Together for a better life

Objective

Impact

Partners

Context

In Romania, more than 40% of the population and over 38.1% of children are exposed to the risk of living in precarious conditions and therefore experiencing major difficulties in accessing health, social and education services, exclusion and discrimination. This is particularly true of the Roma or presumed Roma populations, who are particularly marginalised and excluded by and within Romanian society, in terms of education, inclusion and socio-professional integration (training, access to and retention in employment).

There is a significant gap in access to education between rural and urban areas, with 25% more children dropping out of school before the age of 14 in rural areas, as well as a lower quality of education and a greater lack of qualified staff.  From the age of 13-14, children and young people living in precarious housing are dropping out of school. In Sătmărel, only 5% of them continue their education.

Every year, the country is consistently above the EU average, and in 2019 will be the third country with the highest rate of early school leavers.. In terms of the quality of education, the results of the PISA tests place Romania second only to Bulgaria in the EU, which highlights the difficulties of education.

Since 2018, Action Education has been supporting its operational partner the Stea association, based in Satu Mare, which has over 10 years' experience working with marginalised young orphans living on the streets. Action Education is helping Stea to strengthen its capacity as an associative player to promote the social and economic inclusion of the families of children living in the marginalised urban area of the Sătmărel district in Satu Mare, as well as the recognition and legitimacy of its work among other national and European institutional, operational and financial players.

The project also provides monitoring and support for families, to help them become more involved in their children's education, and to enable them to be more confident and independent in their dealings with the authorities and in accessing their rights. Through the creation and upkeep of a community garden, it also aims to boost the self-confidence, employability and skills of young people and adults.

To support this project :

romania | DATE TO DATE | Access to and quality of education; Socio-professional training; Inclusion/Migration; Support for professionals

 City of Satu Mare - Satmarel district

The aim of the project

To promote the social and economic inclusion of families living in the Satmarel neighbourhood:

Keeping children aged 6 to 14 in school by improving the quality of education and the reception of children and their families by the school; Working with parents to involve them more in education and make them more autonomous; Proposing, through the creation and maintenance of a solidarity garden, to increase the level of employability and the skills of young adults

Together for a Better Life Romania

What we did

Key figures

  • Stea's work has been recognised and strengthened, and its autonomy has become sustainable; 
  • Training modules for local institutions and associations on the education of vulnerable and marginalised children living in precarious housing have been created and delivered, 
  • The action of the educational communities is being strengthened to promote an inclusive school for all the children of Satu Mare 
  • A national and European advocacy campaign has been set up to highlight positive experiences

children aged between 6 and 16, including 38 girls and 48 boys, were monitored. 71 of them are children from the Roma community in Sătmărel and 15 are children from other vulnerable families in the Sătmărel district. This is the first time Stea has managed to bring together this mix of children and young people.

children benefited from personal development activities

children and young people created solidarity projects in groups, developing their knowledge of civil society and their skills in designing and implementing a collective solidarity project

Robotics courses organised in 2022 with 23 children. They learned the basics of coding with logic using code blocks and created different projects with moving characters and animated stories. They were also encouraged to create practical coding projects using educational sensor robots and computer-assisted 3D. Personal development activities focusing on young people's employability were offered to 19 young people aged between 14 and 21.

adults from the Sătmărel community took part in consultation meetings. The families suggested improvements to the activities offered by Stea and identified ways of developing a partnership between them and the educational team.

hours of literacy activities (writing, reading) and tutoring were organised

visits to discover careers as part of the "EduMotivation" activities enabled 60 children and 10 young people to broaden their horizons

through inclusive chess lessons and competitions, children and young people have been able to make progress in cognitive skills (attention, logical thinking, problem solving) and chess playing, enabling them to win 64 medals at regional and national chess tournaments

adults, including 5 men and 14 women, and 14 adults (women) aged between 28 and 52 benefited from skills development activities focusing on employability and adult parenting were organised with

community events were organised

young people aged between 14 and 21 benefited from personal development activities focusing on youth employability

Our partners

Holy-Dis (financial partner) . STEA (operational partner) and its partners*.

Mihai Eminescu National College Satu Mare; Ioan Slavici National College, Gheorghe Dragos Economic College, Pirita Children Association (Baia Mare), Satu Mare Red Cross, CCFD-Terre Solidaire; Satu Mare City Social Assistance Department; Satu Mare General Department of Social Assistance and Child Protection; Grenoble Isère Romania; Satu Mare County School Inspectorate; National Red Cross Society of Romania, Satu Mare County Branch; Solidarité enfance Roumanie.

 

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