Madalina came to Delia's Center at eight years old. No parents. An intellectual disability. No special education teachers to help in rural Romania. A school that expected her to keep up or drop out. Madalina is 16 now and still in school, beating the odds. We are located in Vaslui County, Romania's poorest region. We give orphaned girls with disabilities 1:1 educational tutoring, homework help, meals, speech therapy, counseling, hygiene supplies, clothes that fit. Every day, with care.
In rural, impoverished Romania, girls in foster care with intellectual disabilities face many barriers to education. There are rarely specially trained teachers. With no parent to advocate, girls don't receive school help and therapies. They are stigmatized in school. Their disability and desire to fit in makes them vulnerable to sexual exploitation. When a girl ages out of child protection without an education she faces severe risks including placement in an adult institution and homelessness.
Delia's Center has operated in Barlad since 2018. This project addresses factors unqiue to disabled girls, setting foundations for a future with opportunities. Twenty-five girls, ages 5 to 17, receive 1:1 tutoring /homework help from adults who understand how they learn. Speech therapy improves educational success. Individual and group counseling will help safeguard the girls. Proper nutrition improves wellbeing. Our Madalina is proof that this is the recipe for learning and for a path forward.
This project's long-term impact prevents disabled girls from falling into a gap of no good future options. A girl with mild or moderate intellectual or developmental disabilities may be vulnerable because she doesn't have skills to be employed, manage finances, or avoid exploitative relationships. If she can read ,write, perform basic mathematics, speak up for herself, and manage her own care she is far less likely to spend her adult life struggling in an institution or living on her own.
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