Sacele
Sacele is a dormitory town for Brasov with four large Rroma settlements on its outskirts. The Rroma are marginalized, live in abject poverty, mostly without running water or sanitation and face a daily struggle to survive, particularly in the harsh winter conditions.
Libra has three partner organisations in Sacele:
Fundatia pentru Asistenta Sociala si Tineret (FAST)
The FAST Charity was created to support underprivileged children and their families in the county of Brasov. Since 1998, FAST has worked towards their vision of a more integrated Romanian society. FAST has built the Ziurel Day Centre in which children attend after-school educational programmes to complement basic education in numeracy and literacy provided by the schools. FAST also run educational outreach projects for children in the Rroma communities. Their inspirational president, Daniel Hristea has created the Better Homes Project which assists selected Rroma families to build their own homes with materials and advice provided by FAST. This allows the Rroma adults to gain useful life skills and the Rroma children to live in dignity and grow in better health.
Libra has worked with FAST to develop a curriculum that is relevant to the needs of the children and staff and has trained the staff to deliver that curriculum, in particular by encouraging them to teach through “play”, rather than through their more formal style of teaching.
Visit www.fastcharity.ro for more information about FAST.
Asociatia Atelier Sacelean (AAS)
AAS was founded by a group of women to help underprivileged children from Sacele. The children attend after-school homework clubs and are given help with literacy and numeracy to ensure that they remain in or can rejoin mainstream education. The children are also given food and clothing. Their energetic director visits Rroma families to talk about the importance of allowing their children to be educated, and gives advice on cleanliness, nutrition, parenting skills and family planning. Where possible, they try to help them financially so that they can buy washing and cleaning products.
Visit www.ateliersacelean.co.uk for more information about AAS's Work.
The George Moroianu School
The George Moroianu School is a Romanian School with good facilities in the centre of the town. The children involved on the Libra summer programme are those with social difficulties and those with deprivation in their families.
The Summer Project In Sacele
The children from all these organisations join together in activities based in the George Moroianu School. The activities are intended to help break down the social divide between the children from the different backgrounds. We are extremely grateful to Gheorge Munteanu, the head teacher for providing these facilities. Libra’s educational programme includes music, dance, sport, art and craft, all with a message of helping the children to integrate socially.
The local people became aware of this programme which brings all sections of Romanian society together, and opens up the eyes of local High School students to the plight of some of their fellow Romanians.
Bradet Residential Home and School for Children and Young People with Special Needs
Bradet is a Government funded residential home and a school for 90 boys and girls with mild to moderate cognitive disorders. A further 15 to 20 children attend the school on a daily basis.
The summer project in Bradet
Libra has laid the foundations for a long-term partnership involving working together with local students to promote an ethos of learning through play. The children and young people who attend the summer project are given a rich diet of art, craft, music, dance and sport activities to develop their self-confidence and their social skills as well as the more obvious directly related skills.