Specialist care for disabled children in Romania

7 year old Desiree lives in a small village just outside Curtea de Arges in central Romania and is one of 60 children currently attending Hand Rom, a WER-supported school which provides care and education for children who have a range of disabilities including cerebral palsy, polio and muscular dystrophy.

Desiree has difficulty speaking and was born with low muscle tone in her body. When she first came to the kindergarten class at Hand Rom School, she refused to participate in any games and was unable to feed herself. In a mainstream school, she would not receive the attention and care she needs to develop her skills, but at Hand Rom School staff are able to provide Desiree and her classmates with specialist care in physical and cognitive rehabilitation and group therapy work.

Desiree has now been attending Hand Rom School for two years and has made greater progress than her teachers could have dreamt of. Today she is able to recognize colours, letters and numbers and has proved herself to be an eager learner who loves writing, drawing - and most especially dressing up!

To protect identities, names have been changed.