Family Support

Open Hands workers see many homes which are places of extreme poverty and neglect. In these tiny spaces children have grown accustomed to living without having their basic needs being met. Children suffer from a lack of food, emotional warmth and care. Many children share one small bed or sleep on the floor. Toys are non-existent. Life in such places seems bleak, offering only few joys. Limited, if any, access to water and electricity often coupled with very limited parental capability, results in these homes becoming unsanitary and neglected.

Romania remains one of the EU countries with the lowest levels of investment in education, health and social protection. - UNICEF

Working with Children and Families

Because we believe that every child has the right to a safe and loving home - we focus on working with children, not only at school, but also at home. Visiting children in their home helps us to understand and improve the conditions they live in. It also enables us to connect and work with their parents, who are vulnerable individuals themselves.

OUR MAIN FOCUS

We visit children at home to strengthen families and empower parents to break away from poverty. Below is a brief summary of what we do on a typical home visit.

BUILDING RELATIONSHIPS

Many families tell us that we have brought hope into their lives again. They have struggled for such a long time alone, with no one caring for them, that concepts of hope and trust can be difficult to grasp. A key aspect of our work therefore is patience – because building trusting relationships and being able to change old ways takes time.

ADVOCACY AND ADVICE

Many families we work with are not aware of their rights. We support them in relation to welfare issues and health care needs. We also educate families on hygiene and the overall wellbeing of their children. Some parents never received support before Open Hands came and now welcome our visits and take our advice on board gladly.

FOOD AND CLOTHING

Home visits give us the opportunity to make sure children are cared for. We provide families with material things, such as clothing, blankets and shoes. We also provide food – the amount of food provided is tailored to each family’s needs.

RENOVATING HOMES

As the homes families live in are usually overcrowded, dilapidated and unsanitary places and alternative housing of any kind is just not available, much work needs to be done in order to make existing homes properly habitable. Sometimes a new roof is needed, sometimes a home needs to be re-built in whole or part. Often windows and doors need replacing. Usually, homes need a thorough clean and fresh lick of paint. All this work and much more is done in collaboration with parents. We are supported by some local authorities on these projects and sometimes local businesses help out as well, all with one aim – to create safer and humane living conditions for children and their families.

CELEBRATING BIRTHDAYS

Every child needs to know their worth. Many children we work with do not even know when their birthday is, let alone ever having experienced the enjoyment and fun of celebrating one before. We want them to know how precious they are – this is why we celebrate each birthday with them. Every child receives a beautiful cake and a gift for their special day.

SUPPORT OUR FAMILIES

Family Support means that we visit children and families at home. By supporting this work, you enable us to improve dire living conditions and allow us to provide food, advocacy and advise to families in poverty.

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