The implementation of the association Latvian Children with Motor Disabilities' project "ENGAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT" concluded on 15 November. The project's planned goal has been achieved, and all the project's activities were provided to 20 children with disabilities — motor disabilities.

The children took part in all the planned summer activities with great interest:

1. therapeutic exercise sessions, in which children and young people, guided by physiotherapists, performed various exercises in line with each individual's functional abilities. To make the sessions more therapeutically effective, various trainers and exercise systems were used. Using the circuit-training method, the children and young people were able to assess their own achievements and see those of others, thereby receiving support and giving it to one another;

2. in the visual and plastic arts sessions, the children's and young people's imagination and creativity developed, as did their fine motor skills. During the sessions, everyone had the chance to try using various materials to bring their artistic ideas to life;

3. in the candle-making workshops, the project participants learned candle-making skills together with their parents, which helped develop the children's and young people's fine motor skills and, in the process, encouraged creativity and imagination in creating their very own candle. Working together with parents to reach the goal strengthened family unity;

4. the opportunity to learn the basics of acting helped develop imagination, courage and self-expression. Working in the field of theatre arts, the children and young people came to know themselves both as physical beings and as spiritual personalities, learned to understand and appreciate the uniqueness of themselves and of others, and thereby nurtured their self-confidence and empathy. The activities gave them the chance to get their bodies, thinking, imagination and artistic creativity moving, and to overcome awkwardness, fear and the embarrassment of seeing themselves from the outside in different situations.

Within the project, the active involvement of the association's target audience — families of children with disabilities (motor disabilities) — in the process of social integration was encouraged, as was active participation in decision-making processes related to families' needs and wishes, building an inclusive and cohesive society in the city of Riga.

A survey was carried out on the Google Forms platform, in which 126 respondents took part. The survey was developed in cooperation with the Social Administration of the Welfare Department of Riga City Municipality.

The compiled results on the development and availability of social rehabilitation services in the city of Riga were presented to the municipality's Social Affairs Committee, the Welfare Department and the Advisory Council of Non-Governmental Organisations of Persons with Disabilities of Riga City Council.

In the long term, the project will encourage families' active participation in the decision-making processes of Riga City Municipality and reduce the risks of social exclusion, strengthening family ties and the functioning of the family as a whole.

"The project is co-financed under the Riga City Society Integration Programme"

"Responsibility for the content lies with Ilze Kenne, Chair of the Board of the association "Latvian Children with Motor Disabilities", phone 29460606