TO:
RELIEF FUND FOR ROMANIA
BOARD
REPORT
On the activity of Fundatia
de Sprijin Comunitar for the quarter April-June
2011 30.06.2011 ECONOMIC ASPECTS
IN
After a long
wet and cold spring when many young plants died, luckily no flooding
occurred, the summer is here with the same dusty atmosphere especially
in the villages. The crops
are affected and in order to speed up the production of vegetables people
are starting to use high dose fertilizers. This causes unusual development
in plants and probably in health. Nothing is safe anymore! The fuel
price (1.25 GBP/litter) is a nightmare for everybody and caused the
prices to go up and the inflation to go high. The VAT (24%) is also
a huge burden on people. This prevents NGOs (including us) to apply
to the European Funds as they don’t cover this cost. The beneficiaries
have to come up the 24% plus their own contribution, another 5-10% and
it makes it impossible to handle the situation. The government
continues to amaze through various plans and strategies that include:
territorial reorganization, coalitions and police restructuring. We
will have local elections next year and the campaigns has already started
through accusations, letters and promises. The population is trying
to survive and those that can apply for jobs abroad. Many doctors and
nurses have already left the country. The unemployment
is still high and The Romanians
working abroad have no intention to return and tend to make a long term
living there. They seem to send less and less money in We recently
had a meeting with several organizations in Other topics: The Health and Education Systems continue to feel the
ravaging effects of economic and social crisis. This pressure is so
strong that it justifies the hypothesis of the rulers creating all kind
of artificial problems, to dissimulate tragedies like that of the Health
sector, which will thus move out of the public spotlight. The effects
of the crisis are so severe that even the positive, well-meant actions
turn into their contrary and increase the drama of the Health system.
Although the share of GDP allotted to Health increased in the recent
years, the crisis of the medical system further deepened. The reasons for this decay are mainly financial. Low
salaries forced many doctors and nurses to seek better jobs abroad,
with all the problems resulting from a staff deficit across the system
– inadequate treatment, patients dying from wrongly prescribed medicines
or lack of post-surgery medication. This also amplifies the contradictions
between the medical treatment granted to those who can pay bribes and
those who cannot. In
a country that is barely crawling out of crisis, where public sector
employees make 25 per cent less than at mid-2010, in a Romania where
the Government has no money and is therefore will squeeze a nickel till
the buffalo chokes (meaning squeeze the tax payer off his last dime),
some incredible high salaries are being paid. And all this is happening
after the Emil Boc Cabinet has implemented ‘reforms’ and ‘restructuring’. But
Maybe
things are better this year, some may say. After all, the prime-minister
told us that, statistically, we were out of recession and would register
1.3 – 1.5 per cent economic growth in 2011. But reality seems to be
saying something quite different. In just five months this year, the
state borrowed a staggering EUR 11.5 bln just to repay older loans falling
due and to be able to meet current expenses. The problem is not the
amount of the loans, but the way in which the money has been spent.
What
is there to be said about the living standard? Sixty-six per cent of
Romanians say they are not going on holiday this year because they do
not afford it. Another statistical fact is that 2.9 M Romanian households
do not have a bathroom! On the other hand, lay-offs go on at the national
railways, Interior Ministry (no less than 7,800) and other public institutions.
It’s hard to understand how the state can afford to pay so many CNADNR
experts while letting go policemen and, with them, public safety. The
ethnic Roma population of “Widespread
intolerance and prejudice against Roma, combined with the lack of adequate
housing laws, gave local authorities a blank check to overtly discriminate
them,” said Barbora Cernusakova, the Amnesty International official
in charge with Romania. The right to an adequate dwelling is not recognised
or defended by Romanian laws, she added. “This can affect any Romanian
citizen, especially the most vulnerable and marginalised,” she warned. Amnesty
International warned that, when Romanian authorities “evict Roma communities
against their will, without consulting and informing them the right
way, and without providing alternate housing,” they infringe international
treaties. About
two million ethnic Roma live in Source: Nine O’clock GENERAL OVERVIEW ON FSC ACTIVITY
AND ITS ROLE IN THE COMMUNITY
The Norwegian grants ended
in April with a major end of grants conference in We are now back to the period
before the grants and having to project a long period based on minimal
grants available. This is going to be very tricky
as we started a series of new activities (home care in rural, community
transport, etc.) that are expensive, needed and in geopardy. FSC received 3 awards at this year Civil Society Gala in Bucharest: Best
sustainable project: “The Club with Glue”, Project with most impact-“Integrated
services for the elderly”, second best project on social care “Integrated
services for the elderly”. These awards speak for themselves and give
us more strength in this continuous mission of doing more and better.
FSC was acclaimed on stage in The local mass-media presented
these results extensively. COMMENTS ON THE ACTIVITIES
After our planning meetings we came up to a plan that
allows us to carry on, this year, all work but on a smaller scale. This
means cut in positions and in salary levels (by 25%). The intention
is to keep it all going this year and make a plan for next year according
to the level of commitment of the local communities. Meaning that if
the mayors make financial contributions for the home care programme
this year we will try to continue the work in the specific community.
If they fail to do that we will probably close the service. Anyhow,
we tried everything possible to convince the mayors that the services
are needed and they should pay for them. Some people had to go and this induced increased worries
in general. We explained the changes and the intention to cut costs
and carry on at a lower level. The good thing is that we have a very
good level of understanding and commitment at the core level, the key
people (coordinators) are focused on attracting new resources and improve
managerial efficiency for spending less and producing more. Number of beneficiaries in the quarter:
The Financial Situation for
2011-2012/relationship with authorities We had a recent meeting with the Director of the City
social services to discuss the funding allocation from the city budgets
on social care. The money is small and in spite of the complaints from
various NGOs it will remain like this as “the city has many needs”.
In real terms there is no political will to fund from
the city budget the development of the services for the population.
However, we intend to present a study on the need for services to several
counselors and see what they think. The problem is that they do what
the mayor wants and he believes that sport, churches, leisure, infrastructure
are more important than services. The relationship with the County Council is excellent
and supportive. They are very pleased for our work in the villages and
are committed to help financially. The problem is that the current government
is planning national geographical and administrative reorganization
with the intention to have regional offices and not at county level
anymore. This means that We prepared a study on the need for services for rural
areas and funding them and we will organize a meeting with the Ministry
of Work, the aim is to lobby for dedicated funding from the government
for the social services. The local budgets are really insufficient to
cover their costs, especially in the villages. |
FUNDING
APPLICATIONS WAITING FOR AN ANSWER
| SOURCE |
PROJECT |
Amount requested |
| Petrom Company |
Water sewage system in Panu |
15,000 Euro-approved |
| CEE Trust |
Care of the Elderly-advocacy |
47,000 Euro-failed |
| County Council |
Various activities in rural areas |
75,000 GBP-approved |
| LAW 34: restricted care of elderly |
|
70,889 Euro-approved |
| Progress grants/EU-partnership RFFR |
Clubs with Glue |
300,000 Euro-failed |
| UN Fund |
Democracy for children |
250,000 USD-awaited |
| Orange-mobile phone company |
Clubs with Glue |
25,000 Euro-failed |
| European Social Fund |
Rural women: entrepreneurship |
330,000 GBP-awaited |
| European funds |
Improving the partnership NGO-administration |
50,000 Euro, awaited |
| Youth in action |
Volunteerism activities |
5,000 Euro-awaited |
Care of Elderly
We celebrated 9 years of activity at the Day Centre Speranta_Dr. Stefan
Ciobanu through an open day and various artistic activities: drama, music,
dancing, flower exhibition, etc. The beneficiaries were very proud and happy
to be active and main actors of the celebration.
The centre is located into a building that used to be a crèche.
Because there were no more children they left the building unused for a long
time. When we entered the building the place was run down, rain coming through
the roof. The demographic situation is changing as there are more births and
therefore the demand for crèche care has gone up. We therefore had
a visit from the city council as they were evaluating the building with the
intention to change it back to the initial destination. This is a risk that
may occur in spite of the current activity and good use of the building. If
they consider that the need for infant care is higher than day care for the
seniors than is nothing we can do.
We continue to provide home care services in the 8 communities: Dealu
Morii, Gaiceana, Glavanesti, Huruiesti, Motoseni,Stanisesti, Tatarasti and
Vultureni. During April _ June 2011 we offered health, social and home care
to about 600 elderly.
Integrated services in rural areas: Podu Turcului area
The work continues to be varied and focused on the care of the elderly,
mother and baby services, the community transport and the social care. The
existing centres for the children make a big difference to in the communities.
We donated the minibuses of the community transport service to the communities,
the mayors agreed to carry on the activities, to assure the fuel and the maintenance
of the minibuses and to cover the salary of the drivers. The donation is conditioned
by the correct use of vehicles and respect of the partnership principles.
We have development plans for each community in case we have funding opportunities.
We will continue to keep the dialogue open with the local mayors and try
to secure their financial commitment.
IMPART: COMBINED ART TECHNIQUES
We managed to print the third version of the training manual. This includes
sections on advanced working techniques, included in the accredited training
curricula. We decided to take out the legislation and we added more practical
information.
Muzika in
The Impreuna Network has now over 1,800 members, 200 people registered
in the quarter.
On the 14th
of April we organized a regional seminar under Impreuna network, we had 35 people from 7 counties. The main purpose of
this seminar was to discuss with the most active members of Impreuna Network,
about developing combined arts stimulation field and evolving of Impreuna
Network.
The intention is to carry on as before and to take forward some ideas
discussed at the regional seminar:
v
The Network should be more visible.
v
We have to continue working on 3rd module accreditation,
the qualification in “Combined arts worker” profession.
v
We need more experience exchange visits (depending on the existent
funding).
v
Better lobby for this field in institutions and in mass-media.
v
It would be great if we’ll have a virtual library and an online
store for products made by people with disabilities around the country.
v
We should make preparations for a postgraduate program in combined
arts field. More visits were required and trainings in different fields like
“Parents school”.
THE GLUE CLUBS AND MOSAIC CENTRE
The activity of
the centres (Godinesti, Panu, Podu Turcului, Fintinele and
We start with the
kindergarten education, then we help the children during the school, we encourage
them to go to high schools and then we help the poorest with scholarships
for higher education.
This scholar year
we were able to help 80 village children with scholarships. At the end of
the school we organized a festive meeting and we congratulated them for their
results (in a difficult year for them-the transition from village to city
life and school requests is quite tough). We invited the sponsors to see them
and to explain the need for continuation. Hopefully the major ones (Kaufland
and Agricola) will continue to help.
The sewage system
in Panu is almost completed. The next step will be an outdoor play area, the
courtyard and a small sport field. Earlier this year we bought a small piece
of land next to the centre which is quite useful. This will make possible
to organize the sport area.
We had special
Easter celebrations in all our centres with careful preparation of eggs and
decorations, but also with artistic performances organised in the centres
for an audience of parents and guests.
Each educational
centre celebrated the International Children’s Day, with performances from
the children, lots of games, contests and fun. All the participants received
treats and the most deserving ones received prizes and awards. The children
from the Mosaic Centre went on a trip to the Neamt county, sponsored by BRD
bank.
VOLUNTEERS PROGRAMME
After a series of planning meetings we developed several departments under
the programme, these include: project developers, website managers, news collectors,
fundraisers, etc. The aim is to use their skills and potentials and to attract
more resources for the organization. We started by organizing training sessions
for them in: communication, team work, project management and fundraising.
Most of them are very enthusiastic and willing to do more.
We are preparing the summer schools in 6 locations together with the traditional
British partners: Libra and Life. They will cover most costs, we assure the
logistics, contacts and access to the children. We believe that this is a
good and productive partnership.
We organized the National Volunteer Week between 9th-16th of May, a traditional
event already being at the third edition. In the special week we organized
two important events: The volunteers Gala and the Volunteers Fair. The aim
of the Gala was to award the most active volunteers and the Fair wanted to
show to the entire community what volunteers can do.
Among the other participating NGOs were: Habitat for Humanity Comanesti,
ONESTIN Youth Assosiation, Animal Protection Association Bacau, We Love Nature
Association, Saint Ioan Bosco Foundation, Tourism and Ecology Club, The National
Antidrug Agency. A total of 700 people attended the event.
We finally have a group of trained volunteers able to work websites under
the supervision of Florin Finaru. The volunteers website: www.voluntarifsc.ro was entirely designed
by them and is being updated regularly. With their help we managed to copy
FSC’s website on Google, www.fsc.ro is now
under direct updating and management by a group of FSC employees (it is much
easier to use Google for webpages).
FUNDRAISING
The department has been busy in the quarter approaching various local
companies with specific requests for sponsorship under the Easter Campaign,
1st of June or celebration of 9 years of Speranta Centre.
It is very worrying that the results are very low, only some cakes or
toys were obtained. After so many years of working in this community and “educating
the local business community” there is such a low response.
This was somehow explained by the Director of the Chamber of Commerce
who commented in relation to the corporate social responsibility that <<the
Romanian small and medium businesses, especially in
However we will continue to approach them hoping that one day something
will eventually change.
Conclusions
We hope to be able to keep most work going but it is all conditioned by
many factors. We are very grateful for RFFR’s help especially now after the
end of the Norwegian grants.
Please convey our sincere thanks to RFFR board for the real partnership,
friendship and support. Many special thanks to Edward Parry, it is great to
know that you care and understand the needs and the current situation in
For FSC Board,
Gabriela Achihai, President
To see previoius reports
CLICK
HERE FSC Board report April-June 2010.htm