Providing aid
The Liliane Foundation helps children and adolescents from 0 to 25 years of age. The younger a child is when he/she is helped, the better the prospects are for rehabilitation. Help is primarily offered to children who live at home.
Rehabilitation
Children can only fulfil their full potential if they feel safe and cherished, when they are appreciated and respected and are part of a social network and get the chance and space to develop. Children with a disability in developing countries often perceive themselves as being unworthy if these conditions are not or only partially met. Their self-confidence and self-image will diminish further and further. For the Liliane Foundation, rehabilitation starts by restoring the child’s self-perception.
Rehabilitation also entails helping a child to enhance his/her personal and social potential. Of course, elimination or reduction of the child’s physical limitations play a major role in this. This can be accomplished by surgery, paramedic treatment and aid or a combination of the above. Still, no matter how important this aspect of rehabilitation is, mostly this does not sufficiently restore a child’s damaged self-image. Nor will it improve his/her future capabilities enough. It is just as important to also allow a child to develop cognitive and social skills.
Parental role
The Liliane Foundation supports parents in taking care of their disabled child, but does not relieve them of this care. Active parental involvement during rehabilitation is essential to the child’s success. That is why parents are explicitly requested to cooperate and to give whatever money or goods they can to help towards paying for their child’s rehabilitation.
Mediators
Cooperation with mediators is an essential factor of the Liliane Foundation’s approach. These mediators consist of social workers, nurses, physical therapists and doctors and they are the ones who are in direct contact with the children and work with them. Mediators are not paid for their cooperation with the Liliane Foundation.
Because mediators are in direct contact with a child and its family, they know the child and the details of his/her circumstances. They can see for themselves what kind of help is most needed for the child to be able to deal with his/her specific environment and circumstances. Based on their own observations and in deliberation with the parents and – if possible – the child him/herself, they determine what type of help would be the most beneficial to the child.
Partner organizations
Mediators can only work with the Liliane Foundation on behalf of an NGO (Non Governmental Organization). There are three important reasons for this structure. Firstly, the Liliane Foundation values the content and financial participation of these partner organizations in providing aid. Secondly, the partner organizations are able to supervise the mediators and scrutinize the quality of their work. Finally, they can guarantee the continuity of aid by making sure mediators who leave are replaced and as soon as possible.
Local facilities
When it comes to rehabilitation, the Liliane Foundation relies heavily on local facilities in the child’s neighbourhood. Not only is this more cost efficient, it also contributes to the local economy and improves employment opportunities.
Income-Generating Projects
Whenever possible, young people with disabilities should be self-sufficient. That is why they can, under certain conditions, be considered for financing of a (small) Income-Generating Project, or IGP. The also applies to parents of children who are in need of constant care. An IGP enables them to earn an income close to home, so they can combine their job with caring for their child. An IGP can be anything from owning a small shop, a hairdresser’s salon or a workshop, but may also consist of financing the purchase of a few goats or a cow.
Basic facilities
If there is a lack of certain facilities, necessary to the child’s rehabilitation, such as an orthopaedic workshop or child day-care for the mentally challenged, our mediators can request funds for them. The guidelines for this are that such a facility must enable mediators to help more children or help children better. The basic provisions are financed with government grants and special contributions from companies and organizations.
Decentralization
Children rehabilitate better in their own environment and the success of their rehabilitation depends strongly on the extent that the rehabilitation plan is tailored to their specific needs and circumstances. This implies that the more that is done in the country where the child lives and is done by people who have a thorough understanding of the social, cultural and religion context, the more effective that aid will be. Furthermore, if the administration regarding the requests for help is done locally, the more cost and time-effective the aid process will be.
It is self-evident that decentralization of tasks is only an option if these tasks are done in an orderly fashion and in compliance with the points of departure and criteria of the Liliane Foundation. However, it is important to continue supervising from the Netherlands and to continue thinking about the best way for decentralization to be put into practice most effectively.
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