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Ala was almost 7 years old for updates see
when we found her in bed like this. blogg.ahead-moldova.no
She could not stand, walk nor talk.
As we finished our degree, we could not forget these children, and in 2000 we decided to set up a charity to help the kids. We named it AHEAD – Association in Hincesti for Education, Aid and Development.
Our main priority was educational training and economical support for the staff. Other aid organisations had previously served the orphanage with food, medicines and clothes, but the items ended up re-sold on the illegal market and never given to the children. The staff also had children to care for at home, and it is understandable that they would steal when they where not being paid properly. Our initiatives were aimed at the staff in order for them to do a better job that would eventually benefit the children.
After being greeted by an organisation who cared about the staff’s welfare – and not only the children’s - the staff rapidly changed their attitude. Their work efforts changed dramatically and they realised the value of their efforts when observing the children’s development.
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Ala is an example of this development. Here she was 12 years old and was fortunate to play soccer with a Norwegian professional player John Arne Riise. This picture is taken before the World Cup Qualification match between Moldova and Norway in October 2005 in Norway.
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Ala loves to perform! Her breathtaking performance impress. She is so happy on stage, you would never believe she spent the first seven years of her life in bed, not able to stand, walk nor talk. This picture is taken at our organisation’s fifth anniversary in Oslo, Norway.
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 Ala is one of the lucky ones.
Her sister was able to trace her and reunite her with her family.
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Lilliana was another one of the girls we met back in 1999. She could not handle attention.
She would cry when we looked at her and would not accept being touched at all.
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Lilliana also showed impressive development.
But she carries a deep sorrow. She has no family that cares about her.
She, like many other disabled children, is not accepted by her family. She hopes for a mum and calls me “Mama Ane”.
It is not easy to leave her behind in the orphanage knowing she is without love in her life.
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After three years in Moldova, we decided to create a centre to support parents so that the disabled children would remain with their families. Moldovian custom so far had been to reject a disabled child within eight days after birth.
With the assistance of 13 Moldavian medical doctors and therapists we founded “Voinicel”, centre of early intervention. At the centre the families learn how to stimulate the child’s development in every aspect, but also through meeting other families in the same situation.
Our families now show confidence in their children and they often talk about their appreciation for the centre.
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Egor is one of the disabled children in Moldova who is lucky to be with his loving family.
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Irina is her grandfather’s jewel.
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Our programme also emphasises the importance of teaching doctors, therapists and students in other institutions in Moldova to change their attitude to the disabled. We have managed to change the curriculum at the Medical University and our staff travels all over the country to teach.
Our aim is that every family in Moldova will feel useful in society.
On behalf of Ahead, Association in Hincesti for Education, Aid and Development,
kind regards,
Ane Lillian Tveit
Project developer
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1. Moldova’s difficult situation
According to the World Bank, Moldova is the poorest country in the world. Those who are worst affected by this are the weakest groups living there, including disabled children. From the Soviet time onwards the Moldovian authorities and the health system have built institutions in which the disabled have been hidden away and kept completely outside society. In the children’s homes of Moldova, disabled children grow up without any connection to their parents or siblings.
2. The vision of Voinicel
* Families in Moldova must have an alternative to sending their disabled children to children’s institutions;
- Disabled children must have the right to a dignified, active life with the possibility for development of personal resources;
* The State of Moldova must give disabled children the respect, opportunities and resources necessary for building up their integrity and development as independent members of society.
3. Voinicel’s historical background
Since the year 2000, the staff at Voinicel have worked to improve the inhuman conditions for disabled children at an institution for 300 disabled little girls in Hincesti. Through teaching the staff there and cooperation with organizations which donated food, clothing and medicine, the children's home has become a better place. At the same time, we observed that parents found this institution to be an attractive place for their children to come to. Voinicel does not look upon this as desirable.
Voinicel Centre for early intervention was founded in 2000 and has invested its resources into preventing disabled children from being placed in children’s institutions and into giving support to parents who wish to let their child grow up as part of the natural diversity of Moldovian society.
4. Voinicel Competence Centre for Early Intervention *
Voinicel Competence Centre has two main functions:
1. Clinical services for disabled children and their families;
2. Transmission of information to the Moldovian authorities and health system.
* Early intervention towards disabled children means measures taken as early as possible in order to prevent negative development and to stimulate positive development in infants and young children.
4.1. Voinicel Competence Centre’s clinical services
Voinicel Competence Centre’s clinical services provide parents with the background knowledge and competence necessary for taking care of their disabled children themselves. Consequently, their children will be able to play their part in society in accordance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Voinicel Competence Centre’s clinical services consist of:
* Examination, diagnosis and treatment of disabled children aged 0 - 4
- Guidance, teaching and psycho-social support for the child’s parents, siblings and grandparents
- Activities extending to 100 families at all times
- Training doctors and students within medical professions through clinical practice of prophylactic measures and treatment of disabled children.
Voinicel Competence Centre’s clinical services make up a pilot project and an example to follow up for Moldovian authorities, as well as for organizations for human rights and humanitarian organizations.
4.2. Voinicel Competence Centre’s Information Department
Voinicel Competence Centre’s Information Department collects, develops and distributes information on competence regarding early intervention, treatment and rights concerning disabled children.
The staff of Voinicel Competence Centre:
- are members of national committees and direct their work towards the authorities in order to promote the rights of disabled children;
- have regular contact with local authority workers and civil servants and invite these people to the Centre;
- write and translate professional literature;
- advise health workers and medical students;
- have compiled a considerable library that is open to health workers and parents;
- keep themselves updated and make use of new knowledge;
- have influenced a change in the syllabus of the study of medicine to include curricula concerning the needs of disabled children and young people;
- work for a change in attitude among Moldovians through information in the media, increasing the visibility of disabled children in the public sphere.
4.3. Voinicel Competence Centre’s two main functions are interdependent
Voinicel Competence Centre’s clinical services make it possible for research and development of expertise to be publicized and taught by the information department. The clinical services are dependent upon the information department for reaching the public such that the disabled and their families may experience greater openness and understanding within the Moldovian public health system and the population as a whole.
4.4. The work of Voinicel Competence Centre is founded on knowledge, with various professions working as a team
Voinicel Competence Centre’s team builds up knowledge by making use of international professional databases where new research is available. Combined with formal professional qualifications and personal experience, this comprises evidence-based practice in accordance with international standards (cf. The National Centre of Knowledge for Health Services in Norway). The professional team consists of three pediatricians, one neurologist, three physiotherapists, one psychologist and one social worker.
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