Three years ago the children from Bacău County decided for themselves the investments they and their schools needed
PRESS RELEASE
BUCHAREST, December 10, 2020. Today Terre des hommes Foundation in Romania officially concluded a project that aimed to improve the educational infrastructure in the rural area of Bacău County and to create safer and more welcoming schools for 11,000 students.
The project ended with an online conference, which was attended by teachers from the communities involved, children, Foundation partners, mayors, as well as Mr. Sorin Ion, the Secretary of State for Pre-University Education, and H.E. Mr. Arthur Mattli, Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation to Romania. Also, Prof. Sergiu Băltățescu presented at the conference a sociological survey on child welfare, a study conducted among children from seven communities in Bacău.
Project results
In 2017, the Terre des hommes team started the SHINE project (Support for social infrastructure, health and education) by going to Bacău County and asking 800 children what their primary needs were related to education. At the top of the children's list were "colorful schools, roads, toilets in schools, better school buses, a place to have lunch."
The Terre des hommes Foundation assessed these needs on the spot and found that in some communities, some schools had toilets on a hill, students played sports on gravel, or depended on unreliable means of transportation and lost hours on the road to and from school.
Thus began the two and a half years of work : making a total of 50 investments in 37 communities, according to the children’s wishes, as follows:
- 21 investments in school furniture and equipment in Asău, Berzunți, Blăgești, Căiuți, Colonești, Corbasca, Dămienești, Dofteana, Letea Veche, Lipova, Moinești (two investments), Oituz, Poduri, Răchitoasa, Sănduleni, Stănișești, Târgu Ocna, Urechești, and Zemeș
- 11 sports fields made in Bogdănești, Căiuți, Colonești, Găiceana, Moinești, Motoșeni, Slănic Moldova, Târgu Ocna, Vultureni, and Zemeș
- 6 buildings rehabilitated and / or equipped with heating installation in Bogdănești, Berești-Tazlău, Berzunți, Moinești, Ungureni, and Vultureni
- 6 playgrounds created in Gura Văii, Negri, Pîrjol, Racova, Sarata, and Scorțeni
- 3 bathrooms installed in Dealu Morii, Horgești, and Motoșeni
- 3 school minibuses purchased in Asău, Buhuși and Strugari
In total, over 11,000 children have benefited and will benefit from the investments within the SHINE project, and 37 schools in Bacău can now welcome students with a better infrastructure.
Involving the children
The SHINE project meant not only investments, but also a process of encouraging children to express their opinions and demand their rights. Hundreds of children were involved from the beginning in choosing the type of investment, then in helping design the playgrounds or school furniture.
The Terre des hommes Foundation organized non-formal education activities with the students, which helped them to get to know each other and to express themselves. Last but not least, they prepared them to use the goods and investments in the schools responsibly, to ask for access to them and to report any irregularities. H.E. Mr Arthur Mattli, Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation, remarked at the conference that "Terre des hommes has invested not only in infrastructure but also in educating small leaders".
“Through this process through which the Foundation's team always consulted the children at every stage and through the non-formal education activities carried out with them in schools, the children understood that they are the most important in the educational process. And beyond the concrete achievements, this is probably the most important success of the project, because these children will grow up aware that they have essential rights and will claim them", said Tudor Roșu, who leads the Eastern European Delegation of the Terre des hommes Foundation.
Involvement of local town halls
The Terre des hommes Foundation has invested $ 1.7 million according to the needs indicated by students, but the total value of the investments is almost double if we include the amounts invested by town halls in some communities. "Sometimes they had the funds, but they needed to be consulted about their use," said Marian Dămoc, Terre des hommes Field Monitoring & Evaluation Officer. "So we were a <spark> that triggered the desire of the mayors to help, and we showed them how to make other investments for children.”
However, at this moment, pupils in Bacău cannot benefit from these facilities due to the pandemic, and their problems have been aggravated: poverty, domestic violence or violence directed toward them, and low educational levels. When they return to school, these problems will resurface in the absence of coordinated support from the authorities. Terre des hommes thus points to the need for all children, especially those in the most disadvantaged areas, to be supported to continue their education.
