House Of Roses

I've just had a lovely update from Linda, telling us how things are going for the 4 youngsters living at the House Of Roses:

Activities in House of Roses are based around trying to build up the residents confidence and self esteem. The aim is to encourage independence and for them to live as normal a life as possible. For many years in Romania people with disabilities were hidden away, and confined to institutions. It is important that people with learning disabilities are seen in public and accepted as valued members of society.

The four young people frequently go into the town and it is important that they know how to behave appropriately in public and they have many activities that require this. They regularly attend church (a service in Romania can often be 2 hours or longer), they have occasional outings to cafes where they are always polite and well mannered, they take it in turns to help with the shopping, they are learning to use public transport and they often visit the local park.

At home the youngsters have a rota and carry out most of the routine household cleaning tasks independently eg. washing and drying up, cleaning the house, doing the laundry, laying the table, feeding and cleaning out the animals. Other tasks, such as ironing and cooking still require supervision. The girls have learnt to prepare a couple of simple meals independently. The boys help with peeling vegetables and other kitchen tasks but cannot be left without supervision.

Their days are also filled up with a wide variety of craft activities, music and movement, simple mathematics and just having fun eg. sledging and playing in the snow. The girls have twice been invited to a local hairdressers for a free treat of a hair cut.

Humanity at Heart supports House of Roses with a donation towards the salaries of 2 of the care workers. Robert, one of these carers will sadly be leaving in April. He has been wonderful at helping the young people settle in to their new lives and will be greatly missed. It is also possible that his departure will cause some disruption as the youngsters have to adapt to someone new.

The project is proving to be a great success. Our youngsters are now known to many people living in the town and they are regularly greeted warmly by passers by.  This in itself is a great step forward.