We support Raná péče Ostrava

Early care is a social service for families into which a child with a serious disability is born. Advisors from Raná péče travel to families with children who have a visual impairment or whose visual perception is at risk of impaired development, coming straight to their homes and helping the families cope with this demanding situation in their own environment. The early care service is available throughout the entire Moravian-Silesian Region and is provided to families free of charge.

„Once you have dug your way out of all the practical matters, you are still left with heavy and painful thoughts that there is no time to discuss with doctors, no desire to discuss with friends and no strength to discuss with your nearest and dearest (yes, it hurts them too). This is where it is wonderful to have an early care advisor come to your home who knows your child, understands what you are talking about, will not wave diagnoses and textbook prognoses in front of you, but will not pretend that there is no problem at all, that the little one is clever, just like their grandmother. And for that chance of understanding and honest sharing, our thanks go to the early care advisors,“ sums up one of our client mothers.

Thanks to the financial support of Fortemix , Raná péče was able last year to support 100 families from all corners of our region who care for a child with a visual impairment or a combined disability. Five of our field workers, early care advisors, travelled to families right in their homes and, in the child’s safe and familiar environment, showed parents how to help their child develop, how to stimulate their visual abilities and overall development, which toys and aids to use, how to work with them and how to adapt the home environment…

At the same time they provided parents with the social counselling they needed, gave them contacts for other specialists or follow-up services, and in some cases we were also able to arrange the services of other specialists (such as a nutritional advisor, physiotherapist, psychologist or special-needs teacher) free of charge. We also organised a number of events for families (a trip to the ZOO, a St Nicholas celebration, educational events for parents…). A new addition to our offer for families received very lovely feedback – a summer day camp for families of children with disabilities. Parents greatly praised the rich programme for children and adults alike, willing volunteers helped us look after and entertain the children, and parents very much appreciated making new connections with other parents, the time to talk and to share…

Our staff continued their training, we cooperated with doctors and other healthcare professionals, and we devoted a great deal of effort to raising awareness about early care, so that parents of a child suspected of having a certain disability or a serious illness, especially in the area of visual perception, learn immediately from their doctors about the option of using the free early care service. In this respect, last year we focused in particular on educating doctors and specialists who work with the youngest children. As the Society for Early Care we organised the international EURLYAID Early Care Conference in Prague – an important gathering of specialists connected with early care, and it was a great honour for us that the conference was opened by First Lady Eva Pavlová. We managed to equip our workplace with a whole range of essential aids, toys and tests. We also worked hard in the area of fundraising and PR; in terms of media coverage last year was certainly a successful one for early care, with Česká televize filming with us several times.

All of this, and much more, we accomplished with your support. We are very grateful to have you as partners who „have our back“; you contribute greatly to every journey we make to families. Thanks to you we can ease the start in life for children born with a disability, and we can be a support to families going through a demanding period full of uncertainty, worries and stressful situations after the birth of their child. You help us ensure quality, professional support for families with children with disabilities in the Moravian-Silesian Region. Our heartfelt thanks to you! wrote the director of the Ostrava branch.

And we, in turn, thank you for your work and dedication!