Lumos today (29 July 2010) announces that it has appointed a new interim Chief Executive to replace Dr Richard Alderslade who stands down as Chief Executive of the charity from the end of the month. Dr Alderslade is leaving to work with the Regional Office of the World Health Organisation in... more
Early in June, Hendrick Hudson High School in New York hosted a Lumos Birthday Party. Flyers were distributed in advance, “Cauldron Cakes” were baked and sold during the school day, donations for admission to the party were requested and over $150 was raised in total! Cassandra... more
25 children – along with their parents – got involved with the festivities From water balloons and a slip ‘n’ slide to a Lumos mural and a collage. Cakes were baked, guests made donations and local businesses gave gifts for the birthday raffle. Michelle, one of... more
Lumos supporter Michelle Maurice is Lighting a Birthday Candle for Lumos by holding a party on 31 st May. She and her friend Donna have invited 40 families to enjoy a fun-filled afternoon of water-themed party games, whilst raising vital funds for Lumos. Michelle says: "I decided... more
Peyton and Byrne, Oliver Peyton’s ‘very British bakery’ well-known for its delectable pastel-coloured shops and products to match, have created a special cupcake for the Light a Birthday Candle for Lumos campaign. The delicious pink cupcake with two purple leaves is... more
On International Children’s Day this year (1 June 2010), Lumos is asking people to light a birthday candle for thousands of children in large residential institutions who are unable to celebrate their birthdays. Year after year, the staff looking after children in these institutions... more
Lumos is delighted to partner with Netmums.com who are supporting our Light a Birthday Candle for Lumos campaign by asking their members to take part in a special survey about children’s birthday parties. We will use the results to highlight the stark difference between the... more
Would you like to run the Virgin London Marathon for Lumos and raise thousands of pounds to put a stop to the systematic institutionalisation of disadvantaged children? The Virgin London Marathon, which will be held on 24 April 2011, is one of the UK’s top annual events, attracting over... more
Lumos' work was highlighted in the Prague Post this week. Jacy Mayer, the English language paper's Features Editor, spoke at length to Petra Kacirkova, Lumos' Country Representative in the Czech Republic, to find out more about our work. The article focused particularly on Pardubice, the... more
On 8 April, International Roma Day will be marked by many countries around the world. It is a day used to celebrate Romani culture and raise awareness of the issues facing Roma people. Roma are the largest minority group in Europe, and there are estimated to be around 12 million Roma... more
Lumos supports the development of fostering in the Czech Republic In connection with our pilot project in the Pardubice region, and a project developed by Amalthea, we supported and prepared a five day fostering training course in London on 1-5 March 2010. Amalthea is a small NGO funded by... more
When Estera was six years old, she and her sister Delia were placed into a residential institution. Their mum was an alcoholic. Her parents had no work. As a result, all four of them moved in with their grandfather and lived together in one room. Delia, who is now 14 years old, had... more
Charity co-founded by J K Rowling reveals spellbinding new identity The Children’s High Level Group today unveils its new name and a new brand with a rallying call to put an end to the systematic institutionalisation of disadvantaged children across Central and Eastern Europe. The... more
In June 2004, J K Rowling saw a photograph in The Sunday Times that had a profound effect on her. In this article she wrote for The Sunday Times in February 2006, she explains how it sparked a passion to end the institutionalisation of children: “You asked me once,” said... more
Petr is 15 years old and lives in a residential institution in the Czech Republic. This is his story: My name is Petr. I’m 15 years old. I’ve lived here since the age of two. I’m happy here. What’s important is that I have a place to live. I enjoy everything... more
Tomas is 19 years old. A year ago, he moved out of his children’s home. He had lived in institutions since he was a baby. This is his story: My name’s Tomas and I am 19 years old. I am unemployed at the moment. I grew up in a children’s home. I stayed there until I was... more
Vaclav has lived in the insitution for seven years. Before that, he spent a week at a diagnostic centre in Prague. “I’ll turn 18 in two weeks time,” Vaclav announces, proudly. “I’m looking forward to being able to go out in the evening. And to better access to... more
Vanesa is 17 years old. She’s lived in the children’s home for about a year. It is home to 64 children, 95% of whom have family. She shares her bedroom with another girl, Irina, and has “decorated it in a girly style, with posters and pictures,” she adds.... more
Damek is 12 years old. He’s lived in the institution for ten years now. The home is situated in a small village in the middle of a forest. He shares a room with four other children, where he keeps his only possessions on the shelf above his bed. “In the morning, we get... more
Hana is 15 years old. She’s lived in two different children’s homes since she was ten. In that time, she has only been home once. Like many other girls of her age, she likes dancing and going out with her friends. She shares a room with her friend Maria. “We have... more
When we met him, Emil was living in a temporary placement centre in Chisinau, the capital of the Republic of Moldova. This is his story: My name is Emil. I was born in Chisinau in October 1992. When I was five years old, my dad used to send me to buy vodka. My mother was against it. They... more
Petru is 13 years old and has lived in an institution in Moldova for six years. His father walked out on his mother when he was a baby. He’s not heard from him since. When Petru was seven, his mother was forced to place him in an institution because of her financial circumstances.... more
The Auld Reekie Roller Girls beat Leeds in a Valentine’s Bout at Meadowbank Stadium in Edinburgh, and raised nearly £200 for Lumos. The team, lead by Moxie Emerald (all registered roller derby players have a pseudonym), won by only three points in the final minutes of play. The... more
Pardubice county has been officially nominated by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs (MOLSA) as a pilot county for the implementation of the National Action Plan, which will change the system of care for vulnerable children in the Czech Republic. We have been asked to be the main partner... more
I first met Diana Covalciuc at a summer garden party held by the British Ambassador in Moldova. A quiet and dynamic person, she manages the Hippocrates Centre in Chisinau, the capital of the country. The staff at the centre – two physiotherapists, a psychologist, speech and language... more
We have recently completed the development of a professional foster care programme for the Czech Republic. We will be partnering a local NGO, Amalthea, on training in best practices for recruiting and supporting professional foster carers. Amalthea is well known in the Czech Republic and is... more
... of Kerry Hall, coordinator of our Online & Telephone Support Service My working day begins at 8.45am. I run the Lumos Online & Telephone Support Service, providing direct support to our staff in the field who are closing down institutions, and working on other projects. As... more
Lumos warmly welcomes the announcement by the government of the Czech Republic that it has approved the National Action Plan (NAP) on reforming children’s services. We are proud to have been involved in the development of the policy document for the reform of children’s homes and... more
We have recently held a successful two day seminar in Chisinau, the capital of Moldova. The aim of the seminar was to discuss the techniques and tools used to evaluate institutionalised children. Participants at the seminar came from the multidisciplinary team in the pilot counties of... more
Rowling criticized Czech cots with iron bars and chicken wire, her foundation will now help with care This is a translation of an article that appeared in Mladá Fronta Dnes newspaper on 1 February 2010 In the beginning, there was great antipathy between the Pardubice Region and... more
For two days in December, in partnership with the World Health Organisation (WHO), we hosted a meeting of international NGOs under the banner “Better Health for Better Lives” . The meeting was part of the ongoing consultation around the development and implementation of a European... more
‘You’ve never heard of The Tales of Beedle the Bard?’ said Ron incredulously. ’You’re kidding, right?’ (From Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows) “Each time someone buys a copy of Beedle, whether for themselves or to give it as a gift, they will... more
How can I buy a copy? The Tales of Beedle the Bard is available to buy from most book retailers (including Amazon, Waterstone’s, Foyles and Barnes & Noble). How do these stories relate to the other Harry Potter books? The Tales of Beedle the Bard is the volume of five... more
Slowly, but surely, the lives of children in institutions are beginning to change in the Czech Republic. During the communist era, there were numerous large institutions in the country, where children with disabilities, and others who were considered ‘different’, were hidden away.... more
I travelled to Moldova in September 2009 to visit two of the institutions that are to be closed as part of the pilot deinstitutionalisation projects agreed by the Moldovan government. Before visiting the institution I met with council officials at in the municipal offices in Ialoveni. Lead by... more
Jarek is 15 years old. He has three brothers – two are older than him; the other is twelve years old. “We have normal relationships,” he says, “just like any other brothers, I guess. I don’t have problems with them. I talk just about anything with them. We... more
Klara is 21 and lives in a subsidised flat in Prague. She spent most of her life in a children’s institution, and is now supporting herself while she studies. This is her story: My name is Klara. I’m 21. When I came to Prague, the first month or two were terrible for me. I... more
Our Online and Telephone Support Service ( OTSS ) provides direct support to our teams on the ground, as they carry out deinstitutionalisation and reform projects across Central and Eastern Europe. It gives them immediate access to a wealth of information, including online tutorials, expert... more
20 November 2009 marked the 20th anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The convention informs all our work: it is the bedrock on which we base our work in helping children have childhoods. The Convention is an international statement of the civil,... more
On 9 November 2009, celebrations across Europe marked the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the trigger for a series of revolutions that signaled the end of communism in Europe. While some were relatively peaceful, the revolution in Romania culminated in the execution of President... more
“I welcome the result of the Expert Group’s work and I hope that it will become a source of inspiration for policymakers in the Member States, as well as on the European level,” stated Vladimir Spidla, the European Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal... more
Leave no child behind: that was the key message from Lumos’ Director of Operations, to representatives of national ministries, local authorities and NGOs, as well as officials from the EU attending a seminar on deinstitutionalisation in Bansko, Bulgaria. The phrase is one of Lumos’... more
The Hippocrates children's health centre in Chisinau, Moldvoa, is a medical rehabilitation centre for children with physical needs. There are two physiotherapists who work at the centre and, between them, they see eight children every day, for between two and three hours each. They told me that... more
Earlier this year, the government of the Czech Republic approved a National Action Plan for transforming the system of care for vulnerable children. One of the first institutions that will be used as a pilot case for the deinstitutionalisation process throughout the country is called Domov pod... more
Petra Helm, an ex-art student and a mother of four, was one of 2,400 people chosen to stand on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square during 2009 as part of the One and Other art exhibition developed by the artist Antony Gormley. The living sculpture project took the form of an uninterrupted... more
Our team of experts from Moldova has just finished a study visit to the UK, where they visited a number of community services for children with special needs and services who support vulnerable families. These visits have helped the team to gain an insight into the services and universal... more
Earlier this month, a group of representatives from the Czech Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs visited Oxford. The aim of this study visit, organised by Lumos, was to show how community based services and transformational change work in disability services. We hoped that the group would... more
The first thing that greets you is the smell: it is a specific stench that, unless you’ve experienced it, it’s hard to define. Imagine a combination of stale urine, boiled cabbage and fear. It is a smell that remains with you long after you leave the building. And, no matter... more
Education programmes are at the heart of our deinstitutionalisation programmes in Moldova and the Czech Republic. As part of the programme in Moldova, we will be involved in the closure of at least three residential special schools: Marculesti institution for children with learning... more
I had last been to Bulgaria in 2008 to develop an overview of the situation, build relationships and develop potential areas for our involvement in the country. This time, I was joined by other members of our team, as a result of a request from the European Commission to undertake a... more
Training for change Georgette Mulheir recently led a programme of training for more than 100 people who are responsible for reforming social care across the Czech Republic. The country is about to embark on an ambitious programme of deinstitutionalisation and Georgette was asked to speak... more
After completing the final book in the Harry Potter series, J K Rowling wanted to give a special gift to the people who had been most closely associated with Harry. She decided to produce seven individual copies of a volume of wizarding fairy-tales called The Tales of Beedle the Bard. Each... more
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Damek is 12 years old. He’s lived in the institution for ten years now. The home is situated in a small village in the middle of a forest. He...
‘You’ve never heard of The Tales of Beedle the Bard?’ said Ron incredulously. ’You’re kidding, right?’ (From Harry...
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Registered charity number: 1112575 | Registered office: 12-14 Berry Street, London, EC1V 0AU, United Kingdom
