With funding from the Dorothea Haus Ross Foundation, SPOON is excited to partner with Perkins International on our first-ever program in Croatia. Perkins has extensive expertise working in the country, where they strengthen capacity within local programs that serve children with visual impairments and multiple disabilities.
Through this program, we are training 114 participants across eight sites in Croatia on nutrition and feeding for children with disabilities. Sites include schools, community-based rehabilitation centers, and a special hospital for children with complex medical needs. Participants are special education teachers, rehab professionals, caregivers, nurses, and social workers.
“The training helps me be confident about mealtime practices.”
Training participant
Training happens primarily online, but our approach incorporates the most important elements of an in-person training experience as well. As participants take the 15 courses that comprise our curriculum, they are also meeting in smaller cohorts led by “peer trainers” to dig into each unit’s content in greater depth. These trainers have received mentorship and coaching directly from SPOON on facilitation techniques, activities, and discussion topics. This training model allows all participants to engage with training content as a group and apply what they have learned. The peer trainers will also be available after training concludes to assist with mentoring and monitoring.
Once training is completed, participants will have the opportunity to use Count Me In–which has been fully translated into Croatian–at the sites where they work. By the end of this year-long project, we aim to directly improve the care and nutrition of 800 children in Croatia.
