Looking back at 2012

Looking Back Over 2012 Outreach Moldova (ORM) Irish Charity CHY 14229

A Remarkable Year The Majority of the children we work with are not orphans at all; they are here because of poverty, familial breakdown and illness.

Our experience tells us that the standard of care in institutions falls well below the lower limits of acceptable care for a child.

The overwhelming international consensus is that children thrive when growing up in a loving family environment, while institutional care leads to impaired physical, emotional and intellectual development. The added burden of what is perceived as disability has lead to further exclusion from society.

As acknowledged partners in the national reform process for deinstitutionalisation and care provision for children and young adults with special needs, we strive to always provide excellent care even in the most difficult of situations. Introducing specialised programmes has lead to not only huge advances in the health and well being of the children but has also led to vast improvement in their overall psycho-social wellbeing and sense of self.

Our programmes were strongly affected by the global recession.

Economic hardship resulted in more children at risk, more family collapse and further institutionalisation. Our fundraising capacity in Ireland was directly affected as a result of the recession but despite that we succeeded in raising donations and humanitarian aid to keep our programmes running. As we receive no State aid, this is entirely due to the kindness & support of the Irish public.

Our achievements are evident in the overall wellbeing and stability of all the children we care for 365 days of the year. To all our wonderful supporters, volunteers, national and international staff & partner NGO’s; thank you for everything you contribute to transforming the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable children.

Dr Suzanne O’Connell Founder

Objectives • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Medical care, equipment and medications programme Specialist medical training, ACLS, PCLS, ATLS etc A surgical programme A rehabilitation programme A palliative programme A building and renovation programme A nutrition programme A humanitarian aid programme A social integration programme A social workers programme A family programme An education programme A physiotherapy programme A sensory therapy programme A cookery programme A sewing programme An art and crafts programme Dance therapy Outreach Moldova is an Irish Music therapy children’s charity that was set up in A sports programme 2000 in response to an international Staff training plea for humanitarian aid for children with special needs living in A volunteer programme state institutions.

A community programme A paediatric oncology/ The charity is a company limited haematology programme by guarantee without a share • A healthier and happier living capital. The Irish Children’s charity Outreach Moldova (ORM) environment for the children provides essential medical, surgical, we work with educational & social programmes to both Hincesti orphanage for children and young adults with special needs and the municipal baby orphanage in Chisinau.

About us

Influencing long term change for children with special needs We work primarily with special needs children and young adults living in residential institutions in the Republic of Moldova.

Outreach Moldova focuses care on the children’s individual needs and adopts a multidisciplinary team approach to everyday care. Emphasis is placed on the overall well being and health of the child, focussing on their medical, educational, social and emotional needs. The specialist teams coordinate their medical and therapy needs, and auxiliary services focus on their emotional needs.

Outreach Moldova focuses on ability and enabling. Inclusion and participation are emphasised and practiced by Outreach Moldova in a society where disability is mainly dismissed.

History In 2000 the children we met in the different institutions were very unwell.

They had: • no access to specialized medical care • limited access to medications • no functional bathrooms, showers or toilets • no heating or hot water with temperatures of -20C in winter and +40C in summer

Died 1 The children were severely malnourished and the buildings were in a state of decay needing urgent refurbishment.

What started as a medical aid programme soon grew to ensure that each child would receive a happy, healthy and safe upbringing and appropriate care for all their needs.

Medical Programme The health and wellbeing of the children and young adults in our care has always been one of our primary goals.

When ORM arrived in 2000, the little children were terribly unwell, malnourished and the complexity of their medical conditions was not being addressed Today we are proud to say that we have a permanent medical staff that provides the appropriate specialist care 365 days of the year, 24 hours a day.

The ORM medical team works with many medical and surgical specialists in the national hospitals, locally and in the capital, to provide quality care every step of the way.

Our medical programme expanded over the years to include a surgical and rehabilitation programme; speech and language therapy programme; a physiotherapy programme; a dental programme and specialist nursing care programme.

ORM also provides a supplementary nutrition programme to address the chronic malnutrition we found and a medication’s programme to provide appropriate pharmaceutical care.

Hospitalisation Programme ORM provides all hospitalisations, investigations, surgeries, postoperative care, intensive care and follow up therapies for the children we work with.

Also included in this essential programme are all trained personnel who accompany and care for the children during their inpatient stay.

ORM provides, in collaboration with our partner hospitals, all follow up investigations and outpatient care.

Construction & Building Programme When ORM first arrived in 2000, the conditions we found the children living in were appalling. There was no heating system or running water.

Sanitation and personal hygiene facilities were absent. Electricity was used only during specific hours, the children were living in dark, cold buildings with little furniture.

ORM succeeded in turning things around and today the children have: • Full central heating and hot water systems; • A new kitchen, laundry and feeding rooms; • Fully refurbished residential buildings including bedrooms, bathrooms, windows, doors, furniture & necessary equipment; • A full rehabilitation centre, including gym, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and psychotherapy rooms; • Septic & aseptic procedure rooms, a new pharmacy and a dental surgery; • A new 400KVA generator and new electrical switch rooms; • New facilities including a playground, universal access ramps throughout the orphanage grounds and playing fields; • Full refurbishment of classrooms, bedrooms, bathrooms, windows, doors, furniture & equipment, heating, electrical & gas for the Baby Orphanage in Chisinau; • The first full time day care facility for children with special needs in Chisinau.

Never again will the children be without heat, hot water or lighting.

Education Programme In the past children with special needs and terminal illness living in residential care were excluded from formal education. Today, one of ORM’s most successful programmes includes an integrated education programme.

ORM opened the first school for children with special needs in Hincesti where they attend and partake in formal lessons with great pride.

We also run arts & crafts classes, dance & music Reading, writing, arithmetic therapy programmes, sports & gymnastics, sewing and language classes are classes and cookery school. provided by ORM. ORM’s goal when we initiated the education programme was to promote activities that combine education, therapy and fun. It is an excellent tool for better physical and psychological wellbeing, while facilitating personal expression and communication among children with special needs.

Social Integration Programme ORM believes that every child has the right to a family and a home but unfortunately for the children we work with this hasn’t always been the case.

For a child to reach their full potential they need much more than medical treatment and education. They need a safe, secure, nurturing home environment that large residential institutions can not provide.

It is one of our greatest desires to ensure alternative living arrangements can be found for each child.

For this purpose we work closely with the regional social work departments and families to develop, implement and expand on social reintegration into the community.

Staff Training Programme Another goal of ORM is to enable all our Moldovan partners to provide appropriate, significant and meaningful services for all the children in our care.

ORM provides specialised training and support services to all our staff. This includes both our professional and non-professional staff in areas such as: • First aid • Feeding • Manual handling • Hygiene and dental care in special needs setting • Child psychology and child protection We also run specialised training sessions for our medical staff in advanced life-support technics, ongoing medical and nursing specialisation keeping in line with the Ministry of Health’s requirements for ongoing medical training.

Humanitarian Aid Programme The provision of humanitarian aid has been an essential part of our ongoing programmes.

In the early days ORM was able to provide for the immediate need of furniture, clothing and food as part of the Humanitarian Aid Programme from Ireland.

Today ORM still takes part in the Hospital Humanitarian Aid Programme providing local hospitals with much needed medical and surgical supplies and diagnostic equipment while also being able to provide other furniture and non-medical supplies necessary.

Our grateful thanks extends to all the people who gather, pack and transport all this essential aid for the local hospitals in Moldova, knowing their input saves lives.

Volunteer Programme One of our most successful programmes to date has been the ORM Volunteer Programme where over 1500 gifted Irish people have given up their time and skills to provide the emotional support and care for these wonderful children.

Every summer we run the ‘ORM Volunteer Programme’ inviting Irish volunteers to travel to Moldova to work alongside a dedicated team of trained specialists and participate in all the activities and events organised by ORM. Our programmes run in duration from 2 weeks to 6 months depending on both the programme and availability of the volunteer.

We are an equal opportunity organisation and we welcome applications from all people and all backgrounds.

For more details please contact us at: Tel: +353 – 1 – 219 0268 e-mail: info@outreachmoldova.org web: www.outreachmoldova.org Suite 104, DMG House, Deansgrange Business Park, Deansgrange, Co. Dublin, Ireland Charity Number: CHY 14229 Company Number: 336502