Children with disabilities in Moldova receive donated car seats
Last month, EASST partner, the Automobile Club of Moldova (ACM), in partnership with the National Inspectorate of Public Security (INSP) and the Tony Hawks Centre, donated 12 child car seats to families of children with disabilities.
The event was organised as part of the ACM’s ‘Kind Restraint’ project to increase the level of child restraint use in Moldova. The project has been running since 2018 in partnership with the Belarusian Auto Moto Touring Club supported the FIA Road Safety Grant Programme, EASST, the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova, INSP, Oratorul Theater, Mama.md, Recaro, and others.
The project has involved the establishment of an online donation platform for child restraint systems, www.baby4baby.org. The platform enables families with car seats they no longer need to donate them to low-income families, families with many children, or those with special needs. According to INSP data, since the beginning of 2020, sixty-three children have been involved in road crashes in Moldova as a result of which 4 have died and 51 have suffered various injuries. Using a child car seat can reduce the risk of death or serious injury in a crash by up to 70 per cent.
Following social distancing measures, 12 car seats were donated to the Tony Hawks Centre in a special out-door event to mark the occasion. The donated car seats were kindly given by the ACM with the support of EASST and FedEx, as well as the FIA, FIA Foundation and TCS (Touring Club Schweiz), ÖAMTC (Austrian Automobile Club).
During the event, four-year-old Marcus became the first beneficiary of the donation scheme. His mother, Tatiana, thanked everyone present:
“Thank you very much to all the organisers and donors of this car seat, we really needed it. Thanks for this gesture, the money saved will be spent on treatment.”
The Tony Hawks Centre is a child care centre that aims to improve the health of children with chronic conditions who are living in socially vulnerable families in Moldova. The centre accomplishes its mission by providing free consultations and medical rehabilitation services to children up to the age of 15, who have chronic illnesses of the neuro-muscular, cardio-vascular or respiratory systems.[1]
Diana Covalciuc, Director of the Tony Hawks Centre expressed her gratitude:
“We are grateful for the support provided. These children need support, we are always happy to help and support them. We hope that this donated car seat will ensure Marcus’ safety and comfort in road traffic.”
The donation platform has made many families in Moldova very happy. Many children have now benefited for free from car seat donation made from the heart. If you are interested in learning more about the platform and how the donations work, all the terms of participation to donate or give a car seat can be found here. All car seats go through a thorough safety inspection before being donated.
Tatiana Mihailova, Project Manager of the ACM mentioned:
“We hope that our joint act of charity and kindness will motivate the community to continue helping us in donations to save more lives! Within this partnership project we also work with maternities and make the first gifts to new born babies. Such actions will be carried on to improve child safety on our roads”.
No single fine or bribe can be compared to the life and health of children. Child safety in road traffic is the duty of every adult.
