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FAMILIES FOR
ALL CHILDREN |
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(Preventing babies being abandoned in
hospital) |
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May 2004 |
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| It's all a bit of
a dream! A lovely dream come true! On
the 1st April we moved from being the
fostering project to the prevention
project . It seemed as if all the
lengthy planning and negotiating would
never end but now it has happened. We
had a high profile signing ceremony in
February when Leaves of Hope formally
signed the contract with The Belarusian
Association for Handicapped Children.
Senior representative of the Ministries
of Education and Social Protection and
UNICEF were there to demonstrate their
support. They will eventually also sign
the contract when their lawyers are
absolutely satisfied that, after all the
innumerable re-writes, it is all right
to do so! |
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It's a deal |
We had
budgeted for a large conference
to launch the project but the
public signing with interviews
on the Belarusian National
Television and radio made that
unnecessary. We could not have
asked for anything better. They
both carried informative
features about the babies who
were abandoned and a sympathetic
approach to the Mums who felt
they had no alternative. |
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| Our biggest
challenge is to help Mums believe that
they have a choice and to make that
choice a reality by standing by them and
supporting them; making sure that they
do not feel alone. It was heart warming
to see the media hearing that message
and conveying it so convincingly. When I
think about attitudes generally towards
these Mums, which have been so negative,
and so condemning the radio and
television coverage was particularly
encouraging. |
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| In February, too,
we appointed our social workers to the
project. We had intended only making two
appointments but because we had such a
strong field (we had 53 applications!)
we appointed three people! Elena Boika
and Tatiana Pazhalava both have a lot of
experience in working with children with
special needs. Both are qualified in
psychology. Tatiana has a background in
nursing and Elena in social pedagogy
with children. Elena Bandaskaya has just
graduated but we were so impressed with
her application and her interview and
her enthusiastic understanding of what
the job is about that we just had to
appoint her too! She will be working on
a part time basis supporting her
colleagues and working on specific tasks
associated with supporting our Mums. |
| Following
their appointment Elena and
Tatiana came to West Sussex for
two weeks. We wanted to show
them how things could be
different. We arranged visits to
parents of children with special
needs. Those parents were
wonderfully honest. They
described what it was like
giving birth to a child with a
disability, their sense of
disbelief and grief, and their
huge sense of loss. |
The multi disciplinary team at
the child development centre
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| They described in
detail what they felt they needed most
at the time and talked about what they
found good about the British system and
what was awfully bad about it. It was
such a powerful way of communicating
with our workers and they were so
impressed. The fact that our system was
far from perfect was reassuring for
them. |
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| We followed that
with visits to special centres, two run
by voluntary organisations and one run
by West Sussex Social Services
Department. They talked to midwives and
doctors in our local hospitals and we
also arranged for short talks from
specialist workers. In Britain it is
hard for us to understand just how
hostile are attitudes in Belarus to
mothers who abandon. |
With Dr Zoya Kolontai at the
Celebration Reception |
Elena Boika, John Dixon,
Director of Social Services,
Steve Phoenix Chief
Executive AAW Primary Care
Trust, Tatiana Pazhalava |
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| There are no
social workers in maternity hospitals
working alongside doctors and nurses to
support them. The idea is not
acceptable. Professional boundaries are
very rigid and working together in the
interest of the child is a new idea. It
was an intensive two weeks but we
allowed plenty of time for thinking and
planning how new principles were to be
put into practice in Belarus. |
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| The fortnight was
not without relaxation either. We had a
celebratory reception in one of our
local day centres to which all our
magnificent supporters were invited. The
Director of Social Services, John Dixon,
and the Chief Executive of the Primary
Care Trust, Steve Phoenix, jointly
presented certificates, and the First
Secretary from the Belarusian Embassy in
London, Dr Zoya Kolontai, made a lovely
speech about how much the work of Leaves
of Hope is appreciated and the
importance of learning from each other. |
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| We also spent a
freezing cold day in London! The fish
and chip lunch was so appreciated! |
| The
induction fortnight finished
on 4 th April. It was
wonderfully successful. We
have made two excellent
appointments. Elena and
Tatiana are really keen,
committed, highly
knowledgeable and
enthusiastic professionals
who were able to interpret
their experiences with great
sensitivity and insight.
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Sightseeing in London |
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| They know they
would have an uphill task ahead once
back in Belarus and that there will be
disappointments but they will not give
up! |
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| They know that
for our project to be successful there
has to be a culture change. But we need
to proceed carefully and sensitively.
Our Belarusian colleagues are well
educated and proud. We need to respect
their values and their culture. But our
partners in the Ministries are committed
to change and we hope that this visit
will provide the basis on which that
change can begin. |
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Our heartfelt thanks to:
The Community Fund - our Funders;
A Trust which does not want us to
publish its name but has given us a
generous grant
to provide short term material and
financial support to help Mums keep
their babies;
Our Partners in Belarus - The Ministries
of Education and Social Protection in
Belarus, UNICEF, and the Belarusian
Association of Social Workers;
The Directors and staff in Hospital No7
and the Regional maternity Hospital in
Minsk;
Friends, colleagues, residents, parishes
and staff of West Sussex Social Services
Department;
Members of the Rowans Day Centre in
Worthing;
Coastal Enterprises based in the
Brougham Day Centre, Worthing;
Colleagues in Adur, Arun and Worthing
Primary Care Trust who have provided
technical expertise and voluntarily
managed our public relations;
And everyone else who has raised money
or provided material support and who
have all been utterly devoted to our old
project and have committed themselves to
our new one.
We thank you all. |
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