Spring 2013 Update

End of an era for Fiona Dowling

In January 2013, after six years Fiona Dowling left her post as Executive Director of the Comber 

Foundation to take up a new role with Edmund Rice Development. Fiona has been involved with 

the Comber Foundation for over 18 years, both as a volunteer and Executive Director. Over the last 

six years as our Executive Director, Fiona has been the driving force in improving the quality of life of 

individuals with disabilities in Giurgiu, South Romania. Since 2007, the Comber Foundation has 

achieved a number of successes including the opening of Casa Phare, Casa Comber, four apartments 

in Giurgiu city and two houses in Gradinari village to provide community homes for 54 former resi-

dents of institutions, many of whom had been in institutional care since infancy. It is hoped that we 

will soon be moving a further ten residents to their new homes in the village of Izvoarele. Of course 

quality of life is about more than moving into a newhome and under Fiona’s guidance, the Comber 

Foundation supports day services in Giurgiu, supported living projects and has a successful volun-

teer programme aimed at enhancing the lives and experiences of many young men and women in Ro-

mania. 

Whilst Fiona plans to stay involved with the Comber Foundation, it is with some sadness that

we say goodbye to her as our Executive Director, The Comber Board would like to thank Fiona for all 

her extraordinary efforts and achievements over the many years.

 

Executive Director Carrie Garavan has replaced Fiona Dowling as Executive Director of Comber. Carrie 

first worked with Comber in the orphanages in Romania in 1991 following the fall of Communism. She has pursued a career in both clinical practice and academia prior to returning to work with Comber in 2011 as a Public Health Specialist Project Advisor. 

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Upcoming Dates for your Diary 2013 

 1. May 6th 2013 - Belfast City Marathon 

 2. June 3rd 2013 - Dublin Mini Marathon 

Jacklyn O’Boyle will be taking part in the Belfast City Marathon in May. Please keep us in mind if 

you are thinking of taking part in either of the marathons this year, and good luck to all partici-

pants. 

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Vodafone World of Difference Programme Supports the Comber Foundation 

 

The Vodafone World of Difference UK Programme gives 500 people the chance to work for their dream 

charity, and get paid. Over the years it has helped hundreds of people donate their skills and experience to the charities of their choice. This year Emma Hassard from Lisburn, County Antrim, was successful in her application to work to raise funds for the Comber Foundation.  Emma has extensive experience in working in the voluntary sector in marketing, raising the profile of charities and also helping to raise funds. We would like to wish Emma success in her projects

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Vocational Services & Day Services in Giurgiu

 

The Social Inclusion Centre in Giurgiu has gone from strength to strength this year: 

- Funding secured to transport, from the European Social Fund, so that all of our residents can attend 

daily, regardless of weather conditions. 

- 20-30 residents of Comber’s homes attend daily, a number of them have secured jobs in the local 

community. 

- A team of Irish professional volunteers provided support and training to staff and service users for 

12 weeks during the summer. 

This project is co-financed by Comber and the EU through European Social Funding. The project is delivered in partnership with a Romanian NGO, the Estuar Foundation. 

 

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The Irish Ambassador visits The Comber 

Foundations project in Giurgiu 

 

The Irish Ambassador His Excellency Oliver Grogan paid a visit to The Comber Foundation’s project in 

Giurgiu in 2012. He was so impressed by the work of Comber in the County of Giurgiu that he wrote a 

letter to President Vasile Mustatea of the County Council. 

 

“I was very impressed with what I have seen in Giurgiu, especially the human approach towards individuals who have been tragically impacted by the negligence of the past. I observed that 

these individuals have now obtained the dignity they deserve, awell deserved and appropriate alternative to dehumanizing institutionalization. The commitment of the social support staff 

was really enthusiastic. I know that you will be impressed when you personally see the project.

I hope that this partnership between our two countries will continue to prosper and develop in the future." 

With respect, Oliver Grogan Irish Ambassador 

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Izvoarele Project 2013 

The Comber Foundation partnered with Habitat Romania to construct a new home on land donated by 

Mayor Alin Stanciu in Izvoarele village in Giurgiu County. The support of the local Mayorship has been 

impressive and very strong and they are very eager to see this project proceed as planned for the last two years. The new residents will have access to the community centre, the library and the local Church. 

Comber Foundation has secured money to create a garden either near the house or in the village where it is anticipated that the new residents will work and develop new skills. This is an ambitious Social Inclusion Project and will have the support of Irish Professionals from the Intellectual Disability Area. It is planned that Irish professional volunteers will live in the village for the first few weeks of the project to assist in the transition period. The new residents have been selected to come from Bolintin and Carpenis (County of Giurgiu). 

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Get involved! 

To get involved with the Comber Foundation please contact us info@comber.ie; +353 86 0404359 

Donation Information—Lodging to Bank 

Account 

DUBLIN: Bank of Ireland, Rathfarnham SC, D 14 

Account Name: Comber Foundation Account 

No: 790322020 / Sort Code: 900201 

BELFAST: Bank of Ireland, 2-4 High St, Belfast, 

BT1 2BA 

Account Name: Comber Foundation Account 

No: 80213400 / Sort Code: 902127

Vodafone World of Difference Programme Supports the Comber Foundation

The Vodafone World of Difference UK Programme gives 500 people the chance to work for their dream charity, and get paid. Over the years it has helped hundreds of people donate their skills and experience to the charities of their choice. This year Emma Hassard from Lisburn, County Antrim, was successful in her application to work to raise funds for the Comber Foundation.

The Comber Foundation is a home grown charity, founded in 1991 in Comber, County Down, which seeks to improve the lives of disabled children and adults in Romania and Eastern Europe. One of the many ways which the Comber Foundation practically improves lives is by forming group homes, these homes offer young adults with intellectual and physical disabilities the opportunity to live within a community, outside of an institution, for the very first time since birth.

Emma Hassard has extensive experience working in the voluntary sector in marketing, raising the profile of charities and also helping to raise funds. In 2012 Emma organised a Dinner Dance, Golf Classic and a pop-up charity boutique raising almost £10,000 for the Comber Foundation. The World of Difference programme will enable Emma to work part time for four months to continue to raise much needed funds to ensure that the Comber Foundation is able to continue to make a real and lasting positive difference to the lives of disabled and disadvantaged people in Romania and Eastern Europe.

Emma Hassard reflected on the World of Difference Programme:

‘I am delighted that my application for the World of Difference Programme was successful, enabling me to offer support to the many dedicated volunteers without whom the Comber Foundation would simply not be able to function. The World of Difference programme will enable me to raise much needed funds to support the many disadvantaged and disabled children and young people in Romania with whom the Comber Foundation so tirelessly works. I am truly excited to see what we will be able to achieve over the next four months!’

Carrie Garavan, Executive Director of the Comber Foundation, also commented on the programme:

‘We at the Comber Foundation were delighted to hear that Emma had won a place in the World of Difference Programme 2013. Comber Foundation is an Irish charitable trust set up in 1991 to improve the quality of life of children living in orphanages in Romania. We believe large-scale institutional care is unacceptable and remain committed to supporting the right of all individuals with disabilities to live in the community. Most of Comber's work is located in Giurgiu County, Romania. Giurgiu is an economically disadvantaged county and has limited NGO activity or international support. It is the region with the second poorest socio-economic indicators in Romania and has the least developed health services in the country (Price Waterhouse Coopers 2004).Within the coming months, Comber in partnership with Motivation Romania will transfer residents from long term institutionalisation to lovely new group homes within a community setting.

Emma is a social innovator, passionate about working with the charity and her creativity will go a long way to achieving The Comber Foundation’s mission which is to build a better future for children and adults with disabilities - a future without orphanages.’

If you would like more information on how you could support the work of the Comber Foundation then please call Emma Hassard, Fundraising Co-ordinator, on 0845 301 1057, or go to www.comber.ie

To read Emma's blog on her work on the World of Difference programme please click here

Butterfly Vintage Boutique

Butterfly Vintage Boutique has now closed. Thank you to everyone who supported the shop by donating items, volunteering to work in the boutique, and of course by purchasing items. The Butterfly Vintage Boutique was opened in partnership with the Royal Belfast Academical Institution and we also thank the whole school community for supporting the Boutique.

All proceeds from the Butterfly Vintage Boutique has helped the Comber Foundation to continue to improve the lives of disabled children and young people in Romania & Eastern Europe.

To see photos from the official launch of the Butterfly Vintage Boutique with Kate Smith, please click here

Letter sent by His Excellency Oliver Grogan following his recent visit to Giurgiu

Oct 3^rd 2012 

Dear President, [of Giurgiu County Council]

I am sending this letter to inform you of the excellent visit that I had to Giurgiu yesterday, where I was received by Mr. Muscalu, Public Administrator, and Dr. Teodora Avram, Director of Social Services. The objective of my visit was to see personally a project which aims to offer protected homes and day services for the former residents of orphanages. This project has been developed by the Comber Foundation, an Irish NGO, in cooperation with your county authorities and Romanian volunteers. Several Irish organizations, including Comber, had been involved in such activities in Romania since 1990 – 1991.

I was very impressed with what I have seen in Giurgiu, especially the human approach towards individuals who have been tragically impacted by the negligence of the past.  I observed that these individuals have now obtained the dignity they deserve, a well deserved and appropriate alternative to dehumanizing institutionalization. The commitment of the social support staff was really enthusiastic. I know that you will be impressed when you personally see the project. I consider that this project is a wonderful example of cooperation between civil society from Ireland and Romania. As far as I understand, Giurgiu County is the leader in developing this enlightened approach in Romania.

I hope that this partnership between our two countries will continue to prosper and develop in the future.

With respect,

Oliver Grogan

Irish Ambassador

'1, 2, 3, 4, Kids all of you, come to theatre!'

On October 25^th 2012 at the “Ion Vinea” Cultural Centre, Giurgiu, four residents within DGASPC performed in a show called “1, 2, 3, 4, Kids all of you come to theatre”.

The show was the pinnacle of three months of rehearsal under the supervision of Mr. Toma Vasile. He worked closely with several teenagers but in the end he selected only four to perform: Adela State, Gabriela Stoicescu, Stefan Nagy and Viorel Iordan. These last three are all residents of Comber apartments in Giurgiu.

The project was a great success (more than 60 spectators were present), due to the partnership between Sport and Youth County Direction, Social Welfare and Child Protection General Direction (DGASPC) and “Ion Vinea” Cultural Centre.