![]() ![]() Today that figure has fallen by more than 90% to less than 7,200. When we began work there in 1998, over 100,000 children were confined to institutions. Hope and Homes for Children has played a fundamental part in driving the process of child protection reform in Romania over the last 20 years. Viewers are reminded of the horror of the Ceausescu-era orphanages that were discovered after the fall of the dictator in 1989 and goes on to explain how the majority of the county’s orphanages have now been closed by ensuring that children can grow up in family-based care instead. ‘The End of Orphanages?’ focuses on the transformation that’s taken place in Romania’s child protection system in recent decades. Hope and Homes for Children’s work in Romania is central to a hard-hitting new film, released today by The Economist.Īvailable here. Posted in abandonat, Romanian government, Romanian history Tagged abandoned, Behind the Iron Curtain, child abuse, Communist Crimes, Corruption, Institution, orphanage Leave a comment Alex Kuch How International Adoption Changed My Life The list of those being prosecuted for the deaths is classified. There is testimony of children suffering from frostbite, of children literally being eaten by rats, being kept in cages or being smeared in their own faeces. Seventy percent of the registered deaths were from pneumonia. Investigators from the Institute picked three to investigate and found shocking mortality levels amongst the children. Across the country, there were twenty-six institutions for category three disabled children. At the age of three, disabled children would be sorted into three categories curable, partially curable and incurable. The most horrific abuses took place in orphanages for disabled children, who were taken away from their families and institutionalised. Many of the children in the orphanages were abandoned by parents too poor to look after them. The country’s orphanages began to fill up from the late 1960’s when the State decided to battle a demographic crisis by banning abortion and removing contraception from sale. Disabled children received the worst treatment. Orphans share a bed in Stefan Nicolau hospital Bucharest, Romania 1990. It is a book that is equal parts relatable and eye-opening, at times confronting, but ultimately showcases a woman’s incredible determination and love for her child.Ĭopies are available to borrow or purchase from the following sites ĭunedin Public Library, New Zealand, Heritage Room Collection. ![]() ![]() With incredible honesty, Adele shares her lifetime with Endometriosis and the resulting surgeries, her amazing first daughter, Melannie and the desire for Melannie to have a sister- leading to the decision to adopt and a difficult trip to Romania to meet baby Natasha and bring her home. Orphan advocacy and child welfare in Romania Community facebook page Ī heartfelt autobiographical work, The Promise I Kept chronicles the journey to adopting a child from post cold-war Romania. Toni Tingle, Mereo Books, an imprint of Memoirs Publishing, Gloucestershire, U.K The Promise I Kept is Adele’s story of her nightmare journey halfway around the world to find and adopt a baby, to negotiate her way through the barriers created by red-tape and corrupt officialdom, and finally to carry her tiny new daughter safely home to a life where she could be properly loved and cared for. The misguided policies of the recently deposed Ceausescu government on family planning had led to the birth of an estimated 100,000 unwanted babies in that country. In 1991, unable to have a second child because of a medical problem and struggling to cope in a failing marriage, New Zealander, Adele Rickerby, decided to take her future in her hands by adopting a child from Romania. Newly updated for 2020, This revised and updated book documents Adele’s experiences with her daughter since the book was first published in 2013, and Adele’s ongoing involvement in highlighting the plight of Orphans in Romania. ![]()
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