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Constanta, Romania (NGO Fundatia Morning Glory House)
Beneficiaries:
24 orphaned and abandoned children, mostly HIV positive, who
range in age from three to eighteen years.
Fundatia Morning Glory House (MGH), founded in 1991, provides
a home model alternative to traditional institutional care,
primarily serving the needs of HIV positive children who were
abandoned in orphanages and hospitals across Romania. MGH now
manages four different homes that provide family-style care:
Casa Speranta, Casa Rebecca, Casa Valentina, and Casa Adolescentul.
In Casa Speranta, trained Romanian women serve as mother figures
to small “family” groups of children living in separate
apartments. The children supported in this program, once known
as the “irrecuperables” in Romania, now thrive emotionally
and physically in a world that has restored dignity and love
to their lives.
The youngsters experience normal family life and participate
fully in community activities. They live in stable family units
with their “siblings” and two mamas who rotate their
time within the family. The mothers are passionately committed
to the well being of their children, encouraging them to reach
their maximum potential and live normal lives. Children who
are physically and emotionally stable attend public school,
while those with special needs attend an on-site Montessori
kindergarten. Medical care and treatment is provided at home
through a collaboration between Romanian health services and
private non-profit medical sectors.
A new home purchased by LIFT THE CHILDREN in 2003 now houses
older teenage girls as they transition into independent lives
in the community. It is Romania’s first transitional home
for HIV+ youth.
In 2003 MGH’s Casa Speranta received a Best Practice award
in the Long Term Residential Care / Home Model category in a
national competition sponsored by the U.S. Agency for International
Development and ProChild. In 2005, Fundatia Morning Glory House
continued its tradition of training visitors by hosting Ukrainian
social workers who wished to learn more about the new transitional
home for older youth.
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