Since 1991 FARA has been working with abandoned children and young people in Romania. The problems of Romania’s abandoned children are slowly being solved but there are still 256 large old-style institutions left where children, many of them children with disabilities, continue to live under often horrific conditions.

FARA has created viable alternatives to state institutionalisation for young people as well as alternative care for abandoned and or disabled children. They also provide education and specialist therapies for children with mental and physical disabilities who were previously denied access to any form of support and education.

FARA aims at transforming the lives of some of the most vulnerable and marginalised children and young people, some with a disability, by providing care, recovery & rehabilitation, family support, (special needs) education and staff training.

With the help of a three year commitment from the Barbara Ward Children’s Foundation, in 2011 FARA opened a new centre for children in the autism spectrum. This centre is situated in Suceava and is the first of its kind in northern Romania. The centre provides education and a number of support services (specialist communication and social skills, behavioural management, speech therapy, child development for educational purposes, sensory therapy, social playgroups, home visits and family support), ensuring that children grow to their maximum autonomy by giving them communication and social skills. Many of the 26 children had never had any form of support or education before.

Photo Caption: Centre for Children in the Autism Centre in Suceava – northern Romania