On 6 October 2008 the ‘Day Centre for Children with Disabilities’in Berat opened its 2008-2009 educational programme.

Only since a few years the Albanian national legislation foresees the regular enrollment of children affected by less severe neuropsychiatric disorders in the public education system. Nevertheless, far less resources than necessary have been allocated to date, nor specific programmes designed, in order to make the new regulation effective and provide adequate support to disabled children’s integration into the school system.

In October 2007 Cittadinanza and its trustworthy Albanian partner ‘Shen Asti Foundation’ have therefore set up in Berat Day Centre a specific ‘Support to School Integration’ educational programme, which aims at providing disabled children with specific didactic support and both individual and group rehabilitation, in order to allow them to be succesfully enrolled and integrated in the national education system. In the first year of activity the programme involved approximately 20 children aged 4 to12.

Now, activities take place every afternoon in the new Day Centre, inaugurated in May 2008. Its construction was funded by Shen Asti and it was adequately equipped with Cittadinanza’s contribution. The ground-level building covers 220 square metres, entirely ‘barrier-free’, specifically designed for access and use by disabled people. It includes a huge recreational hall, three classrooms for group activities, a physiotherapy gym, kitchen, administrative office and auxiliary services.

The activities carried out by SCARF Centre from 1989 till 1999 and the follow-up till 2005 have been carefully assessed in order to identify which factors primarily affect the sustainability and continuation in the mid-long term of community based mental health programmes.

The research authors came to the finding that “community based initiatives in the management of mental disorders, however well intentioned, will not be sustainable unless the family and the community are involved in the interventions right from its inception, with regular support being provided by mental health professionals“.

Cittadinanza welcomes the study’s conclusions, which represent a useful contribution to a better planning and implementation of the community-based activities being carried out by SCARF Centre in Thiruporur from the beginning of the 2nd phase of Cittadinanza-funded ‘Community Mental Health Programme’, which started on 01 January 2008.