In Romania, Terre des hommes (Tdh) runs social protection and children’s rights projects. All these projects are managed by local partners, who are supported institutionally, technically and financially. In 2007, we will carry out a complete overhaul of our activities in Romania.

Social Protection – The first project to be implemented by Terre des hommes focused on the prevention of maternal abandonment. Due to socio-economic reasons, numerous young mothers are rejected by their family and abandon their children, with no care structures available. Together with our partner ACSIS, we welcome them and provide them with social support. In an effort to curb the street children phenomenon, we work with another partner, FOC, to carry out prevention programmes in schools and families against children dropping out of school.

Also within the school environment, we work on the prevention of juvenile delinquency, together with the Association Jean Valjean. Finally, a more recent project in the south of the country, in Craiova, concentrates on the prevention of migratory flows and child trafficking.

Children’s Rights - Together with the Association Jean Valjean and the lawyers practice Ana Vadan, Tdh assists children that are confronted with the legal system and who don’t have the means to defend themselves. Relying on the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Tdh works on two aspects: on the one hand we help to provide the children with an adequate defence and to avoid their systematic placement in an institution, and on the other hand we offer training to all the people involved in the legal system. Finally, together with the Federation UNOPA, we work on having the rights of children affected by AIDS respected by the national authorities.


Tdh yesterday…
Terre des hommes started to intervene in Romania in 1992, 3 years after the fall of the Ceaucescu regime, and concentrated its priorities on fighting the marginalisation of the most vulnerable children, largely through an initial project preventing maternal abandonment, followed by another concerning street children. In 1997, Tdh started a programme for minors in conflict with the law, offering them legal and social assistance, and training the professionals working in the legal system. In 2000, Tdh started a project whose goal was to have the rights of HIV positive children respected. In 2005 we offered best practice training to state institutions in the area of child protection. Our latest programme integrates Romania into a regional (Eastern Europe) prevention and protection project against child trafficking and the dangers of migration, and also re-enforces child protection through advocacy.


…and tomorrow
Terre des hommes has planned to disengage from its current partners, from 2007, in order to focus on technical support, skills transfer and advocacy activities amongst local and national authorities. Our direct intervention will extend the reach of our new child trafficking prevention programme and that of the regional child protection project. Stronger support may however be given to our partner in the maternal abandonment project.


Real-life
My name is Gabriel and I’m 24 years old. If I’ve managed to succeed on a professional level, it’s thanks to the help of the Foundation FOC facilities in Sector 5, one of the most disadvantaged areas of Bucharest.

My first contact with them goes back to 1998, when I was in my last year of secondary school and in a very turbulent period of my life. I didn’t really know what I wanted out of life, I was worrying about the meaning of life, a common problem here…This organisation, supported by Terre des hommes, helped me emotionally, socially and professionally through their educational, creative and instructive programmes, and also thanks to the numerous discussions they had with me. After some time, I started to contribute to these activities, joining them as a volunteer.

After secondary school I worked as a nursery nurse and that helped me to better understand myself and those around me. My colleagues encouraged me to make the most of my abilities and to try my chances at university. I passed the entrance exam and was able to obtain a grant for the Technical University of Civil Engineering of Bucharest. The first year was difficult, due to my precarious financial situation. But I was able to get, in addition, a personal grant. From now on I get a regular amount which will help me to finish my studies, covering college expenses and part of my personal expenses.

Since meeting the people at FOC and Tdh, all the changes in my life, socially, educationally, professionally or emotionally, have been positive and beneficial. This support has enabled me to pursue a path towards a better and more secure future.