It has been less than a year since Novi Dom opened its doors in Minsk and became the first centre of its kind in Belarus to provide respite care and educational resources for children over eleven with a learning disability. The Government of Belarus has now advised all rehabilitation and correction centres in the region to provide respite care facilities based on the Novi Dom model. The Belarussian Government has also described those involved with Novi Dom as “the primary British Partner in education and special needs”.
The news has been greeted warmly by the two charities who pioneered the centre. Norwood – expert in the field of services for children with disabilities and World Jewish Relief – which works to help individuals and communities in need in Eastern Europe and Former Soviet Union, run Novi Dom together with Voluntas, a local NGO and the Belarussian Government's Ministry of Education, responsible for educating children with disabilities.
Click here to see photos from the Novi Dom Opening...
Click here to view the Official Novi Dom Opening Brochure... (please note this is a large 3Mb PDF file and may take a while to download).
Novi Dom already provides support in Minsk for over 80 families who have children with learning disabilities and offers opportunities for special education, recreation and short-term residential services. Children at the centre are looked after in a stimulating environment where they can maximise their learning and enjoy having fun.
Until the opening of Novi Dom, there had been no respite care or secondary education provided for disabled children over the age of eleven in Minsk. The lack of specialist secondary education and care support available often means that parents have to give up their jobs in order to care for their special needs children at home, or place their children into state-run orphanages because they are unable to cope. The Government’s new move to recommend that respite care facilities be made available for parents who are caring for older children, will provide vital relief to parents, children and the community.
Click here to see photos from the Novi Dom Opening...
Click here to view the Official Novi Dom Opening Brochure... (please note this is a large 3Mb PDF file and may take a while to download).
Norma Brier, Chief Executive of Norwood said: “We are delighted that the model of care that Novi Dom has provided, has already made such an impact and that the Belarussian Authorities have seen it as the way forward for child care and special education in the region. The respite service is already helping families to keep children with disabilities at home with them which is better for the child, and for the family. It will hopefully lead to a reduction and the eventual closure of the orphanages. We are indebted to the UK sponsors who have supported Novi Dom and look forward to continue working in partnership with the Belarussian Government, which has been very keen to consider new ways of supporting children with special needs and their families.”
Chief Executive of World Jewish Relief, Paul Anticoni said: “Novi Dom is a unique resource which is already having a profound effect on quality of life, not just for the children who attend, but also for their entire family. That the Belarussian Government has recognised and so actively approved of the methods we are supporting at the centre is a great step and will hopefully allow for so many others to have their lives improved in the future. Novi Dom is an important part of World Jewish Relief’s activities in Belarus which includes a significant input of Gifts in Kind from the British-Jewish community.”
Click here to see photos from the Novi Dom Opening...
Click here to view the Official Novi Dom Opening Brochure... (please note this is a large 3Mb PDF file and may take a while to download).
For further information please contact:
· Naomi Creeger, Public Relations Manager at Norwood on 020 8420 6900 or email naomi.creeger@norwood.org.uk
· Jo Rosenblatt, World Jewish Relief on 020 7383 3623 or email jrosenblatt@theproffice.com
