STEPS Romania New Project

The Welfare Centre for poor children and families in Sacele, near Brasov

The Problem

Romania is still a very poor country. Some people are rich but the vast majority are very poor, and at the bottom of the pile are the Romas. Sacele, a town near Brasov, holds one of the largest Roma communities in Romania who, due to social discrimination and ethnic intolerance, have been physically separated from the rest of the town. The living conditions are very harsh, many houses lacking the basic necessities of life, such as running water and electricity. Heating in winter is a luxury that not many of them can hope to enjoy. Most unfortunate is the fact that the ones who suffer most from this situation are the children.

In Sacele a small Romanian charity called FAST is trying to help the serious problem of these very poor families. Before FAST was formed 8 years ago its founders were working with street children and children in orphanages. They realised, however, that the orphanages and the street children were largely the result of poverty and lack of education in poor areas amongst poor families with many children. FAST decided to channel its resources towards prevention of child abandonment. FAST believes that it's far better to build a fence on the top of the hill instead of a hospital at the bottom!

FAST believes that it should support the education of both the children and the parents, thus preventing the abandonment of children and giving these people an opportunity to raise themselves above their present desperate situation. The media has been high-lighting the state of orphan children in Romania, but very few people know that children in the orphanages are actually not orphans: they are abandoned. They come from very poor families who abuse them or cannot raise them in a decent way. The planned Welfare Centre in Sacele is to help these people, who live in complete rejection and utter poverty. At the Welfare Centre the children will have the opportunity to get a good start in life, so increasing their chance to build a future for themselves.

The Romas

Gypsy is the word people generally use when referring to the poor people FAST works with. In Romania the word "gypsy" is associated with thieves, liars, beggars and the scum of society, but the Roma people FAST helps are not like that. Basically, they are very poor people with darker skins, who have a strong desire to have their children go to school and build a decent life for themselves. They are not travellers like the traditional gypsies.

The Purpose of the Welfare Centre

FAST has been given a large building that was a boiler house and STEPS Romania will help convert it into a welfare centre for Roma children, families and the elderly.

Many of the families and children we are trying to help live in extreme poverty. When we say "extreme" we mean a family of 10, all living in one room with no electricity or running water. The lack of sanitary facilities makes life very difficult, and sickness or lice are sometimes rampant within these communities. The centre will have a room where the children will be regularly checked and given a shower and new clothes. Also, a laundry room which will help to keep their clothes clean and smelling fresh.

The children living in such families have no future and have lost all hope of one day being able to enjoy life as other children of their age do. Preschool training is almost non-existent for them, and their start in school is so poor that many quit school altogether by the time they reach 10, not being able to cope further with school requirements. FAST’s intention is to support these children and to equip them with the necessary skills to give them a good start in life. The activity rooms in the Welfare Centre will offer the preschool children the necessary training and experience that will give them a good start in school, the opportunity to socialize and gain the self-confidence they need to progress.

Many elderly people live alone, forgotten by their relatives and friends, and the local Social Services do not cover the needs of this highly vulnerable group. Helping the elderly regain their dignity is another objective of the Welfare Centre.

There are numerous occasions where families find themselves homeless. In one case the father died in a fire and there were 15 children left on the streets for over a month. Temporary shelter in situations such as this is a service which the Centre will provide. The top floor of the building will be transformed into living quarters where a family can be comfortably accommodated for a limited period until a reasonable solution is found.

The Welfare Centre building and the responsibilities of FAST

The existing single storey building with a flat roof had a very large chimney. With financial help from a Dutch group, FAST removed the chimney in early 2005.

FAST has secured the building and constructed a new floor and pitched roof. They have laid on all necessary services to the site, such as drainage, electrical power and gas or oil. FAST has designed the layout of the inside of the building to meet their plans for its future use. They generally direct our operations on the site. FAST will provide the furniture for all the rooms and be responsible for the running of the finished centre.

STEPS Romania’s contribution to the Welfare Centre project

STEPS will help insulate the building against the severe winter cold. We will help refurbish the inside of both floors. We will use our own volunteer effort and work with local Romanian volunteers. Where necessary, to speed up progress, we will (through FAST) employ local builders. We will help with floors, windows, doors and partition walls. We will help install heating, lighting and electrical power systems. We will paint and tile as necessary. We will endeavour to fund this ourselves. It will take all of 2006 and 2007.

Here in more detail are examples of what has to be done.

First Floor

Install studded partition walls to form smaller rooms.

Install insulation and heating to all rooms.

Install electrics, power and lighting.

Decorate.

Ground Floor

Lay new concrete floor at a raised level.

Build partition walls.

Install a (lowered) false ceiling.

Install Heating.

Install power points and lighting.

Install drainage and water supply to form new kitchen.

Fix new windows and doors.

Decorating and general finishes.

Ground Floor Extension

Build a single storey extension to form a shower and toilet facility.

Lay new foul and surface water drains from existing drains to new shower facility.

Most of the above work is very similar to work we have completed at Sunshine House and Fair Play, with the exception of the Ground Floor Extension.

In the opinion of the STEPS Management Team the work is well within the combined abilities of the teams that have been going out to Romania for the past six years. Do not underestimate our abilities, just look at what we have achieved over the last six years!

Teams

We are planning to send out three or maybe four teams in 2006 and 2007. The teams will comprise the same mix of men and women, and the various levels of DIY skills, as in previous years.

We have found that most people in our teams are not frightened of getting dirty and to contribute to the building and decorating work. We also know that we can contribute greatly to the welfare of the children we meet. FAST is presently running projects with poor children in three villages near the Welfare Centre, and in 2007 there will be children in the new centre. People in our teams will be able to spend time with the children in the centre and maybe in any of the villages, and they will have the opportunity to pass on experience and ideas in educational and recreational activities. FAST can also organise outings with the children, visiting the nearby areas.

In the past, when FAST has had volunteers working with the children they did a lot of activities with creative arts, painting, simple drawing, etc. FAST asks us to keep in mind that the children we are working with are very simple and are not used to anything too elaborate. Instead, simple activities and easy games are very much appreciated and enjoyed.

Conclusion

The problems faced by the poor Roma people are very serious. The Welfare Centre in Sacele will help these people, particularly the children. We are impressed with the FAST personnel, their objectives and what they have achieved so far, and know that the Welfare Centre project will succeed. We firmly believe that this project satisfies the main STEPS Romania objectives, to help underprivileged children in Romania.