Places to live, work and learn
In countries like Georgia and Ghana, people with disabilities receive little support. Please help with your donation to maintain the therapeutic educational and social facilities, and thus important pioneering places of life and encounter.
Self-determination and respectful cooperation
The rights of people with disabilities vary greatly from country to country. The social assistance programmes available in many countries are often insufficient, so people with disabilities are particularly at risk of poverty. They and their family members are usually unable to make financial contributions to therapeutic education or social therapy facilities. It is important that the facilities are built and run with expertise and a lot of dedication. In addition to the personal commitment of the people working there, financial support is, therefore, essential. In the following piece, we would like to introduce you to the facilities in Georgia, Ghana and Latvia where people with disabilities live, work and learn. They are places of joy, appreciation and mutual support. And they are all in urgent need of donations to continue their important work.
Georgia: Places to live for all
In Georgia, there is still no adequate infrastructure for people with disabilities. State aid for those affected and also for the institutions in which they live or work, is almost non-existent. Therefore, the therapeutic education and social therapy facilities in Georgia are also dependent on donations for survival. More than 30 people with disabilities live and work in the model social therapy facility Qedeli in Sighnaghi. Approximately 50% of the annual costs are covered by government subsidies. Their small farm, the workshops and a café generate income but this only covers a small part of the running costs. For many years, a major donor supported this special place, but after his death last year, the institution is existentially dependent on new donors to raise the annual deficit of 70,000 €. With concerts, a photo exhibition and political activities, the Qedeli community makes an important contribution to making visible people with disabilities, and to improving their situation in the country.
The therapeutic Michael School in Tbilisi was founded in the early 1990s. It is the only therapeutic education school in Georgia! As at all other schools, the Ministry of Education pays a per capita flat rate, which leads to far too little income, due to the smaller classes and the much higher supervision ratio in a therapeutic education school. Therefore, much smaller amounts are available for the teachers' salaries at the Michael School, which do not even cover the basic level of subsistence. For many years, the Friends of Waldorf Education has supported them through salary subsidies. There is a great danger that the dedicated teachers, who are very devoted to the children, are forced to work elsewhere in order to earn enough money for their living. Inflation, which is also omnipresent in Georgia, further aggravates the situation, so that the school is repeatedly threatened with closure despite all the efforts made. Closure would not only be a catastrophe for the current students, but also for many alumni who are very attached to their school and make themselves useful wherever they can - in the garden, in the kitchen, or with cleaning work. In order to be able to pay the teachers an absolutely necessary minimum salary, the school is still lacking at least €15,000 for the current year and €45,000 for next year.
With your help, we can succeed in maintaining therapeutic education and social therapy facilities in Georgia.
Ghana: Workshops for the young people of the Cosmos Center
The Cosmos Center in Dormaa has been in existence for over 20 years. 22 children and young people with severe disabilities are cared for and educated. Only one of the children can walk independently, Some of the children live at the centre. They feel comfortable at the Cosmos Center and the question becomes more and more urgent: What happens to the young people when they finish school? The Cosmos Center team has long wished that the "big ones" could pursue meaningful employment and, for example, work as craftsmen in their own workshops. Until now, the centre has lacked the space for this. Now - after a few detours - the property directly opposite has been acquired. Where there used to be a rubbish dump, workshops and accommodation are now being built. With the space gained, the Cosmos Centre can finally accommodate more children. Donations of €25,000 are urgently needed for the construction of the new buildings and for additional staff to look after the children and young people.
Latvia: Reconstruction after severe fire
Camphill Rožkalni was founded in 1999 by the couple Vilnis and Inga Neimanis. With the help of friends, some volunteers and later, a group of young adults who had grown up in a Latvian orphanage, the former family home soon became a lively village for people with special needs. Products produced by their small farm and in various workshops are used for their own consumption or sold at weekly markets in the surrounding area. A paper workshop also produces lesson books for Waldorf schools, and notebooks. The buildings of the Camphill facility were constructed with many ecological aspects in mind, including the main house, which was built shortly after the foundation and insulated with clay and straw.
More than 20 years later, a great disaster occurred. On Whitsun 2023, sparks first caused the roof to catch fire. Due to the unusually strong wind on that day, the fire quickly spread to the entire roof truss and the upper floor. Fortunately, no one was injured in the fire, but 13 residents of the building were left homeless and lost all their belongings. Some could be accommodated in the neighbourhood for the time being, while others are living temporarily in a Camphill in Norway. The Rožkalni community hopes that as many as possible will be able to move into a modular house that can be built quickly in the autumn. This construction is estimated to cost €302,000. The insurance money will finance about two thirds of the costs for the new construction of the main house, which is planned for 2024. The Camphill facility is in urgent need of donations.