Toekomstplan Nadomak Sunca

STATUS QUO AND FUTURE PERSPECTIVES

BASIC GOALS

Children
The four families of Nadomak Sunca each receive six to eight children in care. These children receive proper education, care, therapeutic activities, security and a loving surrounding until their adulthood and until they are able to function independently. If children have the will and the possibility to follow higher education, Nadomak Sunca takes the responsibility to enable this. When the moment comes for a child to leave, the ties with the family and with Nadomak Sunca are not being cut off. Further, depending on the actual situation of the child leaving Nadomak Sunca, a "Starter Budget" will be offered to them to enable them to overcome some problems of settling down and building a life of their own (see: Fund "Starter Budgets",
page 7).

House Parents
The House Parents of every house are expected to stay with Nadomak Sunca for 10-20 years or until they reach an age unsuitable for the raising of young children, presumably somewhere in their fifties. The departing House Parents will prepare this step by naturally decreasing the amount of care children (not receiving new children when grown-up children leave) during the last years of their functioning and by helping in the search of new House Parents to take over their house. As an aid to financial security after leaving they will receive a departing pension (see: Pension Fund, page 8).

Continuity
The need for adequate foster care in Croatia as in the rest of the world is increasing. As there is no reason to believe that this tendency will change in the future, the need of programs like the one presented by Nadomak Sunca will grow. One of the tasks of the organisation is therefore to provide continuity by recruiting adequate House Parents and to aim towards more substantial governmental support.

Farm
The small ecological farm has a purpose to supply the children and co-workers with healthy food and to be one of the appropriate fields of children's activities, experiences and learning. It is mainly orientated towards the cultivation of vegetables. Besides, seven pure bread goats, two horses, and 30 chickens are held. Bees will soon arrive to accompany them.

Volunteers
Voluntary work is an essential aspect of the functioning of Nadomak Sunca. Usually four to five volunteers are present, one to help in each family and sometimes one to help on the farm. Besides from their tasks in the household, they organise activities for the children. The volunteers take part in the family life and stay for a minimum of six months up to one year. Some volunteers are Military Service Objectors from Germany or Austria. By these countries Nadomak Sunca is recognised as a place where Civil Service can be fulfilled. It is aimed that in future Nadomak Sunca will receive this recognition from the Croatian state as well.
Volunteers receive board, lodging and pocket money. For the lodging of volunteers a separate house exists.

Activities
All kinds of activities are organised for the children, most of which take place in the Hall building. Guitar, violin, piano and dancing lessons are offered. Games and sports can take place and regular artistic workshops are being offered by co-workers, volunteers or guests.
Further activities for children are horse riding (farm), gardening and sports like football, basketball or volleyball on the school playground. This playground is available every afternoon after the closing of the Oprtalj School. Some activities are open for participation by other children from Oprtalj and surrounding.

Humanitarian Organisation
One of the goals of the humanitarian organisation Nadomak Sunca is to stimulate and support professional foster care in Croatia and surrounding regions through publications, presentations and dialogues with professionals, regional- and national governmental institutions.

TARGET GROUP

The project has been set up for children who had lost their parents during the war in former Yugoslavia.
The majority of the children who found a new home within one of the Nadomak Sunca houses has indeed lost everything, including their parents - which does not mean, however that these parents have always past away. Before coming to Oprtalj, children had landed in refugee camps or large children's institutions or simply on the street after their - mostly dysfunctional - families had fallen apart because of direct and indirect effects of the (post)-war situation.
The children that now come to Nadomak Sunca are still from similar circumstances, although not any more directly related to the war.
The children usually suffer from PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), caused by a unique event which has caused severe shock and/or by a chronic negative situation (neglection, abuse) over a longer period of time.
When arriving, children are usually aged up to twelve. In some cases, older children have been admitted.
The placement procedure of all children is being processed by one of the regional Centers for Social Welfare.

LEGAL STATUS

Nadomak Sunca is an "Association" (Udruga) with the legal status of Humanitarian Organisation and was founded in 1993 in Zagreb. Its board consists of three members, President, Secretary and Treasurer, which are co-workers of Nadomak Sunca. The organisation has a minimum of ten members, which include all co-workers of Nadomak Sunca and some supportive members.
All six objects in Oprtalj (four family houses, volunteer house, hall), including their interior, are property of Nadomak Sunca. In case the organisation ceases to exist, the Municipality of Oprtalj will become the owner of the property. The Municipality will be then responsible for the continuity of the exploitation of this property for humanitarian aims similar to these of Nadomak Sunca.
The Udruga Nadomak Sunca has Annual Meetings which are open to all, where reports are given on finances and activities, future plans are presented and changes in the board or in the statutes can be appointed by vote of the present members.
The statutes of the organisation in which all these arrangements are regulated, can be obtained.
The co-workers of Nadomak Sunca are employed by the organisation. They receive an average Croatian salary and are liable to all usual governmental regulations for tax, insurance, pension etc.
The care children are placed in foster care in one of the Nadomak Sunca families under authority of one of ca. 100 existing local governmental Centers for Social Welfare. The House Parents sign the foster care contracts with the Centers and are therefore fully responsible for their safety and upbringing. This means that the organisation Nadomak Sunca is not an institution, but merely offers a structure which enables professional foster care.

CURRENT SITUATION

Since July 1994, four large houses have been renovated (now: the "Lila-", "Orange-", "Red-" and "White House") and were subsequently inhabited by families which have each welcomed six to eight children into their care. A building for activities and guests (the "Hall") has been reconstructed. A house has been obtained for the lodging of the volunteers which still needs to be renovated. An ecological farm has started going.
Until now, a total of 37 children have been received into care of which 11 have already left. 26 care children between 3 and 18 years old are presently living in Oprtalj. Together with the 12 birth children of the Nadomak Sunca co-workers this makes a total of 38. The new family in the "White House", which has just started functioning last summer (2002), has not yet reached its full capacity and therefore the number of care children shall still grow in 2003.
Children of Nadomak Sunca go to the local Primary School in Oprtalj (eight years) and to one of the secondary schools (three or four years) in Buje, some 15 km away. Most children choose one of the professional secondary schools, which means that they have usually learned a profession by the time they are eighteen years old.
At home the rhythm is very structurised. Daily routine includes healthy meals, little tasks in the household, (supported) homework making, cultural and therapeutic activities (learning musical instruments, dancing, painting, creative writing). But this still leaves plenty of time for the children to play and sport in the open air and to enjoy the beautiful nature which surrounds the little town of Oprtalj.

POLITICAL SITUATION AND SOCIAL WELFARE SYSTEM IN CROATIA

During the period between 1994 and 2000, the organisation Nadomak Sunca has experienced much opposition due to the fact that Non-governmental Organizations (NGO's) did not fit in the regime of that period. After the radical political changes in the beginning of 2000 and much positive publicity of the media, Nadomak Sunca was more and more valued, also from the side of the government. Due to very good results with the children in care, professional interest increased. Nowadays, Nadomak Sunca is being asked to present its model on national and international occasions and congresses for social work and foster care.
Because of the war situation, transition period and economical crisis, the Croatian government did, until now, not have the possibility of improving the existing social system. 65% of the children in care in Croatia live in state institutions. The existing foster care system, in which the remaining 35% is placed, is not functioning well. Recent research by the Faculty of Social Welfare in Zagreb shows that a large percentage of all children in care suffer from conditions which have a negative influence on their psychological development.
Government and professionals are aware that radical changes in the social care system can no longer be avoided. By means of its professional experience and large network, Nadomak Sunca hopes to give a positive contribution to this process, by pleading
- for a responsible decrease of the far to high percentage of children in institutional care
- for improving institutional care
- for setting up a well-founded and professional foster care system
- for not loosing the positive elements of the existing System, like the quite unique service of local Centers for Social Welfare. (The experience of Nadomak Sunca is that their multidisciplinary teams can achieve excellent professional results.)

GOVERNMENTAL CONTRIBUTION AND DONATIONS

Investments
Since Nadomak Sunca started functioning in 1994, six objects have been obtained, of which five have been reconstructed and furnished (four family houses and a hall building) and a sewage system for Oprtalj has been newly constructed. Four minibuses have been donated. For these purposes, nearly one million Euro has been invested. Sources for these investments are a range of foundations from several countries in Europe. By far the largest donors have been the Dutch foundation Kinderdorp Kuberton and the German association Hand in Hand. Detailed documentation of numbers and sources of investments are available on request.

The Foundation Kinderdorp Kuberton was founded in 1995 by members of Nadomak Sunca and has an independent board. The foundation does not possess its own capital but collects donations obtained by fundraising from private donors, charity organisations and other foundations.

Running Costs
Nearly half of the total amount for the Running Costs of the family houses (the "House Budgets", see page 7) is financed by the Croatian Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare. The remaining is donated from abroad. For this, the responsibility is divided as follows:

German foundations Hand in Hand and Zauberstäbchen - Red- and White House
Dutch foundation Kinderdorp Kuberton - Orange- and Lila House

A system exists of so called "Godparents", private donors who give monthly contributions for the Running Costs of a particular family over a longer period of time.

Other sections of the Nadomak Sunca Running Costs are the different Funds and the Running Costs for the Farm (see page 7). These costs have, up till now, always been covered by donations from abroad.

PROJECTS AND NEEDS OF THE NEAR FUTURE

Reconstruction Yellow House
The volunteer house (Yellow House) has been emptied in the summer of 2001 because of its bad condition. Since then, volunteers have been living in the guest rooms above the hall. An architectural plan and a building license, necessary for reconstruction, are already at hand. Recently, donations have been guaranteed for the first phase of reconstruction, which are planned to start in the beginning of 2003.

Shutters Lila House
The shutters for the windows of the Lila House need to be renewed in 2003.

Minibus White House
Fundraising will be necessary to obtain a minibus for the new family in the White House. The now available bus is in very bad condition. A bus is necessary for transportation of children to and from school in Buje, for activities, shopping, excursions etc. Hardly any forms of public transportation exist in the area around Oprtalj.

No Further Expansion
It has been decided by the co-workers of Nadomak Sunca not to increase the existing amount of family houses in Oprtalj for the following reasons:
- Because of the low number of inhabitants in Oprtalj, further expansion of Nadomak Sunca would obstruct integration
- With a larger amount of co-workers, the organization could no longer function as it is now; decisions could no longer be made in consensus and a professionals management would be necessary,

Intensifying Humanitarian Work
The humanitarian organisation Nadomak Sunca makes it its task, however, to continue to stimulate professional and well-funded foster care in the region and in Croatia as a whole.

In the region
Families exist who would be willing to foster three or more children on a permanent basis. To enable these families to provide the necessary care for these - usually traumatised - children, Nadomak Sunca would enable one of the parents to be a professional foster parent, by providing him/her a salary.

On the national level
Because of the expected changes of the existing system of Social Welfare in Croatia, Nadomak Sunca, in its function of Pilot Project is alert in offering alternatives in the area of Child Care. Developments within other countries in transition have shown during the last decennia, that non-governmental organisations (NGO's) have played an important role in the development of new, more humane social system. In co-operation with other NGO's, Nadomak Sunca aims towards this goal by means of
- (scientific) publications, national and international,
- forming of umbrella organisations and networks
- intensive dialogues with local and national governments
- participating in scientific research projects

Increasing Support Croatian Government
Another goal, connected to the one described above, is to work towards more substantial financial support from the Croatian government. Because of the momentary economical crises, expectations must be limited and realistic. But with the growing necessity and recognition of alternatives in child care, it is expected that the government will also increase its financial responsibility regarding these programs. By negotiating with the Ministry, Nadomak Sunca aims to receive a guarantee that within five to seven years the major part of the Runnung Costs will be financed by the Croatian government.

Development of Youth Programs
An important task to which Nadomak Sunca intends to contribute, is the stimulation of the development of youth projects in Croatia. Young people who grew up in a care situation often still need some form of support after they finish school and reach the age of eighteen. In general, support from the Centers for Social Welfare and thereby all forms of care stop abruptly at this age and a great lack exists of "follow-up" projects.

Farm
In the following years it is planned to plant different kinds of fruit trees, grapes, olives and almonds, and to increase the number of goats and bee-hives. For the purpose of protection against the wind and improvement of micro-climate, suitable kinds of shrubs and trees will be planted as well.
The production is expected to grow by installing an irrigation-system, based on the use of existing underwater. Additionally, the investment of a tractor with necessary additions will be of vital importance to achieve these goals.