Sorin

Sorin’s mother Marie spent much of her childhood in the Chisinau Institution for Babies and when Sorin was born, the cycle threatened to repeat itself.

Marie could not find work to support herself and had no way of paying rent. Like many young people who grow up in institutions, Marie also had no ID and could not therefore claim any social support. With little experience of family life and faced with being a single mother with no job and nowhere to live, a desperate, pregnant Marie was ready to abandon Sorin at birth.

The difference for Marie and Sorin was a Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) set up in the grounds of the institution where Sorin would likely have been placed. Local NGO CCF Moldova secured Marie a place there when she was eight months pregnant and from there she had access to all of the services she needed to become self-reliant.

Marie and Sorin stayed in the Mother and Baby Unit for six months after his birth during which time Marie was supported to become properly registered. She began receiving her social allowance, had access to psychological support and support to find work as a secretary in a local school.

When the time came for Sorin and Marie to leave the Mother and Baby Unit, Sorin was enrolled in a nursery set up, as one of the alternative services to support vulnerable families in Chisinau.

At 12 months old, Sorin is a confident, playful little boy with a happy and secure home life.