Partnership for Quality Education in Rural Interethnic Communities
About the project
In 2018, according to Eurostat, Romania again ranked first in Europe for children at risk of poverty and social exclusion, with 38.1% (representing the percentage of the population under 18). Given that over a third of Romanian children currently live in poverty and lack access to educational services tailored to their needs—further marginalized by stereotypes and cultural differences, particularly for Roma children—a focused and systematic intervention is needed to help them acquire basic skills for a successful life before they reach adulthood.
The project operates in four disadvantaged interethnic communities: Fulga and Valea Călugărească in Prahova, and Coțofănești and Berzunți in Bacău, with the school as the central pillar of the intervention.
We are developing key competencies among interethnic groups of children, with the help of 20 teachers trained as community educators, including literacy, personal and social development, entrepreneurship, citizenship, cultural awareness, and expression.
Additionally, we will train four mixed community mobilization teams and use arts-based awareness methods (e.g., social theater, PhotoVoice) to involve and empower Roma children and women in each commune to voice their needs.
This approach will highlight the essential needs of the Roma community and support community mobilization groups in identifying problems, creating action plans, and mobilizing community resources for continuous development through a relevant partnership between two organizations with complementary expertise: Romanian Angel Appeal Foundation and ART Fusion.
Goals
The project’s goal is to develop fundamental skills that ensure Roma and Romanian children from disadvantaged families have a quality life by implementing an integrated intervention model in four rural interethnic communities (Berzunți and Coțofănești in Bacău County, and Fulga and Valea Călugărească in Prahova County).
Objectives
- Prepare 80 Roma and Romanian children for life by establishing 4 inclusive activity centers in 4 interethnic rural communities and training 5 community educators per center.
- Empower 4 mixed community mobilization teams, each consisting of 8 members, in each of the 4 interethnic rural communities through training.
- Involve and empower 10 Roma children and 10 Roma women in an art-based awareness process (e.g., social theater, PhotoVoice), enabling them to voice their needs and highlight essential issues of the Roma community to local authorities in each of the 4 communes.
Resourses
In this section, you can find all the materials developed within the project. The resources are free and can be used to enhance classroom teaching.
