Romania: Addressing the Children Left Behind

School and Community. Model of intervention in the communities with children left behind

The age at which people leave the country to go work abroad is increasingly becoming younger,

The age at which people leave the country to go work abroad is increasingly becoming younger,

“The age at which people leave the country to go work abroad is increasingly becoming younger, and it seems that working abroad seems to be transmitted from one generation to another, at present many young people, the children’s elder brothers, having also left abroad, besides their parents.” – one of the conclusions of SFR’s recently launched guide: “School and Community. Model of intervention in the communities with children left behind” [1].

The guide is part of School and Community, one of Soros Foundation Romania’s educational programs that was dedicated to communities with a high rate of Romanian migrants, focused on their children, and on developing socio-educational solutions to improve their situation.

School and Community was a 3 years program (2008-2011), all this time more than 200 children at risk from 3 rural communities in Romania were part of our initiatives.

The guide comprises:

– the analysis of European and national background of the „children left behind” phenomenon;

– legislative issues;

– programs methodology;

– a research on the impact of the program in the involved communities;

– a short analysis of the situation of children that had to return to Romania and if Romania is prepared to welcome them.

This guide is addressed to schools that are working with children whose parents left to work abroad, to local authorities from the communities with a high migration incidence, to parents but also to non-governmental organizations and other actors interested in this phenomenon.

Migration also operates on the value level, affecting the attitude towards school and the life accomplishment aspirations in general. The family as an institution is affected in its training and educative function.” This represents another conclusion of the guide and is exactly that type of situation (but not the only one) that Soros Foundation Romania, with the support of local teams (formed mainly from teachers) tried and succeeded, in most of its part, to improve.


[1] The publication is available on SFR’S website: http://soros.ro/en/program_articol.php?articol=299

 

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