Montenegrin singer Sergej Cetkovic promotes fostering in Niksic
Fostering care promotion in Niksic
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NIKSIC, 26 April 2016 - Within the Every Child Needs a Family campaign, implemented by UNICEF and the Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare with the support of the EU,, the Centre for social welfare in Niksic organized an open day dedicated to fostering.
A foster parent from Niksic, Rajka Dimitrijevic, shared her experience about welcoming three children at her home.
“My experience is priceless treasure that money cannot buy. I have embarked on this journey with great pleasure, and I speak of it with pride and dignity. I already have adopted a child, while two more children currently stays with me and my family. I have never separated them from my own children, and have equally enjoined in their every spoken word, sincere smile and eaten meal. All the effort invested by me and my family made those children be happy and grow exactly as they should,“ Dimitrijevic said.
Famous Montenegrin singer Sergej Cetkovic invited citizens to become foster parents.
No matter how good conditions are at children’s homes, it just cannot measure up with the warmth of the family environment. That is the message of today’s event. Each of us should do whatever it is in our power to enable these kids to have much better childhood. My message to all the citizens of Montenegro is very simple and human - enable all children to grow carefree, filled with parental love and attention. Apply to the nearest Centre for Social Work and become a foster parent.
Within a foster family, a child grows, develops and lives in an environment quite similar to the one of a biological family. This is much better for the child development than the placement in an institution. For this reason, Montenegro is committed to completely eradicating institutional care of children under 3 by 2017.
We now know, through 50 years of global research on child development, that children placed in large scale institutions in early childhood suffer devastating psychological, emotional and cognitive developmental delays. These children can only recover from this in the care of a loving family. Children under three should never be placed in large scale institutions.
The first priority for Montenegro’s authorities and UNICEF is to improve, strengthen and increase family support services to keep biological families together as a first course of action for children. For children who cannot stay with their own families, Montenegro will need to expand foster care services and this is why the Every Child Needs a Family campaign has a focus on recruitment of prospective foster parents.
