Navrat: Lets find every child in Slovakia a family

Dear friends,

thank you very very much. Your gifts help abandoned children, who were born and their parents were unable or unwilling to take care of them. They were placed into institutional care. In addition, they are not ”desirable enough“ to be adopted or placed into foster care: they are an ethnic minority (Romani children), disabled, have a chronic disease, have multiple siblings, etc.

There is a danger that they will spend their entire childhood in an institution, without a family which could give them hope for brighter future.

 We create and update a database of disadvantaged abandoned children, who are not successfully being placed in families by the state. We actively seek families for these children, families who are able and willing to care for these children, in spite of their disadvantaged status. We increase the chances of a happy match for the child and the family by being aware of the history and medical needs of the child and by knowing the capacity and needs of the family.

In specific cases, we try to cooperate with the child’s birth family so that they can support the child to their full capacity – at least by providing regular and meaningful contact.

 In the previous quarter of the year 2014 (April-June) we used the money gained in the project to continue in the Filial therapy (therapy using the roleplay of the parent with a child) with new substitute families.

We trained:

• a group of 5 substitute parents with their children (5 of them) in Bratislava
• and a group of 5 substitute parents with the preschool aged children (6 of them) in Zilina.

In the next quarter (August-October 2014) we will train:

• a group of Filial therapy for 3-4 parents with preschool aged children in foster care or adoption in Bratislava
• 2 individual Filial trainings and a group training for 3 substitute parents with children in Zilina.

Experience: Parents who passed the training communicate enhancing of the relationship with the children, understanding the children and it’s needs and diminishing of the negative symptomatic behavior.

 We will continue in the training of Touch therapy with new substitute parents in all 4 centres of Navrat (Bratislava, Zilina, Banska Bystrica and Presov) according to the diagnosed needs of adopted or foster children in our care.