Why We Are
A world where children and adults with special needs have access to the same opportunities as others to fulfil their life’s ambitions; a world where we can all live safely with dignity, respect, and quality care.
We work towards this vision by developing and executing programs in the Republic of Moldova, the poorest country in Europe.
We started with the Medical Aid Delivery program. The program facilitates the transfer of high-quality equipment no longer needed by British hospitals (NHS) to hospitals in dire need of improvement. At the same time, it helps the UK hospitals save the cost of storage or disposal of equipment they no longer need.
We went on to establish and operate a UK-standard modern day care and early intervention and rehabilitation centre for children and teenagers with special needs.
We aim to Make A Difference.
Who We Are
Our team in the United Kingdom is quite small, consisting of our founder and CEO, seven trustees, and a handful of dedicated volunteers who step forward to help with various tasks and events.
On the ground in Moldova, we support a team of 16 who deliver the aid brought in from the UK throughout the country and work and play daily with the children in Phoenix Centre.
Awarded Civic Medal in 2015 by the president of Republic of Moldova.
Awarded British Empire Medal in the Queen’s 2017 New Year Honour list for services to children with special needs in northern Moldova.
Author of Get MAD! The Life and Times of a Madwoman
Chair of the board of trustees. Retired leadership coach and former human resource director in the non-profit sector.
“MAD-Aid makes a huge difference to many people’s lives in Moldova and elsewhere by getting just the right help to just the right people. I love being part of that work.”
A chartered engineer; played a significant technical role in bringing digital TV to Europe. CEO of Receiver Research Ltd.
“Moldovan people have suffered for centuries because of political interference and occupation by other countries. Moldova has now been a free independent democracy for about a quarter of a century but it has been a struggle for them to rebuild the social fabric that the people deserve. Those of us who can help, should.”
Born in Moldova, moved to England in 2001. Founder and CEO of Ocavia Limited and TAX Ace.
“Since joining MAD-AID I have discovered that giving is probably the most rewarding act you can do in your life; it recharges the spirit within us, which is priceless.”
“I don’t want to live in the kind of world where we don’t look out for each other.
Not just the people that are close to us, but anybody who needs a helping hand. I can’t change the way anybody else thinks, or what they choose to do, but I can do my bit”
“I am involved in MAD-Aid, because I enjoy seeing the children we help progress, and the way they see life.
They inspire us and we support them.”
“I visited Moldova after being invited to become and trustee and bring my expertise. Every help I can give, I know is going to help where is most needed.“
How It All Started
When the Republic of Moldova declared independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the country lost a significant part of its infrastructure. The extent of this loss became personal when some years later, Victoria’s mother needed surgery in a local Moldovan hospital.
At the time, the thin, stained mattresses on rigid iron beds, the chipped tiles, the lack of hot water, and the blood-pressure meter with three holes in it, seemed normal to Victoria. It was only a few months later when she started to work in a UK hospital on the Isle of Wight that she realised just how very different a modern hospital could be.
UK hospitals spend millions of pounds each year updating their equipment so that they can stay at the cutting edge of healthcare. The replaced equipment either goes into storage at great expense, or the hospital pays for it to be taken away and disposed of.
Victoria then thought of that poorly equipped Moldovan hospital with its leaky blood pressure meters, and said, “We must be able to do something to get that equipment to where it is needed.” The hospitals she spoke to agreed, and that is how MAD-Aid was formed.
And that wasn’t all.
When she was young, Victoria believed Moldova had no children with disabilities. They were there, she later discovered; but they were invisible.
Because mobility aids are almost non-existent, children with mobility challenges cannot access education – unless their parents can afford to pay for private tuition in their home. These isolated children become isolated adults, trapped at home alone for long periods, and lacking the support they need.
And so MAD-Aid sought ways to help end this isolation, by improving mobility, and by creating education and health centres.
Charity work is only possible with a lot of help from our friends.
Partners
AMMM
BR Accounts
British Embassy in Chisinau
Child Aid
CWUHA– Communication Workers Union Humanitarian Aid
Cornelius UK
Excel Manufacturing
Foundation of Vlad Plahotniuc Edelweiss
Island Mobility
Moldova Embassy in London
Moldova Not Forgotten
Moldova AID
Ocavia Limited
Sandown Rotary
Shanklin Rotary
St Marys Hospital
Sustainable Partners
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation
Tony Hawks
Tax Ace
Trusts and Foundations
Angela Merkel Memorial Fund
Chalk Cliff Trust
CB & HH Taylor 1984 Trust
Ford Britain Trust
Open Gate Trust
Southern Charitable Trust
The Casey Trust
The Pat Newman Trust
Toy Trust
The Canning Trust
Lund Trust