10:29am Thursday 30th October 2003
By Tracey Treanor
THE project named Novi Dom, which means "new home" was inspired by a visit to an orphanage in Minsk, the capital of the former Soviet republic of Belarus.
The Jewish charity Norwood, whose head office is in The Broadway, Stanmore, became involved in 1998 when it was approached by a UNICEF-funded organisation concerned with improving the quality of life for 25,000 orphans in the newly independent state.
Norwood was later approached to advise the Ministry of Social Protection in Minsk on the care and education of disabled children. It was during these visits that it was discovered that there were a number of Jewish children with disabilities living in the orphanage, in extremely poor conditions.
Chief executive of Norwood, Norma Brier, met Lehra, a 12-year-old-girl with cerebral palsy, whose quality of life was made worse due to the poor conditions in the orphanage.
It was then decided that something had to be done to help these children. A fresh start was needed. Lehra was taken out of the orphanage and brought to Britain, where she managed to improve. She needed a lot of attention as in Belarus it is hard because of staffing problems and underfunding.
They are working with World Jewish Relief, which has worked in the former Soviet Union since 1990. They already fund many facilities for childrens' care and education and family support and are leaders in the provision of improved residential care for deprived Jewish children.
Norma Brier explained why the project was so important. She said: "In Belarus disabled children can remain at home as long as they have a special school to attend each day. However, for disabled children, education ceases at 11 years of age.
"Without an educational facility, a parent must remain at home to care for the child. It is at that point that families face the stark choice of leaving the labour market to care for their child at home and plunging into absolute poverty or the awful alternative of putting their child into a state run orphanage, because they are unable to cope. "
The two charities are now working together to establish an excellent facility in the centre of Minsk comprising educational facilities, a respite care unit and a small long-term facility for some Jewish children from one of the orphanages.
Norma added: "Through this wonderful facility, we will be able to help approximately 80 families to keep their disabled children at home with them rather then sending them to institutions."
With long histories of providing welfare services and relieving distress, both Norwood and World Jewish Relief are aware of the importance of Novi Dom to families in Minsk.
Vivienne Lewis, chief executive of World Jewish Relief, explained: "We know that if we provide the right resources and training, we can help the community itself."
They are both delighted that they have this opportunity and that the people in Minsk welcomed it.
Norwood now has the opportunity to share its specialist knowledge on child care and disability internationally, by being used as a model for good practice. Once established, they hope to become an alternative to current state run orphanage care.
Both Vivienne and Norma have worked closely with Volunatas, an NGO in Belarus, that has helped this project off the ground.
They will working with Belarusian child care professionals to give them the expertise necessary so that in the future they will be able to draw on their own resources and develop their own services for the future.
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