Home-Based Care: Rehabilitation of Disabled Children in Belarus

Since 2004 SDC is implementing a Programme aiming at strengthening the system of home based care for disabled children. Its key element lies in establishing and further development of understanding and cooperation between parents, other members of families, specialists, teachers, mainstream children – all those who surround disabled children.

Supported by the successful implementation of the pilot phase (Kobrin town, 2004-2005), at present the project is offering educational and developmental services for children, their parents and specialists working in this sector. A great lot is also being done to attract interested partners, volunteers and community into the complicated process of problem solving.

Project activities are implemented in partnership with district Departments for Education, Day Care Centers, National Institute for Education and Christian Children Fund.

Trainings for specialists and presentations by international experts, experience exchange visits and purchase of materials and equipment for Day Care Centers – all this and much more is being done to enhance the Centers' capacities. Various forms of work, such as self-support groups for parents and children, trainings on effective parenting, volunteer activities, social interactive theatre, do help parents to improve skills of taking care of their children, reduce stress and promote self-confidence.

Introduction of new forms of rehabilitation and education for disabled children, as elements of Portage system, Toy Library, allowed to expand developmental potential for the most heavily disabled children. It is of prior importance for families living far from the Day Care Centers, because they cannot turn to specialists as often as it may be necessary. 

For the whole implementation period the project has improved living conditions of more than 1 000 families, raising disabled children. About 50 Day Care Center specialists have improved their knowledge, acquired new skills and learned up-to-date methodologies of work in challenging conditions.

Full-scale partnership between parents and specialists in establishing and developing of the day care system and special education is now a regular practice in Kobrin and Bykhov districts. Parents’ initiatives, working on the basis of NGO BelAPDIiMI, successfully implement their own small scale projects with the use of acquired knowledge on organizational development.

At present we do our best to summarize all experience accumulated within the project on creating of the family-centered system for taking care of children with disabilities. Later it will be distributed among all interested specialists, partners and communities.

Program Officer: Alina Gres  alina.gres@sdc.net