Projects and Results of the Activities of the “ Romania Initiative Group Bautzen e.V. “ of recent years.
Voluntary Service
( Financing : Donations, Foundation “ Robert- Bosch-Stiftung” , EU )
As already mentioned before , the active participation
of young people in the process of realizing the projects has always been essential
for the “ Romania Initiative Group Bautzen “ . Therefore , young people
from Germany have been sent to Romania since 1991 to do their voluntary service
. These groups consisted mainly of 4 to 6 volunteers who were involved in
organizing leisure activities for the 550 children of the childen´s
home in Cristuru Secuise until 2001. Moreover they tried to improve the living
conditions in the children´s home. The work done by the German group
had an enormous effect on the children´s everyday life .
The staff of the children´s home was divided into two groups :- The
larger one was composed mainly of conservative people who showed very little
respect to the children among whom many were Roma and were used to corporal
punishment and this disrespect.
- a smaller group of progressive, younger and older employees, who tried to
develop new ways of working and living , which were relevant for the children.
This smaller group was strengthened and encouraged by the presence of the
German staff members.
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Among other things the Germans organised regular rounds of discussions on
educational matters and seminars with lecturers from Germany and Europe. This
way, the children´s living conditions
were remarkably improved over the years .A lot of patience, persistence and
vehemence were necessary to achieve this improvement. Additionally , two other
young volunteers have been working there since 2001. Currently a young woman
is working in the “ Family Home “( foster home) of the “
Romania Initiative Group Bautzen” and another young woman is supporting
the youth project of our partners.
Playground
( Financing : 65.000 DM, donations and support by the foundation “ H.Niemann Stiftung “)
Under the guidance of an experienced wood designer young people from Bautzen together with young Romanians built an “ adventure playground” on the ground of the children´s home, which was really something unique for the Romanians.
Wood Workshop
( Financing : 35.000 DM, donations and support by the foundation “ R. – Bosch- Stiftung“)
In 1995 we established a wood workshop in the children´s home, where the children learn basic skills of woodworking. This is realised in so called “working groups”, which meet in their leisure time.Today this workshop is used by many young people from Cristuru Secuiese under the guidance of an experienced wood carver.
Foster Home
( Financing : 120.000 DM, donations and foundation “ R.- Bosch- Stiftung” )
The “ Romania Action Group “ opened a foster home for 4 to 6 parentless children in 2000. The foster parents , a young woman from Bautzen together with her Romanian husband, are currently looking after their two own children and five fostered children. The positive effect on the psychological and social situation of the fostered children is unmistakable. Our foster home has served as a model for a number of foster homes that have been established in the meantime in the area.
Youth Projects
( for each project ca. 16.000 EUR from own resources and public support )
Since 1993 we have , together with the Protestant youth group Bautzen, been organising one or several youth camps a year in Romania.80 to 100 young people from Germany and Romania stayed in these camps. Among the Romanian participants were young people of the Hungarian, Romanian and Roma minorities. These camps are organised on a meadow in the mountains of Karpaten. All the things, which are necessary for everyday life in such a camp have to be made by the young people themselves. Thus, there is an intensive work in the first four to five days . Tables, benches, lavatories, campfire hearths, roofs, sports- and playgrounds, as well as a dam etc. are built.
Each day there are topic-related activities on practical,
political and social matters organised.
Furthermore, every year about 20 young people from Germany travel to Romania
for Christmas and spend ten days with Romanian young people. They bring about
500 gift packs with them, which are packed in the weeks before in Bautzen.
Training
We have committed ourselves very much to the training of young people from Romania to create prospects for them. Through our support several young people from Romania studied and are studying civil engineering, educational science and social work in Germany. We want these well-qualified people to employ their knowledge after graduating in Romania. We succeed to a certain extent. We cooperate with several training centres and companies in Romania and try to help young people to realise their career prospects. This is essential for stopping the continuous migration of people from this region.
Youth Project
Since 2001 we have supported the development of a substantial youth work and educational work of our Romanian partner. The current stage of development and previous results can be found in the activity report of our partner.
March 2004 / Rüdiger Steinke
