Bucharest, Romania (NGO Fundatia Copiii Nostri)

Beneficiaries:
20 at-risk pre-school aged children and their families and 15 primary aged children. All families are severely impoverished and socially marginalized, which places the children at great risk of abandonment.

The Toy House is a community-based educational childcare facility and a family resource center. Targeting at-risk families confronting problems related to poverty, drug abuse, violence, and unemployment, its objectives are to 1) prevent abuse, neglect and abandonment of children through education and social support of their parents, and 2) provide a safe, stimulating environment to children who otherwise would be unable to attend school due to economic problems and general family dysfunction.

In addition to the wonderful, child-centered educational program, all children receive two nutritious meals each day and transportation to and from the Toy House. An after-school program for older siblings provides a hot meal, tutoring, and a safe place to study or relax.

Making home visits to each family, a social worker helps parents access community resources and solve problems. Evening classes not only help parents understand child development and their responsibilities as parents, but also provide them with a vital support group and put an end to social isolation.

In 2002, Fundatia Copiii Nostri won a grant award from the U.S. Agency for International Development to replicate the Toy House project in two counties near Bucharest. In 2003 the Toy House project was selected as Best Practice in the Day Center/Young Children category of a national competition sponsored by USAID and ProChild. A 2004 grant replicated the Toy House parent education program in 8 rural towns. In 2005, the Ministry of Education adopted Fundatia Copiii Nostri’s Parent Education Program for implementation in every county in Romania. The program, which trains teachers across Romania in parent education, will improve family stability and decrease the risk of abuse and abandonment of young children.