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Description
The project aims to increase the inclusion and social empowerment of Roma in the city of Hârșova, through interventions that encourage increasing children''s access to quality medical services, through non-formal activities that reduce absenteeism and school dropout, combat ethnic discrimination and increase active participation of Roma people to community decisions. The objectives of the project are to increase access to quality health services for at least 400 school children (of which at least 75% Roma); to develop life skills for at least 500 vulnerable children and youth in the city (including 400 Roma) by providing non-formal educational activities; to increase, by the end of the project, the level of information on legal rights and skills in caring for and educating children for at least 80 parents in vulnerable situations (including at least 30 Roma women), by providing an education parenting programme with awareness and empowerment components; to promote social inclusion and combat any form of discrimination against Roma, by training 10 socio-educational facilitators, 60 professionals working in public administration, 20 community leaders and 10 young Roma. The project activities include the purchase of containers and set up school medical cabinets, the provision medical services in school and non-formal education services, the training of Roma leaders, professionals, and the training of volunteers.
Summary of project results
The project was implemented in the town of Hârșova, a Danube port city with a population of 11,000 inhabitants. From an ethnolinguistic point of view, Hârșova is a very diverse city, with approximately 15% of the population belonging to national minorities (mainly Roma and Turks). The marginalized area of the city has characteristics of a poor periphery, with around 2,800 people living there, mainly Roma. Of these, 35% face severe material deprivation, and lack of education (36% of those aged between 15 and 63 have completed a maximum of 8 grades). 40% of the children in the marginalized area attend school only sporadically, and 18% of the inhabitants report having a disability that affects their daily life.
The project addressed some of the most pressing needs identified in local public documents and established and provided general support services for disadvantaged families, school medicine, and programs for parental education and health.
The project contributed to increasing access to quality healthcare services for school-aged and preschool children in Hârșova, by establishing two school medicine offices. Approximately 500 vulnerable children and young people participated in a non-formal education program, and around 80 adults benefited from parental education services. The project also had an empowerment component, which was part of the non-formal activities carried out with children and adults in the Roma community.
A highlight of the project was the diversity festival, which took place as a celebration of the entire city and showcased its diversity, highlighting Roma culture and traditions.
The project created a community service system for children and young people, which benefits the entire marginalized community in Hârșova. Both medical services and parental education activities provided high-quality social services to individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds (especially of Roma ethnicity), services that are replicable in other communities with similar issues. The diversity festival proved to be a true social glue, bringing together all three main ethnic groups of the city, celebrating diversity and tolerance.