DIFFERENT YET EQUAL
One of the most valuable voices in the world is that of a blind person: Andrea Bocelli. One of the most enlightened minds in the world is that of a disabled person since the age of two: Steve Hawking, astro-physics Nobel laureate. One of the greatest symphonies of all times was composed by a man who was unable to listen to it: Ludwig van Beethoven. These examples demonstrate that in spite of physical or other deficiencies man is capable to achieve incredible things in various fields. Starting from this argument, last week, the UNICEF representative office in Romania together with the National authority for Child Protection and Adoption launched in Bucharest the campaign “Different yet equal”.
About 2800 Romanian children have physical or psychological deficiencies. Some of them live in foster homes subordinated to county child protection offices others are in recovery centres. The National Authority for Child Protection and Adoption has decided to restructure or to close down 8 out of the 29 hospital-nursing homes in Romania. These hospital-nursing homes currently host about 50 or 60 children with various handicaps, for whose care the Romanian government pays 5 million lei a month. The governmental programme seeks to gradually eliminate these centres and transfer children to family-type homes However, specialised services for the needs of these children will be set up: day-care centres, recovery centres and other alternative services.
Gabriela Coman, state secretary with the National Authority for Child Protection said that one of the biggest problems was that of the lack of qualified personnel to assist these children. “There are relatively new professions which we need in the field of social protection and especially in the field of child protection. For instance, a new series of social workers graduated in 1994. Professions such as kinotherapeutist or energotherapeutist are relatively new but we can use such specialists in our recovery programmes. Together with multi-disciplinary teams specialized in this field, and there are quite a few, we try first to evaluate each child, and I have in mind children from special foster care homes so that any programme set up for them can respond to their needs. But training personnel is still a problem. The number of specialists is rather small.
NGOs with national or international funding also have programmes dedicated to disabled children But material efforts are not enough. Karin Hulshof, the UNICEF representative for Romania and Moldova said that the campaign was aimed at making people aware that those children deserved a place of their own in the world.
The campaign for disabled children is such a project. Three videoclips and two radio advertisements will be broadcast alternatively over the next 3 months by radio stations and television companies. There are three posters and brochures, we will have debates and public events. The goal of this campaign is to change everyday reality.
Florentina Popescu is the mother of an 11 year old girl with limited intellectual abilities. We asked her why she thought this campaign was important. “As a parent I think it is very important. We are aware that we must solve children’s medical condition as well as their situation in school, we struggle, we make efforts, but no matter how hard we try, at some point we have to face other people’s attitude not towards us but towards our children. These kids have their dreams too, their thoughts, their impressions, their sorrows. My daughter tells me: ‘look, mummy, I went to play with that kid and he turned his back to me’. This has happened so many times, people don’t have the patience to see that beyond the image of a hunch-backed child or one with an unstable walk, there is a little soul.”
There are cases, however, when people do not look away when they see a child with deficiencies. Tudor Necula, a child with motor disabilities, became a star playing the leading part in the movie “Noro”, directed by Radu GaBREA. The movie tells the story of a disabled child s, depicting the most important moments in his evolution. On the launching of the campaign, Tudor was keen on stating that the efforts for a better understanding must come from both sides.“All disabled children should be equal with the normal kids , they should all go to a normal school, have the same rights and the same duties, too. My duties are to be a good pupil and to show people that I am a normal human being. Ever since I made this movie I have been looked at differently by normal people and it is a wonderful feeling, I am no longer seen as a child with disabilities. Most people who see a handicapped child on the street say: “don’t mind him, he’s handicapped”. They think that if you have a physical disability, you also have an intellectual disability but that is not the case. You, the handicapped person, must go and talk to the normal ones to demonstrate that you are not what they think you are.”
That is a difficult task, especially when it is hard to look people in the eye or tell them “I am just like you”. That is why, on their behalf, we say to you: E comes from ‘to exist’, Q from ‘to question’ U is ‘to understand’ A comes from ‘to accept’ and L from ‘to love’ - EQUAL!
About 2800 Romanian children have physical or psychological deficiencies. Some of them live in foster homes subordinated to county child protection offices others are in recovery centres. The National Authority for Child Protection and Adoption has decided to restructure or to close down 8 out of the 29 hospital-nursing homes in Romania. These hospital-nursing homes currently host about 50 or 60 children with various handicaps, for whose care the Romanian government pays 5 million lei a month. The governmental programme seeks to gradually eliminate these centres and transfer children to family-type homes However, specialised services for the needs of these children will be set up: day-care centres, recovery centres and other alternative services.
Gabriela Coman, state secretary with the National Authority for Child Protection said that one of the biggest problems was that of the lack of qualified personnel to assist these children. “There are relatively new professions which we need in the field of social protection and especially in the field of child protection. For instance, a new series of social workers graduated in 1994. Professions such as kinotherapeutist or energotherapeutist are relatively new but we can use such specialists in our recovery programmes. Together with multi-disciplinary teams specialized in this field, and there are quite a few, we try first to evaluate each child, and I have in mind children from special foster care homes so that any programme set up for them can respond to their needs. But training personnel is still a problem. The number of specialists is rather small.
NGOs with national or international funding also have programmes dedicated to disabled children But material efforts are not enough. Karin Hulshof, the UNICEF representative for Romania and Moldova said that the campaign was aimed at making people aware that those children deserved a place of their own in the world.
The campaign for disabled children is such a project. Three videoclips and two radio advertisements will be broadcast alternatively over the next 3 months by radio stations and television companies. There are three posters and brochures, we will have debates and public events. The goal of this campaign is to change everyday reality.
Florentina Popescu is the mother of an 11 year old girl with limited intellectual abilities. We asked her why she thought this campaign was important. “As a parent I think it is very important. We are aware that we must solve children’s medical condition as well as their situation in school, we struggle, we make efforts, but no matter how hard we try, at some point we have to face other people’s attitude not towards us but towards our children. These kids have their dreams too, their thoughts, their impressions, their sorrows. My daughter tells me: ‘look, mummy, I went to play with that kid and he turned his back to me’. This has happened so many times, people don’t have the patience to see that beyond the image of a hunch-backed child or one with an unstable walk, there is a little soul.”
There are cases, however, when people do not look away when they see a child with deficiencies. Tudor Necula, a child with motor disabilities, became a star playing the leading part in the movie “Noro”, directed by Radu GaBREA. The movie tells the story of a disabled child s, depicting the most important moments in his evolution. On the launching of the campaign, Tudor was keen on stating that the efforts for a better understanding must come from both sides.“All disabled children should be equal with the normal kids , they should all go to a normal school, have the same rights and the same duties, too. My duties are to be a good pupil and to show people that I am a normal human being. Ever since I made this movie I have been looked at differently by normal people and it is a wonderful feeling, I am no longer seen as a child with disabilities. Most people who see a handicapped child on the street say: “don’t mind him, he’s handicapped”. They think that if you have a physical disability, you also have an intellectual disability but that is not the case. You, the handicapped person, must go and talk to the normal ones to demonstrate that you are not what they think you are.”
That is a difficult task, especially when it is hard to look people in the eye or tell them “I am just like you”. That is why, on their behalf, we say to you: E comes from ‘to exist’, Q from ‘to question’ U is ‘to understand’ A comes from ‘to accept’ and L from ‘to love’ - EQUAL!
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