Samara Down Syndrome association
Start date: Jun 17, 2014,
End date: Dec 16, 2015
PROJECT
FINISHED
The project is a partnership between GENTES from Spain, Samara regional non-governmental organization Down Syndrome Association and Center of voluntary movement Lastochki from Russian Federation, to develop Youth in Action program, actually a Key Action 1 about Learning Mobility of Individuals project from Erasmus+ program (up to 12 months).
Down syndrome association was the first organization in Samara to start lobbying rights of children with Down syndrome. And it was one of the first to start promoting inclusive education. The specialists of the organization have many years of experience working with disabled children and organizing activities for them. The kindergarten number 325 is the only kindergarten which closely cooperated with the association and the only kindergarten which hosts children with Down syndrome.
Lastochki has been working with international volunteers since 1997 and has been in partnership with Down syndrome association since its foundation in 2003. Thanks to this cooperation lots of international volunteers have had the opportunity to participate in this wonderful project and to see the realities of disabled children in Russia.
In Russia the diagnosis “Syndrome Down” turns out to be a verdict which leads to the loss of parents in most of the cases. Nine of ten families reject their children immediately. And only five of these nine live more than one year. Only 10% of children with the Down syndrome live in families. The rest of them are grown up and educated in orphanages. Some of the families did not want to put up with this situation and decided to establish a public organization of parents and dialectologists. The mission of this organization is to defend and realize the rights of the disabled guaranteed by the Constitution of the Russian Federation.
The society “Down syndrome” has a kindergarten where the volunteer worked. The staff of the kindergarten consists of 40 people. Nineteen of these forty are pedagogues. The volunteer worked together with the workers of the kindergarten. The target group of the kindergarten are children with and without Down syndrome. The volunteer was mostly involved in the work with the little children. He helped to look after the children during meals, outdoors activities, and sleep. Then he assisted to the staff doing technical things like cleaning, putting the toys in order, assisted during classes of reading, handicrafts and music.
The objectives: to develop skills of the volunteer in assistance to disabled people, to help disabled children in the process of integration, to develop solidarity and promote tolerance among young people through exploring the culture of the hosting country and better understanding your own culture.
Main themes for the Activities - social inclusion, disability.
The project:
• promotes young people’s active citizenship in general and their European citizenship in particular;
• develops solidarity and promote tolerance among young people, in particular in order to foster social cohesion in the European Union;
• fosters mutual understanding between young people in different countries.
The duration of participant’s project was 12 months.
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