Flowers in bloom: support 40 abused kids, Ethiopia

“Durante la riabilitazione cambiano, ed è una cosa incredibile. Vediamo i loro progressi e il loro sviluppo nel tempo, diventano felici, attivi, collaborativi con i loro amici. Ci prendiamo cura di loro e loro migliorano, sono completamente riabilitati, e questa è una cosa molto positiva ”. Matha Tsegaye conselor.

Le attività sono state fortemente influenzate dalla diffusione del COVID-19, anche in Etiopia: alcune di esse non sono state implementate o ridimensionate per garantire a tutti i bambini, alle loro famiglie, al personale, il rispetto degli anti -normative covide. Per un periodo di tempo limitato non è stato possibile accogliere nuovi ospiti nella casa adottiva. Successivamente ogni bambino non ricoverato potrà trascorrere 20 giorni in un centro di isolamento dove ha effettuato il tampone sierologico, prima di unirsi a quelli già ospitati. All'interno della casa familiare, il personale lavora rispettando la distanza, indossando le maschere e lavandosi frequentemente le mani.

In the foster home, children victims of violence and under risk of a second abuse, can find a safe place in which they can receive protection and immediate care.
From January to June 2020, 32 children have been admitted in the foster home, where they have received protection, clothes, food and health kits.

They are even taken to the hospital, where they can receive necessary medical treatments. Together to the medical chek-up even the exam to determine the age (MRI test) is required from the tribunal to examine the situation.

Each of the two foster home has been designed to host 12 children, but unfortunately, the consequence of the high number of requests is that there are more then envisaged.

From January to March, 10 children have been accompanied to their legal appointment. This represents a very important step, so that their cases could be finalized and, if they have restored their psycho-physical conditions, could arrive at the reunion.

For the closure of the courts for the COVID-19, many meetings were postponed; from June, with the resumption of legal trials, 3 boys and girls were accompanied to give their testimony. From January to June, the staff was able to facilitate the reunion of 21 boys and girls with their families and in society.

The foster children are also supported in the study and in the school reintegration, there is a home teacher; therefore, upon their arrival in the family home, the children also receive pens, notebooks, and books.
The help of the teacher is essential to give them back the feeling of "normality", encourage socialization and interaction with other boys and girls, and prepare them for a return to more serene class. Also, the celebration of the traditional anniversaries, for example Christmas and the Ethiopian New Year, helps them to relax and to feel less the lack of home.

At the counseling center minors who have been admitted to the project can receive psycho-social support, thus initiating a path of rehabilitation and reworking of what immediately.

In the first 6 months of 2020, 43 individual sessions were held; meetings were also organized with 5 parents, to inform them about the psychophysical health of their children and how to take care of them at their best. The IFSO staff then visited the families to better understand their housing, infrastructure, and socio-economic situation, in order to increase the effectiveness of psychological support.
There were also 6 group sessions within the foster homes, during which the children and all the staff were also able to receive a training dedicated to anti-counterfeiting standards as well as addressing together different issues related to psycho-social discomfort.

La maggior parte dei bambini e degli adolescenti del progetto “Fiori in fiore” migliora ogni giorno la propria salute fisica e psicologica, grazie a un sistema integrato di cura e accoglienza.