was able to take her life into her own hands and find a suitable place to live with her child.
Over the years, many mothers have passed through the maternal shelter: women who lived with their children on the streets, women who were abused and left home, or adolescents who were chased away by their families.
“We always tried to help them restore their lives. We encourage the bond between the mother and the child and teach the mother and help her to find a job in order to support herself and the child”, says a social worker with World Vision.
World Vision hopes that district 5 will no longer be synonymous with poverty and dejection, but as a place where transformation is really possible.
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