History and Activities of the Initiative
In April 1990 young people of the Protestant youth group
of the Lutheran parish St. Petri
Bautzen visited a Romanian children´s home in Cristuru Secuiesc
( Hungarian )
to provide the home with aid supplies. About 500 children lived there at that
time. The experiences and impressions made there had a deep effect on the
youth group participants.
After returning they decided to collect money to establish their own voluntary
service, which made it possible for young people to live and work in a Romanian
children´s home. The organisation “Rumänieninitiativgruppe
Bautzen e.V.“ („Romania Initiative Group Bautzen“) was founded
in Bautzen to realise this idea.
On 3 October 1991 the first three youth volunteers began their year long stay
in Romania. In December more volunteers followed. From 1991 to 2001, four
to seven young people worked as educators or assistants in the Romanian children´s
home, most stayed for two years. From 1991 until now 63 young people in all
have done their voluntary service in Romania.
Since 2001 the children´s home has been in the process of closing. Since
then the action group has directed its activities towards the support of the
youth activities in the area in and near Cristuru Secuiese.
While working in Romania there had often been a lack of reliable, constructive
and helpful partners for years. Our work was hindered e.g. by the complicated
conditions in the children´s home and there were only few employees
who were ready to support us.
This situation has changed dramatically since about 1999.
In the meantime there are a lot of people in Cristuru Secuiese, who have a
cosmopolitan, longsighted and goal-orientated attitude . They form an enormous
potential of energy, fantasy and commitment.
They have a great vision – to establish an international centre for
meeting and education near Cristuru Secuiese. A place is going to be founded
, where meeting people and education are supposed to take place in a wider
and more comprehensive sense. It is especially supposed to provide people
from lower social groups with the opportunity to broaden their mind and to
understand the European idea.
The basic idea is an exchange among minorities in Romania and meeting people
from all over Europe.
Furthermore the cultivation and revival of various customs and traditions
of people from these regions, as well as the political, social ,ecological
and developmental-psychological education for people of all generations and
social classes are part of this idea.
