Fund Ohrozenych Deti (Fund for Children in Need) is an association working all over the Czech Republic since 1990. It was originally founded as an association for helping foster families. Nowadays workers of the Fund are trying to help neglected, abused and orphaned children who miss the love of their parents. The Fund has 21 branches at the moment working within the whole country and dealing with approximately 2000 cases per year. Most of money for the Fund’s activities is raised from fellow citizens, businessmen and companies, but it also receives grants from the government.
Main activities of FOD:
- looking for new homes for children who do not have parents or who cannot stay (because of various reasons) at their homes. During the 15 years of FOD existence it has found 524 homes for those children where the state authorities were not able to find a new family themselves. FOD mediates adoption as well as foster care. In addition FOD established a new project called Klokánek, which means a little kangaroo in English and is similar to the conception of foster care in the U.K and USA
- looking after children who need help, children who are ill-treated, abused, desolated or neglected and trying to help them
- running several asylum houses for mothers or fathers with children
- providing free guidance and helping families and children in crisis
- providing financial and not only this kind of help to foster and “kangaroo families” (holidays and trips for families, summer holiday camps for children, concerts and many other events)
- helping children who are leaving children homes at the age of 18 to start independent lives
More information is available on the FOD’s website http://www.fod.cz
Belarus
Bulgaria
Czech Republic
Estonia
Hungary
Latvia
Lithuania
Macedonia
Moldova
Poland
Romania
Slovakia
Ukraine