History
Since 1995, our programs have redeemed the hope of an independent life for over 28,000 children and adults with disabilities in Romania.
Past
Motivation Romania Foundation was legally registered on February 15, 1995. The organization was created as a result of a project of the International Federation of the Red Cross and the Motivation Charitable Trust in the UK.
Motivation’s programs include:
- Evaluation and prescription of personalized wheelchairs adapted for each user’s needs
- Independent living training for wheelchair users
- Employment services for people with disabilities
- IMPACT – family like services for children with severe disabilities deinstitutionalized from Placement Center No. 4 – Tancabesti.
- Adapted sports and advocacy for rights and services for persons with disabilities in Romania
Milestones:
2017 – The first participation of #TeamMotivation at the Raiffeisen International Marathon Bucharest, 14 – 15 October. 59 runners were part of#TeamMotivation including 15 wheelchair users. In total, they ran 542.8 km in the marathon races.
Motivation launches “#EnAbleParking?” awareness campaign in order to release the parking spaces for people with disabilities that are occupied abusively. The campaign is nationwide.
2016 – Motivation provides mobility services nationally via 16 regional teams, each including independent living trainers who are wheelchair users themselves. Our teams are located in the following counties: Argeş, Bihor, Brașov, Buzău, Bucharest – Ilfov, Constanţa, Cluj, Galați, Iași, Mehedinți, Mureș, Neamț, Prahova, Satu Mare, Sibiu, Timișoara and Vâlcea.
2015 – Motivation celebrated 20 years of existence. The pilot program Wings Neamț prepares youth with disabilities from families and institutions for life in the community. The program gives them opportunities to live independently, facilitates employment and provides other independent living support.
2014 – Motivation started to provide trainings for specialists on the implementation of the WHO International Classiffication of Functioning, Disability and Health, an instrument aimed at introducing an ability-centered approach to services.
Motivation supports the creation of 8 social enterprises providing models of employment of persons with disabilities, and adapted transportation services for persons with mobility difficulties. Incomes generated by these enterprises fund regional social services for persons with disabilities.
2013 – Motivation is certified to provide training courses for the profession of Wheelchair technician, based on the training packages and wheelchair service recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO).
2012 – We launched the Accessibility Map, a tool for assessing the accessibility of Romanian buildings for persons with reduced mobility.
Our staff was trained and usds a new method of working with children and young people with disabilities – Gentle Teaching.
2011 – We opened our second social business, the Motivation Medical Recovery Clinic. We opened an occupational therapy workshop where the young adults with disabilities living in our group homes recycle paper and participate in creating decorative objects from clay, fimo paste or from recycled materials.
2010 – Motivation celebrates 15 years of activity dedicated to independent living for people with disabilities. Our anniversary coincided with the construction of new headquarters in Buda, Ilfov County.
We organized the first edition of the Disability Gala, together with Active Watch – Media Monitoring Agency, under the high patronage of the European Commission Representation in Romania, broadcast by the Romanian public television (TVR).
Together with Habitat Romania and with support from Vodafone Foundation we built a home for youth with developmental disabilities in our care.
We set up two new regional teams for a total of 11 teams across the country.
2008 – The start of our partnership with Shaw Trust, UK. Together we aim to strengthen Motivation`s capacity to provide quality services to persons with disabilities in Romania.
2007 – Motivation starts the employment program whereby we facilitate the inclusion of persons with disabilities on the labor market. The Romanian Automotive Register authorizes Motivation LLC to provide driving adaptations for persons with mobility disabilities.
2006 – The Ilfov, Bihor and Neamț teams are created to provide wheelchairs and independent living training to people with mobility disabilities in their regions. Motivation is invited to participate in the World Health Organization working group that subsequently created the Guidelines on the provision of manual wheelchairs, and the Wheelchair Service Training Package.
2005 – We continued to strengthen our services for people with disabilities from public institutions. In the summer we organized the first camps at Văratec for our children with disabilities in the IMPACT program, and independent living sessions for wheelchair users.
2004 – Motivation builds the wheelchair accessible summer camp in Văratec, Neamţ county. Here, we provide opportunities for wheelchair users to learn independent living skills, to share experiences, to build friendships and create local support groups.
2003 – Motivation launches the first wheelchair tennis program in Romania, following affiliation of the organization to the International Tennis Federation (ITF). We inaugurated the Independent Living Module in Bragadiru, a fully accessible home for wheelchair users where they learn to adapt their homes, to handle the wheelchair, to become independent.
2002 – The IMPACT program starts to provide community services for children with disabilities abandoned in institutions. These services include residential care in five family-like homes, as well as day services and occupational therapy. The program is initiated in partnership with the IMPACT Alliance.
2001 – Motivation LLC is created as a social enterprise owned by Motivation Romania Foundation. The company now provides adapted wheelchairs, medical devices and driving adaptations for wheelchair users.
We started a strategic partnership with the IMPACT International Alliance, centered on community-based services for children with disabilities abandoned in public institution. The Alliance includes non-governmental organizations in the United States, Great Britain, Germany and Norway.
2000 – Motivation starts renovation at the Bragadiru Culture House, a derelict former communist building which we turned into a wheelchair accessible facility hosting the Motivation Community Center for Youth with Special Needs. The building was used by Motivation for nine years, providing wheelchair accessible accommodation, training and conference rooms, physiotherapy and medical rooms, kitchens and dining space as well as Motivation’s offices.
1999 – Motivation’s Adapted Driving School enables wheelchair users to obtain a driver’s license.
1997 – We created the Center for Active Rehabilitation and Social Inclusion in Măgurele, Ilfov County. Here, participants received active rehabilitation and physiotherapy, participated in leisure activities, computer courses and training on wheelchairs assembly and maintenance.
1995 – Motivation Romania Foundation was legally registered on February 15, 1995 and subsequently launched the first Active Rehabilitation program in Romania, providing independent living training for wheelchair users. The program was developed after the first Romanian independent living peer trainers attended a training session organized by START Poznan Association, in Poland. Subsequently we promoted the concept of active rehabilitation through camps, seminars and training sessions around the country.
1993 – The first landmark in Motivation’s history was the project of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Federation, whereby they developed rehabilitation services for persons with spinal cord injuries in Romania at “Bagdasar-Arseni” Hospital, Bucharest.
From May to September a team of specialists from Motivation Charitable Trust, UK, set up the first wheelchair workshop in Romania. Over the following two years, the local team produced and donated 300 wheelchairs to patients in the Neurosurgery Department of Bagdasar-Arseni Emergency Hospital in Bucharest.
To this day, Motivation helped 28,000 children and adults with mobility disabilities to regain their independence. With each project we complete, we give our beneficiaries more freedom of movement and hope in a life of achievements.
The success and impact of our numerous projects, ongoing support from donors and founders, and income generated by the Motivation social enterprise, allowed us to extend our services nationally via a network of 15 Motivation regional teams.
Today, we provide support to an increasing number of persons with mobility disabilities, so they can receive appropriately prescribed, personalized wheelchairs and training for independent living.
We continue our efforts to increase the number of persons with disabilities that find and retain mainstream jobs.
We promote accessible public spaces and make efforts to introduce the ability-centered approach in the provision of health and social services for people with disabilities.
We provide long term support for community based living and continue to be a family for the 25 youth with disabilities we transferred from institutions since 2003.
We will continue to promote the successes of our beneficiaries and to increase the number of persons we support via an increasing number of regional teams and local representatives.
We dream of building a true partnership with health care and social services specialists, and with local communities where we provide services. We want to ensure that persons with mobility disabilities receive quality services, centered on abilities, that help them become independent and participate in communities without barriers.
With help from Motivation staff, donors and volunteers, the 25 young adults with disabilities from our group homes continue to live fulfilling lives in the Motivation family. With your support, persons with disabilities will continue to live in the community, to receive the services they need close to where they live, learn and work.
By promoting our initiatives, we aim to protect and support people with disabilities, and to promote their abilities.
We will continue to grow, to develop our regional network of mobility and independent living services for Romanians with disabilities. We will become increasingly self-sustainable and will continue to support our clients through income generated by Motivation’s social enterprises.