A project for independent living of young people with disabilities is being implemented in the Senno district

August 15, Vitebsk /Olga Bogacheva - BELTA/. A project for independent living of young disabled people is being implemented in the Senno district by the Bogushevsk boarding school for children with psychophysical development features. This is the first such experience in the Vitebsk region, the director of the institution, Viktor Suvorov, told a BELTA correspondent.

For four years, 12 pupils of the boarding school have been purposefully prepared for independent life: young men and women were taught self-care skills, cleaning, cooking, and performing simple agricultural work. In 2010-2011, with the support of a charitable grant from an Irish public organization for Br150 million, two houses were built and equipped for them next to the boarding school. Mixed groups of young disabled people aged 20 to 32 began to live independently in July this year.

Thus, the young people began to earn their own money by getting jobs at a local farm, and grow agricultural products on their personal plots to provide themselves with food. Independence and responsibility have given them the opportunity to feel equal to others, as well as motivation for further success, the director noted.

A Swedish charitable organization also assisted in the project implementation, allocating a grant of about Br600 million for two years. With these funds, livestock and poultry will be purchased for the project participants, woodworking equipment and other necessary items will be acquired. 

The head of the boarding school expressed confidence that the experience will be replicated in other regions of the republic. "Similar projects were implemented in the Mogilev and Gomel regions. However, there, young disabled people, having gained partial independence, remained under the full control of institutions. Employees of the Bogushevsk boarding school only patronize their pupils, helping them manage finances and household chores," Viktor Suvorov clarified.-0-