COMMUNITY ACTION IN ROMANIA 2009

For the past 10 years, JAGS girls have worked in a unique residential Community Action project in Romania. Working in partnership with Christ’s Hospital School and, for the past two years, with the Children’s High Level Group (www.chlg.org) an international charity supported by J.K. Rowling and Baroness Emma Nicholson, JAGS girls have applied and been selected for a very demanding project for which they must research, plan carefully and fundraise for several months before the summer.

The girls live and work in the placement centres together with abandoned children, many of whom have learning, behavioural and physical difficulties. The challenge is to plan and implement a two week programme of learning through fun, which involves sessions in Art, Craft, Music, Drama and Sport. Each year we pick a theme, to weld the activities together, and to give shape to the performance we give to the local community; this year’s theme was Fantasy.

Most important to the plan, and what has made it a ground-breaking project throughout Romania and much of eastern Europe, is the involvement of local sixth formers, recruited by our partners in Romania from leading academic schools, to join the team and work with the JAGS girls to lead  the sessions and take responsibility for the children. The emphasis is very much on local self-sustainability, so that the project continues after we leave, and the local students are encouraged and supported to continue the contact with the children. The success of these projects over the years has led the Romanian government to create a National Strategy for Community Action, which gives all young people the opportunity to volunteer through their schools for this kind of work, and now involves 90,000 young people in Romania. JAGS girls are therefore at the forefront of change in leading by example, and encouraging their peers in Romania to take part throughout the year, as well as in changing  educational policy and philosophy at the highest government levels, not only in Romania, but now in Moldova, Georgia and Armenia, where the CHLG is also working: as one student said , “I feel like I am part of  hugely important scheme which more people should be involved in”. 

Over the past 10 years JAGS projects have been based at first in Craiova, in South-west Romania, then near Brasov, in Transylvania, and this year, for the first time, we were further north in Transylvania, between Cluj and Targiu Mures.  The projects, which are run in partnership with Christ's Hospital school, always involve equal numbers of Romanias Sixth Form volunteers, who are essential, both in providing the language link with the children, and in ensuring the long-term sustainability of the project; after we leave, the Romanian volunteers undertake to continue visiting and organising events for the children.  The students, together planned, organised and adapted the activities which had been planned in advance for 5 groups of up to 15 young people, who varied widely in abilities and in age from 5 to 24. It was immensely challenging to engage such disparate groups in the busy programme of activities, and the team of JAGS and Romanian students worked at full stretch throughout the two weeks to adapt their ideas and make best use of themselves and the equipment we had brought to do so. Staff input, from English and Romanian teachers, was to encourage and focus the students, but the planning and delivery of the sessions depended on the students’ leadership entirely, and they rose impressively to the challenge.  Highlights of the 2 weeks included a sports day, entirely organised by the students, for the children, of all ages and abilities,  

and the final performance, for an audience which included local and national officials within the education and Child Protection departments. The 2009 project was at Zau de Campie near Tirgiu Mures in Transylvania.  It involved working at a forestry school with local children as well as those from orphanages.  The projects have, over the years, been seen as a model of good practice by the Romanian government which now, with the support of the Children's High Level Group (a British charity founded by J K Rowling), has developed a National strategy for Community Action to provide similar opportunities for voluntary work for all Romanian young people.

 The project, as always, has been a life-changing experience for all those who participated, and planning starts soon for next year.  For more photos please click here.

Click here for the official report of the 'Integrated Summer Project 2008 at Zau de Campie, Romania'.