With the support of the European Union, around 650 children with special needs have benefited over the past three years from access to innovative support and educational services

With the support of the European Union, around 650 children with special needs, aged 0–7, from five regions of the country have benefited from support and access to innovative services that have contributed to their well-being and inclusion. Together with their parents, the children participated in four support and educational programs: Communication through Music, Mellow Parenting, Portage, and Makaton. These programs were implemented over a period of three years by the Partnerships for Every Child (P4EC), within an EU-funded project, in the pilot districts of Cahul, Călărași, Fălești, Nisporeni, and Ungheni.

The results of the project “Increasing access of children with special needs to community-based support and educational services in the early years of life” were presented on Friday, December 7, at a national conference attended by project partners and beneficiaries.

Valentin Crudu, Head of the General Education Directorate, MEC, emphasized in the opening of the event that “success can only come when efforts are combined. When we talk about children, we cannot divide them by sectors—education, social protection, health—or claim that only local authorities are responsible for a child’s well-being and safety. The results of this project demonstrate that the child and their family were at the center of all actions,” said Mr. Crudu.

In turn, Marco Gemmer, Head of Operations Section, EU Delegation to the Republic of Moldova, appreciated the efforts of all project partners. “We thank you for providing support to children who did not have the privilege of being healthy and for ensuring that they too become part of society. In an inclusive community, it is very important that everyone benefits from equal rights.”

According to Corneliu Țăruș, Head of the Directorate for Child Rights Protection Policies and Families with Children, MSMPS, in terms of child protection policies, the main focus of current policy is the development of early intervention at the community level, which can prevent risks for children. “On the other hand, it is very important to have sufficient resources to support children who need inclusion, which begins in the family, school, and community. Financial resources have been allocated in the state budget for this purpose, and we, as representatives of the central authority, will make every effort to replicate these programs at the national level so that all children can benefit from them.”

Daniela Mămăligă, Director of P4EC, thanked the EU Delegation in the Republic of Moldova for financing this initiative and for being responsive to the problems of families and children, prioritizing these groups in the assistance provided to the country. “Thanks to this support, Partnerships for Every Child managed to introduce these four innovative programs to Moldova, which were absent in 2016. Due to joint efforts, today we can say that in five districts these programs are viable, and their positive impact is felt first and foremost by children and their families.”

As a result of the project implementation:

• approximately 600 children with special needs from the five districts learned, through the Communication through Music program, to communicate and express their emotions more easily;
• 16 children with special needs were included in the Portage home-based educational support program;
• 30 children with communication difficulties were included in the Makaton Language Program, adapted to the context of the Republic of Moldova;
• 106 mothers were supported to improve their parenting skills and relationships with their children through the Mellow Parenting parental education program;
• 424 parents were supported to improve their knowledge and skills in understanding their children’s needs and were assisted in accessing appropriate support services;
• approximately 100 professionals from education, social assistance, and NGOs were trained in delivering support programs for children with special needs and their families;
• 34 practitioners were trained to apply the Portage program; 41 professionals from 18 kindergartens and the Psychopedagogical Assistance Service were trained to implement the Communication through Music program; 12 practitioners, at national level, were trained in applying the Makaton Language;
• the new programs were adapted to the national context and integrated into the existing legal and institutional framework; decision-makers and professionals in social assistance and education from the five pilot districts established effective mechanisms for cooperation and partnership with families and learned support techniques for working with children and families in order to identify and intervene early in children’s life challenges;
• six NGOs, from both banks of the Nistru River, benefited from small grants of €4,500 each to carry out activities aimed at developing support and early intervention models for children aged 0–7 with special needs;
• awareness-raising and information campaigns were conducted on the need to increase access to support and educational services for children with special needs from an early age, this being a fundamental objective for the realization of children’s rights.

The project “Increasing access of children with special needs to community-based support and educational services in the early years of life” was implemented by the P4EC, in collaboration with a consortium formed by Mellow Parenting and HealthProm organizations from the United Kingdom, with the support of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Social Protection, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Research, and the local public administrations of the five beneficiary districts. The project, with a total value of €680,000, was funded by the European Union.

Contact person:
Violina Lavric,
Communication Manager, NGO “Parteneriate pentru fiecare copil”
Tel/Fax: +373 022 92 50 76, 069215862
E-mail: presa@p4ec.md, vlavric@p4ec.md