Annual Report
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annual report 2017www.hopeandhomes.ro annual report 2017 results 1998-2017 we have improved the lives of 49,255 children 2 3 annual report 2017 1998-2017 results 4 5 annual report 2017 2017 results children left orphanages small that we closed down group home 200 (closed down + pending + orphanages opened institutions where we 1 made an impact) 2 closed down children 2,649 remained with their family professionals in child 421 protection institutions participated 124 children in professional reintegrated in the family training programmes 2017 young people received 153 support for an independent life 110 of our Day Centres (social-professional integration) 34 children 19 mothers 36 of our Emergency Reception Centres 6 7 annual report 2017 counties where we were active in 2017 8 9 annual report 2017 What we discovered in Romania 20 years ago shocked us, pained us and had a profound impact on our lives from then on. With Ștefan Dărăbuș, we discovered 60 infants hidden away on the top floor of the hospital in the town of Cavnic. They were lying silently in cots covered in their own filth. We were shocked, as if by an electric current, and we realised that we had to rescue them. This was the spark that set us on the path of deinstitutionalisation. The success of our work in Romania is largely due to our all-Romanian team who have demonstrated amazing compassion, courage and commitment to totally transform the childcare system in the country, together with state officials at all levels who have supported their action. Sadly, there are numerous countries in the world where children are still placed in orphanages, but Romania leads the world in its demonstration of how it is possible to transform such systems by freeing children from state institutions and getting them back to the love of families. My wife Caroline had the dream to close every orphanage in Romania and soon her dream will come true. Mark Cook Founder of Hope and Homes for Children 10 11 annual report 2017 From time to time, I visit the families that are in our care. I remember this grandmother with two kids, a nine-year-old boy and a four-year-old girl, living together with their dog in a rental somewhere on the outskirts of a town. They were waiting for me at the front gate. Although they were leading a life of dire poverty, the room, which doubled as kitchen and living room, was clean and cosy. The boy proudly showed us his school notebooks, and the girl was so cheerful that we were quickly intoxicated. I asked them how they were doing, and the grandmother said that, as long as they were together, it was fine. Still, one thing shocked me. She said that, whenever they have some leftover bread, they could feed the dog too. This was a family who had no idea what they would eat for their next meal, let alone the next day. There are many other families living this way. But this grandmother and her grandchildren are together, they love each other, they care for each other, they live their life in dignity, despite their sheer poverty. And I am sure that, years from now, when the two kids grow up, their grandmother’s love and the fact that they grew up together will enable them to remember their childhood as a happy part of their lives. Ștefan Dărăbuș Regional Director, Central and Southern Europe 12 13 annual report 2017 our vision At first, our programmes were financed through funds raised by Hope and Homes for Children in the UK. Happily, in the past few years things have started to change. An increasingly significant part of the A world where no child has foundation’s national budget comes from companies that operate on the Romanian market or from private to suffer the nightmare donations made by big-hearted Romanians. of institutionalisation. In 2017, we have managed to have an 80% increase of local funds. This was such good news, not only for our beneficiaries, but for us as a society on the whole. Because what makes a nation truly civilized is not only the infrastructure it builds but how it pools resources to help its most vulnerable members. Dragoș Bucurenci Director of Development 14 15 annual report 2017 Mother, father and home are among the most meaningful words in my life. They are words full of love, trust, cheer, wisdom, modesty, strength. These are the words that best explain who I am. In Romania, in the past 20 years, Hope and Homes for Children has been adding these our crucial ingredients to the lives of children for whom mother, father and home are not everyday realities. And I am only too happy target to be part of this family. Amalia Enache Hope and Homes for Children Ambassador To close down all the old-type child protection institutions in Romania by 2026. 16 17 annual report 2017 our values My greatest joy is to play the violin. When the sounds make hundreds, even thousands of human souls vibrate all at once, magic can happen. Music has the power to make people better. Better, that is to say more open and more attentive to the needs of the person next to them. Children need our love and support the most. This is why I joined the Hope and Homes for Children Foundation with no hesitation, because I wanted to help, as best I We believe that attachment, could, and contribute to their most ambitious and generous target: a normal life for institutionalised children in Romania. personal attention, love and For the past 20 years, Hope and Homes for Children has stimulation are crucial for been by the side of vulnerable children in Romania. Their successful programmes prove that deinstitutionalisation each and every child. offers these kids a chance to have a future, to make room for hope in their lives. For this, I applaud Hope and Homes for Children. I am honoured to be a Hope and Homes for Children Ambassador. Through my art, I am happy to support the Foundation’s initiatives and most of all their beneficiaries, the most vulnerable kids in Romania. Alexandru Tomescu 18Hope and Homes for Children Ambassador 19 annual report 2017 In 2017, I became a Hope and Homes for Children Ambassador and I support their programmes, because I strongly believe that the best start in life depends on the trust and love of the family. Together, we can offer a happy childhood to those who are our now growing up far from their families and those who need our objectives support to remain where they belong – with their parents. In the past 20 years, Hope and Homes for Children has transformed lives for the better and I am honoured to say that, through my art, I serve the same cause. To prove that care given to children in families and Marius Manole communities can successfully replace institutional care. Hope and Homes for Children Ambassador To increase the number of professionals who are responsible for child welfare and protection, who work to prevent the separation of children from their families and to provide quality care. To influence central and local public policies in order to enable all children to be cared for within a family. To set up strategic partnerships with other institutions, in order to make sure that the elimination of institutional childcare is a priority. To develop the network of professionals and volunteers active in the field of child protection, by improving their knowledge and skills. To raise public awareness on the plight of children, families and communities who suffer the consequences of an obsolete child protection system. 20 21 annual report 2017 closing down old-type 1 institutions 22 23 annual report 2017 Closing down old-type institutions Back in 2000, over 100,000 children were abandoned in orphanages all around Romania. Today, only 6,500 children live in such institutions. The trauma and the devastating consequences of institutionalisation are amongst the most severe forms of abuse and violence that children suffer. Children growing up in orphanages exhibit physical, emotional, social and cognitive developmental delays. And young people coming out of these institutions are faced with the inability to become independent, which makes them easy targets for abuse, exploitation and trafficking; or they can develop forms of anti-social behaviour. We want to identify the most suitable alternatives for children in orphanages, we want to help them grow up in an environment as similar to a family as possible. We help children reintegrate in their immediate or extended families, if we find they offer suitable conditions, or we support the family until they provide such conditions. The family reintegration of institutionalised children is supported by a package of childcare measures destined to keep children with their families. Since 1998, 922 children have been reunited with their families. Other children can be placed in foster care, with state-certified caregivers, or can be adopted. There are however cases where children need specialised care, so foster care or family reintegration are not suitable alternatives; these children are placed in small group homes. Small group homes accommodate a maximum of 10 to 12 children or young people. Here, they enjoy the benefits of a family-like environment, the benefits of care, education, emotional counselling and support, providing them skills towards living an independent life. The mission of Hope and Homes for Children is to close down all orphanages in Romania by 2026. 24 25 annual report 2017 Orphanages closed down or soon to be – 2017/2018 timeline 7 Suceava 9 1 2 4 Bihor 8 5 Bucharest 1.