Teenagers from Brăila -Tichilești Detention Centre (Romania) have learnt 3D printing techniques and technological machines utilisation methods in order to develop skills that will help them better reintegrate into society.
The courses were held in FabLab (Fabrication Laboratory) – a laboratory established in the Centre by Terre des hommes Romania Foundation team. We opened this FabLab so that these teenagers may have an easier social and professional orientation after release from the Centre and better chances to find a job.
FabLab courses included introduction into 3D modeling and printing, numerical control machine programming and vector graphics for laser engraving. The trainees learnt to print simple objects: personalised keyrings, whistles, wheels, and gift objects that they want to send home to their families.
The impressions of FabLab trainees were transmitted to us by themselves through several interviews. These are the stories of several young people who learnt something from the harsh lessons of the past and are now planning their future with care, attention and courage: some want to enrol in a university or follow a career, others want to set up a small business. They confessed that 3D technology creates opportunities they would have never thought of, and offers them surprising openings in future.
E.P. wants to experience various 3D printing models in order to understand the technique deeply
E.P is a self-taught young man with entrepreneurial spirit, he likes digital technologies, he likes to test and learn by doing.
E.P. was sent to Tichilești Detention Centre when he was a pupil at ”Mihail Sturdza” Technical College of Iași. Now he is 25. He is passionate about cars and car sports (drifting), physical exercises and extreme sports (base jumping). He also likes to listen to music; in his spare time he used to attend concerts and music event along with his friends.
In the Detention Centre, the most interesting spot for him is FabLab, where he learns 3D modeling and printing methods. E.P believes that ”3D modeling has a large application area, and knowledge of 3D printing techniques opens up many options and possibilities. Also, I find laser engraving very interesting, because it is a much nicer tool for creation and personalisation than stickers, for example”, E.P. told us.
E.P. doesn’t find 3D printing difficult because he likes it and understands it. But he admits he needs to be more patient. ”At courses I don’t cope very well because I am a self-taught person and I have no patience to listen to all details and all steps, as I am eager for the practical part so that I can understand the technique deeply.”
He has already printed a key ring and a sectioned engine with moving parts (piston, crankshaft), he engraved a wooden key ring and images of cars. E.P. would like to create many more, but the needs internet access. He is convinced of the surprising possibilities of these tools and he would like to explore them at ease.
FabLab classes gave him an idea for a small business, and also made him want to buy his own 3D printer and laser engraver in order to use them as he wants. E.P. has many ideas that he wants to implement, but first he wants to attend qualification or specialisation courses after his release from the Centre.
For E.P, things worked out in a surprising way. ”If I had been released on parole 4 months ago, I would have missed this FabLab and 3D modeling, a subject that I want to integrate into my life and my activities.”
His advice to the younger ones is to feed their hobbies and thirst for knowledge as much as possible by means of books, magazines, tv programs. ”They should use as many means as possible to stay in contact with their real self, untouched by the negative influences of the environment in which they live”, E.P tells them.
A.S. would like to learn how to create video games
A.S. is 24 years old and came from the Technological Highschool of Slobozia. He is passionate about drawing, underground music, video games and movies, he likes cycling, skateboarding, freerun and parkour.
He attends FabLab classes because there he learns something new and useful that is connected to his hobbies. A.S. does well at courses, he would practice 3D printing daily, if possible. He would do many things, he would print characters from digital games if the conditions in the Centre allow him. A.S. would like to learn to do video and audio editing.
When released from the Centre, he intends to enrol in the “Politehnica” University of Bucharest, Automation and Computer specialisation, and he hopes to be able to create video games.
Asked what message he has for the newcomers in the Centre, A.S. advises them to be good and to value freedom when they are released! But more than freedom, to value family and the dear ones who stood by their side during detention. “It took me years to learn what I am telling them now ”, he concludes his message.
A job or his own business – either option is possible
V.B. is an optimist, self-confident young man. He was a highschool pupil when he had to move to Tichilești Detention Centre, at the age of 19.
He likes to ride a bike, to play football and to go fishing, once in a while.
FabLab courses attract him because he learns something new there, but unfortunately, because of the programme in the Centre, he can rarely attend the courses. V.B. believes that these courses will be useful to him, in future, and for this reason he tries not to miss them. He is working on a project that could become a business, he tells us enthusiastically. At the same time, V.B. seriously considers to continue his studies: he wants to pass the baccalaureate exam and enrol in a university.
He trusts that he will have plenty of work opportunities after the release from Centre.
Time goes fast when you make useful and funny objects
S.V. is passionate about drawing and sports, he likes to play volleyball and football. He is 17 and he comes from ”Garabet Ibrăileanu” highschool of Iași.
S.V. participates with high interest in the FabLab courses because there are all sorts of new things that he sees for the first time. ”Everything I do in the FabLab is captivating, time goes very fast there”, he confessed. S.V. does quite well with the 3D printer. He has already printed keyrings and some funny objects, some of them he offered as gifts, and he would like to make many more.
After being released from the Centre, he is thinking about continuing school, possibly doing some specialisation courses and opening his own business. Maybe in the field of 3D technology also, because there are so many useful things that can be created, S.V. tells us.
B.D. intends to help other young men with his life story
B.D. is a friendly young man who appreciates almost everyone in the Centre – colleagues or guards – because he feels that they are good people and help him.
B.D. is 27. Before moving to Tichilești Centre, he was a pupil at Motru Technical College, in Gorj county.
His hobbies are fitness, weightlifting, football, but most of all he likes reading and personal development.
B.D. attends classes in FabLab because he likes to learn new things. It is an interesting and attractive domain, but he finds it a bit difficult because he has not worked with technological tools before. In the FabLab he printed keyrings, statuettes, vases and other objects, some of which he would like to give to family and friends. He learns digital technology for the sake of learning, and hoping that it will be useful to him sometime, in future.
B.D. plans to take the baccalaureate exam and enrol in a university. He would be happy if he could study and get his driver’s licence while he is in the Centre. He would like to work as a driver on a concrete mixer truck. It would be a good opportunity for him to use the 3D printing experience: if a part of the machine breaks, he could easily manufacture it on the 3D printer with the scanner.
For B.D., personal development is the motivation and goal in all his activities. He knows how much it means, both to himself and to others. When he is released, he would like to help young people in detention and also those outside, as a volunteer-mentor, with his life story, because ”an example set in front of them is better than documentation” , B.D tells us.
FabLab was established in Brăila Tichilești Detention Centre, within PRECISION 2 project – promoting wellbeing and reducing recidivism of juvenile offenders in Romania. Through this project, over 250 children and youth from Romanian detention centres will benefit from a programme aimed at ensuring their reintegration into society. The project is implemented by Terre des hommes Foundation in the period 2023-2025 and is funded by MEDICOR Foundation.
