Dzherelo:
“Source” for Special Needs Programs in
By
Adria Pelensky
One cannot venture to
The Dzherelo Rehabilitation
Centre opened its doors in 1993; however, this is not the beginning of this
story. Frustrated by the lack of support from not only government but also
society, parents of children with cerebral palsy living in and around Lviv created
their own support organization: the Nadiya (“Hope”) Parent’s
Association. Statistics stated that the Lviv region alone had about
two-thousand children living with infantile cerebral paralysis and one third of
them with a severe disability. The united parents in Nadiya began
planning for the future of their children.
Due to motor, psychological,
speech and intellectual disability, many of these children cannot function
independently and have limited mobility. They require constant assistance and
since these children were barred from attending any schools, parents were left
to their own devices. It is through the Nadiya Association that two
fathers of disabled children - Mykola Swarnyk and Myroslav Nykolayev - became
acquainted. The main task was to secure the rights of disabled children, and
this union soon grew into something so much more. Canadian Zenia Kushpeta
worked actively with parents in Nadiya to start a children’s
rehabilitation centre, and Dzherelo was born - a necessary resource for
future initiatives.
As community development
organically unfolded, Swarnyk, Nykolayev and Kushpeta would recruit other
sources for support. In 1993, they were joined by another Canadian, an
accomplished and experienced physiotherapist named Oksana Kunanec.
In December 1993, Dzherelo
Children’s Centre began its work on the premises of School-Kindergarten #172 in
Lviv. Two pre-school groups were established for children with motor-function
disorders and special education was finally breaking ground in
Qualified teachers and
therapists were limited, and an additional program was put in place by Kunanec.
In cooperation with the Ukrainian-Canadian program of partnership for Health
Care, a physical rehabilitation program was created at the Lviv Institute of
Physical Culture. In June 1995, Lviv welcomed its first graduates of physical
rehabilitation professionals.
Extraordinarily, Dzherelo
Centre’s Executive Director, Nykolayev, was not educated specifically in
rehabilitation of children with physical disabilities. Trained as a teacher of
physical culture and sports training, in military service he was called to help
with evacuation procedures during the Chornobyl disaster. While working in a
Chomobyl region hospital as an instructor of physical rehabilitation, his
daughter, Marta was born with cerebral paralysis. Without existing support,
Nykolayev took it upon himself to start a modest rehabilitation centre. At
first, no one knew what to do with children with cerebral paralysis, however,
through international connections, support was realized. The Children of
Chornobyl Canadian Fund was first to come with aid. Nykolayev worked with them
to expand the Centre’s programs and visited other similar centres. Kunanec
arranged a trip to the Bloorview-McMillan Centre in
The vision of Dzherelo is
rather simple. One of the originators, Mykola Swarnyk, stated “We want to give
children with disabilities an opportunity to realize their fullest potential,
be it physical, mental... social. In
Swarnyk is an active Board
member of the Dzherelo Rehabilitation Centre and a crusader for the rights of
individuals with special needs. Initially trained in Forestry, specializing in
Population Ecology, Swarnyk’s wife died in childbirth leaving him to care for
his disabled son in a system unprepared to offer any true support. Through his
initiative, Nadiya began. As municipal councillor, he acts as a bridge between
parents and government: educating students in disability studies at Lviv
Polytechnic’s Faculty of Social Work; designing valuable teacher-resources
through the Step by Step Program; as well as, drafting legislation to the Verkhovna
Rada arguing for inclusive mainstream education for all children with
special needs. Swarnyk and his wife Oksana (formerly Kunanec) continue lobbying
Municipal Council for the development of a community housing facility for
long-term care of the aging populace with demanding special needs.
The Dzherelo Rehabilitation
Centre remains a leader and an innovator in children’s rehabilitation in
Co-founder and active Board
Member Zenia Kushpeta elaborated on the future goals of Dzherelo, stating,
“Government assistance in
The Dzherelo Rehabilitation
Centre’s vision is being realized: two hundred children with disabilities
participate in daily programs, and rehabilitation, education and professional
initiatives are moving forward. Dzherelo’s construction, operation and
continued development were made possible by the generous support of
benefactors, volunteers and aid.
For further information
visit www.dzherelocentre.org.ua
To make a donation, contact
the Children of Chornobyl Canadian Fund through cccf@bellnet.ca