Roma inclusion projects started in Alba, Gorj and Tulcea counties
Over 900 Roma persons belonging to disadvantaged groups will benefit from integrated inclusion and empowerment services, through two projects financed under the Local Development Programme, officially launched in February 2021. The promoters of these projects are the Roma Centre for Health Policies – SASTIPEN and Pakiv Association Romania.
Community centres in 3 poor communities in Gorj and Tulcea
The project “CCSI – Intervention model in the process of Roma inclusion and empowerment”, implemented by the Roma Centre for Health Policies – SASTIPEN in partnership with the Institute for Public Policies (IPP), ActiveWatch Association, Polovragi Commune City Hall (Gorj County), Hamcearca Commune City Hall and Ciucurova Commune City Hall (Tulcea County) aims to support the Roma from three poor communities in the area of the three communes by facilitating their access to integrated services: educational, medical, mediation and employment, within three community centres to be set up under the project.
During the launching event organized in February, Marius Rădulescu, Project Manager. Highlighted the added value brought to the project by the partner organizations and local authorities: “The innovation of this project consists in the synergy between the expertise and resources of each partner, thus contributing to increasing the Roma social inclusion and empowerment and the promotion of a balanced development and social cohesion, at local and national level. In addition to the activities directly related to the community centres, from which at least 900 persons will benefit, we will carry out Roma empowerment activities, to actively participate in the decision-making process and activities promoting the intercultural dialogue and discrimination combating”.
Present at the project launching event, Mihaela Peter, Executive Director of the Romanian Social Development Fund, highlighted the experience of the project promoter in implementing EEA financed projects and the importance of the partnership between non-governmental organizations and local authorities: “This project is recommended by the partnership it managed to create. In addition to the topics it aims to address, I believe that this partnership brings added value, because it is a historical partnership, it has a past and a future. One one hand, it is a partnership that has been exercised in time, a partnership with experience in EEA funds. On the other hand, it is a new type of partnership, in which NGOs bring together local authorities which assume the sustainability. This project has a great potential to become an example of good practices”.
Social inclusion measures for persons deprived of their liberty
The project NORDIS – Increasing the Chances of Social Inclusion for the Roma Deprived of Liberty in Aiud Penitentiary, implemented by Pakiv Romania Association, aims to support the endeavours for the social inclusion of 635 persons deprived of liberty (including 430 Roma), by providing a set of customized and integrated measures within Aiud Penitentiary.
The detainees will benefit from social and educational services, survey of occupational interests, skills development, training of professional competencies, and, last but not least, health services. In addition, the penitentiary staff will be trained in working with Roma persons and on anti-discrimination issues and 4 awareness campaigns will be carried out on the phenomenon of discrimination of any kind, in penitentiaries.
“The NORDIS project is correlated with similar initiatives developed by relevant partnerships in the field and aims to increase the quality of integrated services for Roma people and combat the discrimination”, said Gruia Ioan Bumbu, President of Pakiv Romania Association, during the launching event organized in February.
Photo source: Roma Lives Matter