Every child has the right to grow up in a safe family environment

This is the core belief of our organization, and all the actions we undertake stem from this principle. We assume this mission every day, yet we believe that in order to fulfill it, we need partnerships—and the involvement of the entire community. We see a strong need for communication, advocacy, and community mobilization to promote family values and family-based care for children, as well as to engage communities in increasing awareness of the importance and necessity of creating an environment conducive to the educational and social inclusion of children.

In this context, the campaign “A Home to Reunite a Family”, recently launched by the Partnerships for Every Child (P4EC), aims to support seven siblings—separated since childhood—in becoming a family again, in their own home.

The campaign is also part of the activities of the project “A Strong Family for Every Child”, through which we seek to improve the attitudes of professionals and the general public in order to strengthen support for national policies and practices that prevent the unnecessary separation of children from their families, and to better promote appropriate and protective family-based care for children deprived of parental care.

The goal of the “A Home to Reunite a Family” campaign is to inform and raise awareness among both central and local decision-makers, as well as civil society, about the situation of these seven siblings. After years of separation, institutionalization in a special school (four of them), despite being perfectly healthy, and eventual deinstitutionalization, they now risk being left without shelter, as no one is waiting for them at home anymore.

Unfortunately, their case is not unique in the Republic of Moldova, and decision-makers often declare themselves powerless in the face of the multitude of similar situations. Together, however, we can change things for the better by adopting a shared vision focused on strengthening families, ensuring involvement, support, and protection for children at the local level, changing public and professional perceptions regarding the institutionalization of children, and reinforcing the necessity of raising children within a family environment.

We do not deny that, in the case of our campaign, the efforts made to make the voices and wishes of these children heard by as many people as possible have been significant. Nevertheless, we are encouraged by the fact that every time we encountered sensitive, responsive, and generous individuals who, in turn, mobilized others to help us help these seven siblings. Every effort matters, and every person is important, as long as we move together, in the same direction, toward the same goal.

Related projects
Partnerships for Every Child implements the project “A Strong Family for Every Child” with financial support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The project runs until June 2017 and aims to improve the safety, well-being, and development of children at risk and those deprived of adequate parental care in the Republic of Moldova.