"OLVIA-PRESS"

DNIESTRIA – SWEDEN: FRUITFUL COOPERATION.

On September 27^th, a public association from Sweden representing the International association of badly hearing and deaf people arrived to Dniestria by invitation of the DMR ministry of education.

By words of the delegation's head Helena Larsson, the Swedes expressed their interest in resolution of problems of badly hearing and deaf children in Odessa and Vinnitsa of Ukraine as well as Moldova and Dniestria. Few years ago they were granted the international project (financed by the Swedish Government) for 5-year-term in domain of making efficient assistance for badly hearing and deaf children living in Odessa. As result of the project's realization, significant assistance was made to the boarding school for badly hearing and deaf children from that city. The Swedes organized a specialized center in Odessa for production of hearing aids, of spare parts, and elements power supply elements. Besides, there was opened a Center of Assistance to the Adult Population, suffering from similar diseases of hearing organs.

Of course, such cooperation with that efficiently working Swedish organization has keenly interested the representatives of the DMR ministry of education and ministry of healthcare. Today, over four hundred of badly hearing and deaf children live in our republic; there function two specialized boarding houses for the deaf, situated in Tiraspol and Bednery. But the problem of their provision with hearing aids, methodic benefits, and other necessary things, is resolved with great difficulties.

The minister of education Elena Bomeshko remarked that respective equipment, methodic benefits for work with that category of people, and respective specialists (which unfortunately are not available in the republic) are needed for provision of on-time discovery of children suffering from hearing problems, their treatment, making assistance in acquisition of hearing aids, making respective diagnostics. That's why Dniestria is extremely interested in such an advantageous cooperation.

On the meeting with representatives of the international association, the DMR ministry of education prepared a project of assisting to badly hearing and deaf children; it provides the possibility of interaction with the Swedish Government in that matter.

By words of Helena Larsson, the proposed project would be discussed in Stockholm, and one may really hope that Dniestria would gain the grant, due to which the Dniestrian children will freely receive individual hearing aids, and special diagnostic equipment would be installed. Within frames of that project, there will be realized the opportunity of teaching the Dniestrian specialists in domain of medicine and pedagogy in Sweden for work with badly hearing and deaf.

Helena Larsson assured the employees of the ministry of education that by December 2002 the Swedish Government would have been about the project of assistance to Dniestrian children. In case of delivering money, the practice realization of that project in Dniestria will start in March 2003.

T.Gheorghiu.