The new multifunctional support centre “Cimdins” is located in the Baltic seaport city of Ventspilts on the west coast of Latvia. The centre will ensure access to social and medical rehabilitation services for the region’s 300 children and youth with special needs and their families.
Volunteer work rewarded
Centre Director Ieva Samite had witnessed first hand the need for better suited premises to help the local children. At one point, she even made room in her own flat for a small support centre. In addition, the local church offered one of its rooms for group activities.
Since its opening in November 2010, at least 20 children have been coming to the centre every day, often reaching the maximum capacity of 27 children. At the centre, the families can receive psychologist consultations, and to a limited extent also medical services for their children. The centre also serves as a point for information exchange, where more experienced parents can give good advice and words of encouragement to parents facing similar challenges.
From the left: Ambassador Jan Grevstad, director of the support centre Ms. Ieva Samite, representative from the Latvia Children Fund Ms. Veronika Lemesevska
Funding ensures stability
One of the most telling examples of the importance of the centre’s services, is the feedback from two local families who are now able to keep their children in care at home instead of placing these two children in social care institutions.
“Cimdins” is also looking into possibilities of adding a rehabilitation programme for children with cerebral palsy to its list of services. There is a great necessity for this treatment in Latvia – at the moment families often have to wait 1.5 years to benefit from a 10 days’ rehabilitation course.
The City Council is committed to cover salaries and running costs of the centre, ensuring a certain level of stability for the centre’s future activity. Considering that services for disabled children in Latvia are underdeveloped, the EEA and Norway Grants contribution to this sector has been indispensable in the Ventpils region.
Photos: Norwegian Embassy in Riga
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Tactile stimulation, taught by an NGO supported by the EEA and Norway Grants, brings Latvian parents closer to connecting with their disabled children.