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Children with and without disabilities at an awareness-raising campaign, “Overcome your limits,” that was organized by UNICEF. Special Olympics Romania was a partner in the event. Photo courtesy of Special Olympics Romania. |
The global UNICEF-Special Olympics partnership, announced 3 October 2007 on the occasion of the Special Olympics World Summer Games in Shanghai, inspired Special Olympics Romania to take action. As a result, on 1 July 2008, the two Romania-based organizations signed an agreement of cooperation in Bucharest to implement a project: “Inclusive communities for children with developmental disabilities.”
The main objectives of the joint project are to:
- Provide health screenings and educational support to children with disabilities living in state-run institutions, and their caregivers, and to children and their families or foster families from Constanta, Cluj and Ilfov counties in order to develop healthy practices and facilitate healthy living in and outside institutions.
- Facilitate social inclusion of children with disabilities from institutions through awareness-raising activities in mainstream schools and common activities with children with and without disabilities from the local community.
The joint intervention will include the following Special Olympics components: Special Olympics Healthy Athletes®, Family Support Network, Young Athletes™ and SO Get Into It®.
"The spirit of equity and social inclusion promoted by the Convention on the Rights of the Child demands appropriate projects to empower children with disabilities and their families by their participation in society and by building self-reliance and confidence,” said Voichita Pop, Child Protection Officer, UNICEF Romania. “Therefore we are committed to the partnership with Special Olympics Romania, as the current project is one of the solutions for fulfillment of the rights of these children, to which everybody can contribute and in the same time, be rewarded.”
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