Russian supermodel Natalia Vodianova has been campaigning for the prevention of institutionalization of children with disabilities and speaks about her efforts in this interview by Thomas Reuters Foundation. According to the artile, Vodianova grew up with a half-sister, Oksana, with cerebral palsy and autism and is "acutely aware of the issues faced by families with disabled children."
"When Oksana was born, nurses at the hospital suggested her mother put her into an orphanage and have 'another healthy child'," says the article. "The rule has been that for many years children with special needs, with disabilities, are abandoned by their families," said Vodianova. "You can't blame the family. The system has not been adapted for a family to raise a child with special needs."
Vodianova set up a foundation in 2004 "to help children with special needs stay with their families rather than be put in orphanages by providing support services and funding for other Russian NGOs." Vodianova says her mother and sister "who are thriving today, they are the point from which I can really continue fighting for all the families who have done the same and did not give up on their children."