We never know what presents we receive on our birthday – something long-awaited and useful or just a useless knickknack. We anticipate gifts without knowing what exactly we receive.
The families of children with special needs live from one little success to another; every day is a struggle. You put forth your best efforts for your child and your love grows even stronger. In your eyes, your child is the best, no matter healthy or sick. You keep asking yourself “Why me?” and you realize that this is your responsible mission – not someone else’s – so, you will certainly achieve it.
The work with families and children has always been one of the main activities under the UWCF’s program “Let’s Improve Children’s Lives”. The program goals are the following: creating conditions for cohesion of families with a special needs child; establishing a conductive dialog; minimizing the problems of social loneliness; enhancing social contacts and the target group activity. The solution to the given problems lies first and foremost in engaging the target group representatives in the communication process. Experience of foreign countries shows that social interaction and psychological support are the key factors in maintaining the mental health of family members. Besides, no less important is to create a supportive environment between the families of children totally or partially confined to bed.
The UWCF representative in Avdiivka city received a request from parents to find and buy a proper baby walker for their little girl, which will improve her life. The device would be highly appreciated by the family, as the child will be able to move herself around the apartment, to stand, to turn, to look around, to walk, and thus strengthening her muscles. Having more visual information will help the girl speed-up physical development and overcome her obstacles.
Today the life of parents of cerebral palsy child is impossible without various devices, which make life better for the child and easier for the parents. Unfortunately, such devices are very expensive…
The UWCF team was able to confirm that fact while browsing catalogues and consulting with specialists. There is a wide range of devices and all of them have sky-high price for a family where only the father is working. Thus, the parents, despite their best efforts, cannot afford to buy a walker, because apart from various devices, they also need money for medicine, clothes, food, etc…
A child who has never experienced other body positions than in bed, in a wheel chair and in parents’ arms, has nothing in common with a child who has just felt hard floor under her feet and stood upright for a while without support.
A baby walker, which is a simple and somewhat primitive, but ingenious, device, has been chosen and handed over to the little princess from Donbas.
Grow up and win, our princess!
The family with the UWCF team express sincere gratitude to everyone in the group chat “Yizhachok” (“Hedgehog”) who helped with advising and searching for a baby walker.