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United in action

United in action

Step Forward Project: Humanitarian action for a sustainable protection child with disability and rehabilitation-social system in Ukraine. The project is implemented with the support of partners Caritas Italiana and Secours Catholique - Caritas France.

The tragedy of the war we are living through forces us as a society to focus on the most acute situations and to reach out to those who have suffered losses, been injured because of hostilities, and faced disaster in the most dramatic way. And under the pressure of reality, many socially important issues are receded into the background.

The issues of support and rehabilitation for children and adults with disabilities, as well as their parents, the protection of their rights, and their full integration into society, have long been pressing topics for our country. The Religious Mission "Caritas-Spes Ukraine" consciously focuses on these problems in its activities.

Taisiia Kryvenko, project manager of Step Forward Project:

"The work of the Religious Mission in this direction has been strengthened by the Step Forward Project, which aims to implement a comprehensive approach to supporting families with children and youth with disabilities.

This year, the first activity of the project involved mobile groups of interdisciplinary team, which worked in Zhytomyr, Berdychiv, and Korosten from February to May. Now, specially designed rehabilitation programs are starting at our centre 'Nadiya'."

However, strength lies in unity. It ensures the systematic nature of changes and their effective implementation. Therefore, Step Forward Project aims not only to fulfil the tasks of providing quality rehabilitation services but also to unite a wide circle of like-minded individuals around it.

To establish cooperation with communities representing families with children and youth with disabilities, the project team held an online meeting attended by representatives of eight NGOs from Kryvyi Rih, Uman, Poltava, Lutsk, Kyiv, Korosten, Berdychiv, and Zhytomyr.

The initiative to create these organizations came from parents of children with disabilities. During the meeting, we were able to discuss the main problems, needs, and challenges faced by these families during the war.

Valentyna Bazylevych, Berdychiv, NGO 'Seeds of Hope':

"Our organization has been working since 2010, supporting all groups of disabilities. Among our members are families with children with disabilities under one year old and people with disabilities of advanced age. We take care of everyone, regardless of age or diagnosis.

I see one of the biggest problems as the extremely limited opportunity for socialization of adults with disabilities. After finishing school, these individuals usually remain outside the circle of active life, staying exclusively within their family and spending most of their time within the walls of their own home. Unfortunately, this has negative consequences for their social skills.

Therefore, when the Step Forward Project team approached us with a proposal for cooperation, we gladly accepted. Twice a month, the project's mobile groups hold sessions for children and youth with disabilities and their parents at our organization's premises. Many families from our organization participated in these sessions and now, after the conclusion of this activity, they miss it immensely."

One of the main tasks is to organize access to rehabilitation, which should be systematic and professional. Moreover, it should cover not only people with disabilities but also their parents. That is why working with parents and providing them with professional psychological assistance is an essential part of the comprehensive rehabilitation programs of Step Forward Project.

Tetiana Manuilova, Head of NGO 'Path of Good', Uman:

"Our organization assists families with children with disabilities, youth, and internally displaced persons. We implement several projects advocating for IDPs and protecting the rights of parents of children with disabilities.

Last year, several families from our organization had the opportunity to participate in the pilot rehabilitation programs of Step Forward Project by Caritas-Spes Ukraine.

Our participants were absolutely delighted: the children not only had a lot of fun and relaxed but also significantly improved their social skills thanks to the regular sessions, and the parents received much-needed psychological support. Therefore, we are very hopeful that our cooperation with Step Forward Project will strengthen this year, allowing even more children to undergo rehabilitation programs."

30 May 2024
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