GAOORDI

THE ST. PETERSBURG ASSOCIATION OF SOCIETIES OF PARENTS OF DISABLED CHILDREN GAOORDI

Mission 

Integration and coordination of efforts of social organizations, which represent the interests of children, teenagers and youth with limited abilities, their families and those, who support and help them.

The Association was established on June 12, 1992.

Today "GAOORDI" is one of the largest unions of non-commercial organizations in Russia. It incorporates 78 organizations of parents of disabled children and it renders services to more than 16 thousands of families, which bring up children with limited abilities.

As a result of incorporation, the organizations affiliated with the Association have acquired an opportunity to assert their interests at executive and legislative authorities together and, relying on their parental experience, to grant their knowledge and energy for problem solving of the families with disabled children.

The Association began to create different models of social support to the children with limited abilities and for their families, and the most successful of these models were realized with support of international charitable funds and public authorities.

The first program of this kind was the organization of summer sanitary recreation for disabled children in 1993, which was realized together with the Committee on the Affairs of Family, Children and Youth. Its main purpose is to alleviate the consequences of disablement, to inculcate the habits of self-dependent life and to provide social integration for such children.

In the context of the program of organization of sanitary recreation there is an annual contest of programs of social rehabilitation, which give possibility to organize an integration recreation for children with intellectual disabilities, haemophilia, coeliac disease and for many other categories of invalids. Every year GAOORDI realizes about 40 programs of social rehabilitation.

Within the program of sanitary recreation about 7000 families with disabled children and youth annually get tickets. Such successful realization of the program of summer sanitary recreation has initiated cooperation of GAOORDI with the Administration of St. Petersburg on the basis of social order.

In 1998 the first target medical and social program "Disabled Children" has been started in St. Petersburg and then acted during the period of 1998-2000. GAOORDI has fruitfully participated in development and execution of some stages of this program, which has given positive results and has acquired great response in society. Today the second program "Disabled Children" is finishing in St. Petersburg, and another one is being developed for the next three years.

GAOORDI takes an active part in the work of Coordinating Council of Invalids, Inter-departmental Commission of Organization of Recreation and Employment for Children and Youth, Commission of Human Rights and Public Council of St. Petersburg.

Public opinion:

During the time of existence of GAOORDI, owing to its activity, public opinion has greatly changed: formerly the problems of disabled children were seldom mentioned. But when there appeared permanent and actively working organization, the information of this problem began to reach the people of the city by means of mass media and of direct communication with disabled children in the centers of social rehabilitation. And public attitude has been changing from circumspection to sympathy and then to understanding and acceptance.

On October 4, 2001 GAOORDI was awarded with golden diploma "Public Recognition" - the greatest public award in Russia.

Since the time of establishment the president of GAOORDI has been Mrs. M.A. Urmancheeva.