It's nice to meet you!
Association of Delia's Friends has a mission to help children with a range of disabilities, including children on the autistic spectrum in Rural Romania. We focus on educational development, autism therapies, and nutrition.
A program that helps!
The Association of Delia's Friends gives children hope for a successful, independent life. Through child sponsorship, these kids receive loving, holistic care, education assistance, along with medical needs assessments.
We are looking for sponsors for the children, regular updates will be sent to sponsors on the progress of the child and we will personally take gifts, food, and clothes to them. A £10 per month sponsorship could make such a difference to the life of each of these children. Please help us to provide for a future for our children. Thank you
For an orphaned child with special needs, you have the power to offer a better tomorrow. Sponsor one of our Delia’s Friends kids today.
Spring to Action… Give the gift of sponsorship
Your tax-deductible contribution of £10 per month enables a child to attend the Delia’s Friend’s Learning Center. The Association of Delia's Friends is filling the void of needed social services for disabled young children in the Barlad community, especially those in foster care or living in an orphanage.
Miruna’s eyes sparkle and she’s always happy and smiling when she comes to Delia’s Kids Learning Center. Miruna is 12 years old and suffers from spastic cerebral palsy which affects her legs and prevents her from being able to walk. Her foster mother, whom she has been living with since she was three-years-old, is getting to retire soon. She hopes that Miruna can be re-integrated with her natural family but, if not, Miruna will likely end up in an orphanage once again.
Loss of his family and his home... in one day. This quiet, sweet-natured 7-year old boy was one of four brothers living with his mom in a village located a few hours from our Center in Barlad, Romania. One evening a fire broke out while the family was at home. One of Alex’s brothers died. The house was destroyed and with little resources, the mom had no place for the family to live. Alex and his two remaining brothers were placed temporarily in an orphanage and then separated with each sent to live with a different foster parent. Alex has not seen his mother or brothers since he left the orphanage one year ago. Alex suffers from a medical condition with one of his eyes. He has had multiple surgeries and we would like to have him evaluated by a private ophthalmologist. He has developmental disabilities affecting his ability to learn in a traditional classroom setting.
Music opens doors to learning for 7-year old Georgiana Peaking out from behind her quiet demeanor, Georgiana’s playful spirit is always ready to sing and dance. Her early childhood splintered when she and six siblings were separated from their parents and placed in foster care. Seemingly overnight, Georgiana was adjusting to life in an orphanage and then suddenly chosen by a stranger who brought her “home.” It’s been two years since she last saw any members of her family. All of her siblings were returned to their parents, but Georgiana was left behind. When singing, Georgiana becomes more self-assured and happily immerses herself. She is proud of knowing the words to songs and being able to share them. Most importantly, this ability is showing her that she is capable of learning. That, in itself, is lighting Georgiana’s path forward. We are not sure why she didn’t rejoin the family, but she has one hand that is semi-paralyzed and children with disabilities are often marginalized in the poverty-stricken area in which Georgiana was born
Mario just turned 12 years old. He lives with his grandmother and has never been to school due to his intellectual disability. He is a gentle boy who is thrilled to be learning at Delia’s Friends.
At 3 1/2 years-old, Florin is one of the most sociable children at the Delia Friend’s Learning Center. However, when it comes time for more academic activities, Florin gets tense and struggles to process information. He does not speak in full sentences and we would like to have him evaluated by a speech therapist. Our team recognizes his challenges and offers 1:1 teaching instruction at the right pace for Florin. He also has a form of cerebral palsy and has difficulty walking properly.
Four-year-old Alex has difficulty eating by himself which means he needs help and full attention when our staff serves the children a mini-meal. We take things slowly with Alex, step-by-step and we know he will succeed. Alex is autistic and we hope to have him evaluated by a speech and language pathologist who can provide exercises to gain oral motor strength. He is a warm-hearted boy ready to lift everyone’s spirits with a smile or an act of kindness.
The severity of 8-year-old Andrei’s autism diagnosis has led him to be labeled as mentally deficient by the Romanian education system. His local public school does not have teachers or therapists who are trained to work with autistic students. Although he does not speak, not a sound, Andrei has learned to communicate with others by gestures. Andrei often feels overstimulated and our teachers are able to ease his agitation by having him put on headphones that were supplied through our Delia’s Friends Autism Program. In his own way, Andrei lets us know that he enjoys coloring books and building with LEGO pieces. It is through working with Andrei, and our other autistic children, that one of our teachers requested specialized autism training so that she can be more effective in understanding the best way to teach and educate.
Gabriela is 12-years-old and has never been to school due to being nearly blind and having developmental delays. It is Gabriela’s story that brought together two of our co-founders, David Conway and Lauren Fishbach, and paved the way to their joining forces with Laura Larkin whose initial vision led to the launch of the Delia Foundation. Lauren has known Gabriela since she and her twin sister were 1-year-old and living in an orphanage. At the time, Lauren was volunteering in the community with Global Volunteers. After being returned to their parents, the twins were ultimately removed from their home due to severe neglect resulting in malnutrition, other health issues, and developmental delays. A number of years went by without any word of Gabriela and her sister. Then, a friend connected Lauren to David, who has been volunteering in the Barlad community for 30 years, coordinating medical attention for children in need of surgeries for cleft palates and other issues. Through a local doctor, David located Gabriela who was now living in a foster home with a mother, father, and older brother. A happy reunion soon took place and it was a relief to know that Gabi was living in a stable home, although she had been separated from her twin sister. At the same time, it was sad to learn that Gabriela had never been to school due to developmental disabilities and poor vision. Sadly, the government had never provided funds for medical treatment and a congenital cataract had gone untreated, resulting in near blindness in one of Gabi’s eyes. Her other eye tends to turn inward which makes it even more difficult for her to see. Gabriela travels about 40 minutes to the Delia Friend’s Learning Center. She enjoys the community of the Center and loves playing with the other girls or with dolls. Gabi’s vision difficulties are an extra hurdle to learning but our teachers continue to seek new methods of teaching adapted to her needs.
Together again at Vibrant Kids … Siblings Elena and Georgy no longer share a home. Once, they were part of a large family with seven children. Removed from their parents due to neglect, all the siblings were sent to an orphanage where they awaited foster families to take them in. The children found themselves “chosen” by different parents and soon were navigating life without their closest allies. For Elena, this meant a new mom and dad and two new sisters. Last year, her foster father passed away suddenly, leaving the family struggling financially. For George (called Georgy), now seven years old, this meant new parents and two new, much older sisters. Like five and half-year-old Elena, George is learning to adapt yet again to changes, as his foster parents are in the midst of divorcing. While George lives in Barlad, not far from the Vibrant Kids Holistic Center, Elena resides 40 minutes away. The children only saw each other sporadically; their ties to each other becoming more tenuous. Life has now taken a more positive turn as George was doing so well at Vibrant Kids that his foster family recommended our program for Elena. Our UK and U.S.-based team were there the day Elena and George saw each other for the first time at Vibrant Kids.
Ten-year old George doesn’t leave his home very often. As George is growing older, his world is becoming smaller. Born with spastic cerebral palsy that affects all of his limbs, George is unable to walk or to hold up his torso and head. When he was younger, it was not too difficult for George’s mother or father to carry him when visiting friends or family. Now, as George continues to grow, both he and his mother are frequently housebound during the week as it is not possible for her to carry him everywhere. Two bright spots of that week are Monday and Thursday mornings. On those days, George attends The Vibrant Kids Holistic Center in the small town of Barlad, Romania. At Vibrant Kids, George is part of a community of children and teachers for the first time in his life. We would like to have a wheelchair for George so that both he and his family can partake of life in Barlad. A neck corset would keep George’s neck from flopping and prevent injury. George’s mother says that the two mornings a week at Vibrant Kids have been life-changing for him. Our team is concerned that one day George will be too heavy for his mother to carry him from their home to the car and into the Center. Being able to sit up properly would open new worlds for George and ensure that Delia's Learning Center is a highlight in his life.
Ever an enthusiastic explorer, “Valee” is at risk of navigating the future with limited sight and hearing … and without the support of her two older sisters. Four-year-old Valentina, along with her two sisters and a younger brother, were removed from their family home after the girls were hospitalized, having gotten alcohol poisoning. In the rural villages surrounding the small city of Barlad, alcoholism, and poverty often go hand-in-hand. The children’s parents are both alcoholics. It seems that one day, the girls were hungry, and there was no food. A bottle of homemade alcohol with cherries floating inside must have looked especially delicious. The three girls had a meal of the cherries; all three became seriously ill. The eldest, Madelina, fell into a coma and continues to suffer from some cognitive difficulties. To keep all of the siblings out of harm’s way, they were placed in foster homes with the two oldest girls (ages 6 and 9) placed with one foster parent and Valentina and her one ½-year old younger brother, placed with a different one. These four were very lucky to be placed close to each other in Barlad, which led to all of the children attending our Vibrant Kids Holistic Center. Two days a week, the siblings get to spend time with each other. The three girls are exceptionally close; they love to play dress up and cook each other a meal in the toy kitchen. Valee especially likes to play color matching games while wearing a baker’s hat and apron. Sadly, the children are soon to be separated in a new way – the oldest girls are to be returned to their parent’s custody. Most certainly, this will be devastating for Valee whose medical condition makes it unlikely that she will be returned to her parents’ care for the foreseeable future..
Stefani once lived in a world filled with sounds... her grandmother’s goodnight whisper as she tucked her into bed, her older brother’s teasing tone, the whoosh of cars speeding past .. Hearing aides, paired with the cochlear implants, were this shy 7-year old’s means of communicating with the world around her. In one day, that world fell silent and Stefani soon stopped speaking. While on the school playground she removed her hearing aids, perhaps at a classmate’s request. Some of the children grabbed them and Stefani’s lifeline was destroyed. Growing up in a rural village about 20 km from the Vibrant Kids Holistic Center, Stefani lives with her grandmother and brother. Their home is in one of the poorest parts of the E.U. and Stefani was extraordinarily lucky to have gotten the cochlear implants. But there is no money for another set of properly fitting hearing aide that will work with her implants. Stefani has developmental disabilities, which are an additional hurdle as she copes with the loss of hearing. It’s been over a year since the hearing aides were broken and Stefani, who was once a happy child, has become withdrawn and nearly mute. No longer able to attend public school, Stefani stayed at home with her grandmother until the family learned about Delia's Friends Learning Center. Our team has sought to encourage her to participate in group activities and to engage her interest in learning.
Sociable Rares is an energetic 3-year-old who enjoys exploring new activities at our Delia’s Friends Learning Center. While a happy child, Rares’ spoken ability is often slow and he doesn’t have many words. We are unsure of whether this may be that his hearing is impacted by frequent throat and ear infections. There is concern that Rares may be autistic but he does not yet have an official diagnosis. Our goal is to offer early intervention, such as speech therapy so that Rares will be able to attend kindergarten and not be left out of the mainstream educational system.
Jiulia is 4-years-old and is the twin sister of Ovidiu. Both children are autistic and have not had any prior therapeutic services. They were recently referred by a social worker to Delia’s Friends Learning Center and travel from a rural village nearly an hour away to come to us.
11-year-old Alex P has autism and enjoys spending time doing mathematical exercises and working with puzzle-type activities. We believe that Alex has the potential to learn but that he has been overlooked due to his autism diagnosis.
Ovidiu is 4-years-old and he is the twin brother of Jiulia. Both Ovidiu and Jiulia are autistic and have not had any prior therapeutic services. The children were recently referred by a social worker to Delia’s Friends Learning Center and travel from a rural village nearly an hour away to come to us.
Eight-year-old Madalina P. is one of the children who has progressed a lot since we have met her. She has some health conditions and developmental delays. Madalina understands every activity we do together and she loves attention, so we really like spending time with her and making her smile. Madalina is a fast learner when given a chance with one-on-one instruction. She gets along well with the other girls, but around boys, she has a tendency to shyness (her foster mother thinks that she was mistreated by older children during her time spent in an orphanage waiting for somebody to foster her, so that can explain her attitude towards other children.)
Even though 7-year-old David doesn’t speak much, our teachers say he always has a great sense of humor and is well-liked by other children. He is on the autism spectrum and we are hoping to have him work with a speech and language pathologist. We believe that opening his communication pathways will be life-changing for David who wants to be sociable. David is interested in learning but at the public school, his lack of language presents a roadblock to teachers who are not equipped to work one on one or in small groups with children. He loves to build with construction games and lego but his all-time favorite is the trains.
Maria is 11-years-old and wants to learn as many things as possible! This intelligent girl has been with us at Delia’s Friends Learning Center since February 2020 and quickly won over our staff and the other children with her calm temperament and sensitivity towards others. She especially likes group activities and doesn’t let her disability get in the way of being in the thick of things. Maria has a spastic form of cerebral palsy. As she is new to our Center, we are gaining more information about her medical condition and what we might be able to do to help her.
AnaMaria is 7-years-old and she has not yet attended school. She has epilepsy and intellectual delays which has resulted in her being denied the opportunity to be in a classroom. By law, if AnaMaria reaches the age of 10 without going to school, she will never be able to attend. AnaMaria does not have a lot of self-confidence and our teachers are encouraging in showing her that it is okay to keep trying things that she finds difficult, even if she doesn’t succeed at first. AnaMaria doesn’t speak much and while she is very affectionate with our staff, she tends to be reserved and a little withdrawn with other children. We are not quite sure what in her history has led AnaMaria to shy away from other children but we hope that with time, she will warm up.
Our hope for 4-year-old Vladimir is that with early intervention, he will be able to attend a mainstream kindergarten class. He was given a diagnosis of autism and does not speak very much. Yet Vladimir is a sociable little boy and communicates with the other children despite not having formal language skills. Our team at the Delia’s Friends Learning Center says Vlad has a real “stick to it” attitude and always finishes what he is working on, never leaving it halfway completed. He especially becomes engrossed in building activities and will happily focus on his newest construction. Like many of our kids at the Center, Vlad also loves play dress up. We would like to have a speech pathologist work with Vladimir to improve his language skills.
1 ½-year-old Mario, along with his three older sisters were removed from their family home after the girls were hospitalized, having gotten alcohol poisoning. In the rural villages surrounding the small city of Barlad, alcoholism and poverty often go hand-in-hand. The children’s parents are both alcoholics. It seems that one day, the girls were hungry and there was no food. A bottle of homemade alcohol with cherries floating inside must have looked especially delicious. The three girls had a meal of the cherries; all three became seriously ill. The eldest, Madelina, fell into a coma and continues to suffer from some cognitive difficulties. To keep all of the siblings out of harm’s way, they were placed in foster homes with the two oldest girls (ages 6 and 9) placed with one foster parent and Mario and his and his 5-year old sister, placed with a different one. These four were very lucky to be placed in close proximity to each other in Barlad, which led to all of the children attending our Delia’s Friends Learning Center. While the girls have been attending the Center regularly since last year, due to his age Mario is registered to officially begin with our teachers in April. The children are all exceptionally close and have great joy in spending time with each other at our Center. Sadly, they are soon to be separated in a new way – the two oldest girls are to be returned to their parent’s custody. Mario’s young age and the fact that his health was in poor condition when he was taken from his parents, make it unlikely that he will be returned to his parent’s care in the foreseeable future.
