"Miorita" Pilot Centre

A home and a farm for young people with disabilities

The Ungureni Orphanage Trust (UOT) is an NGO financed by the British charity. The Ungureni Trust (UT) with legal status in Romania. Its aim is to support, care and educate children and young adults in need.

From September 1990 until November 2001 the UOT supported the staff and helped the young residents of the Institution in Ungureni village in Bacau County. These children all had special needs, most with learning problems but some had physical or visual disabilities. With this support improvements were made to the infrastructure of the building, educational and therapy programmes were initiated covering a broad range of activities such as sewing, weaving, and knitting, cooking and pyrogravure. In addition a small class was run for the more able children in the local school. The children with physical difficulties received physiotherapy and a small sensory room was equipped for the more handicapped children.

During this period the UOT also facilitated the transfer for more 150 children to more appropriate placements in special kindergartens, special schools and vocational schools whilst maintaining an interest in their progress.

Many of these activities were carried out in a house built by the UOT close to the Institution. In April 1999 a small farm was added to it with a garden and a few animals (pigs, hens, turkeys, ducks, rabbits and goats) and children were taught about horticulture and animal husbandry. The children gained much enjoyment from the contact with animals, plants and the land whilst developing unexpected skills and a sense of responsibility. The children who attended regularly learnt new skills and it was noticed that their behaviour improved considerably.

In February 2000, in partnership with the Institution, the house was transformed into a home for 10 children of the more able children and run like a village household. This project was called "The Shepherd" and was staffed partly from the Institution and partly by the UOT educational team. The food was cooked with the children's help from the food allocation from the orphanage but supplemented by food either from the farm or bought by UOT. With the success of " The Shepherd " project the "Miorita" project was conceived. In partnership with the Secretariat of State for People with Handicap (SSPH) a pilot project for 36 young people with special needs was planned. The UOT covered the costs of the infrastructure while the SSPH planned to pay for the operational expenditure when the young people were accommodated. Three hectares of land were purchased in the next village to Ungureni and 3 houses, each as home for 12 young people with special needs were built as well as a farm and outhouses.

An orchard was planted in October 2000 and a big vegetable garden in the Spring of 2001. The good vegetable harvest enabled food to be stored for the winter thereby supplementing their food supply.

In November 2001 the project was officially opened by Mr. Paul Ciobanelu, Secretary of State and was attended by Mrs. Mihaela Alexe, Counselor, Miss Rodica Padureanu, Chief Inspector within Bacau County Inspectorate for People with Handicap, Mr. Sorin Brasoveanu, General Director within Bacau County Child Protection Department as well as British trustees and ex volunteers together with many other friends from the Bacau region. Several of our generous sponsors also came including representatives from Hope and Homes for Children and Andre Muit from Betania and Carmen Sazbo from Flair glass.

The farm now has three pigs; a hundred hens and a couple of cows will be purchased shortly. There are also pet rabbits and dogs. Spring planting is well underway.

The 34 young people who are now living in Miorita were formerly residents in Ungureni orphanage or from placement centres under the Child Protection Department in Bacau and were recommended by the social workers from the Child Protection department and the psychologist from the Ungureni Institution. They have no families, no place to work and no alternative future other than a large adult institution.

The first 3 months were financed through a project financed by SSPH and now Miorita is a unit belonging to the Inspectorate for People with Handicap in Bacau and is financed by the Local Council in Parincea Commune. UOT will continue to support the farming activities for another 5 years until the farm becomes self sufficient.

The UOT hopes that this project, using the same funds that would be allocated for the residents in an institution, will offer a family environment with work based education. It is hoped that it will enable the rehabilitation and integration of the young residents into the rural community thereby offering them the safety of a home and a place of work for the rest of their lives.

We are grateful to all those who believed in us and made this dream come true.