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Children from poor families in Ostra have an after school centre

29.12.2009

In the old mining colony at Ostra, Suceava County, an “after-school” educational centre was set up, where some twenty children from poor families in the village can eat, do their homework, learn English and are taught basic computer skills.

The “Aba-Del-Tin” educational centre was set up based on a project financed by the Romanian Fund for Social Development, through the Social Development Scheme of Mining Communities. The project was brought forward by the “Aba-Del-Tin” association in Suceva, together with the Ostra City Hall, the Ostra Local Council and the Secondary school in the commune.

The main objectives of the centre are focused on preventing school abandon among children who come prom very poor families in the mining community, promoting their growing up in their natural families, as well as encouraging parents to educate their young and make them familiar with the notion of children’s rights. Ostra community was picked out because it met all the necessary eligibility conditions as set in the Social Development Scheme of Mining Communities. The estimate cost of the project reaches 43,000 dollars.

“The main beneficiary of this project will be the 20 children, who are currently in elementary school in Ostra, and come from families with very low incomes, as well as mono-parental families”, explains Lidia Stărică, vice-president of the “ Aba-Del-Tin ” association and the project’s coordinator.

Implementing the project started on the 25^th of November 2008, when the City Hall in Ostra set at the association’s disposal the entire first floor of a bloc of apartments across the street from the school. The place was chosen so that, after classes finish, the children wouldn’t have far to walk up to the “after school” centre – they just have to cross the street.

Renovating the space took up almost 10 months, because all the plumbing was replaced, thermopane windows set in, and new floors brought in. The activities’ space is more than large enough, with two classrooms, two dining rooms, a room for recreational activities, the teachers’ lounge, a psychologist’s office and a nurse’s one, a room for storage, and of course, bathrooms. Separate entrances have been made for the wood shed and heating room.

The children are getting better and better grades

The centre was inaugurated on the 11^th of September 2009, so that the 20 children could come to the after-school centre from their very first day in school. “After the morning program of elementary schools, at 12 PM, children can come to the centre and have lunch, after which they can play until 1 PM. From 1 to 3 they do their homework, supervised by an English teacher, an IT teacher and an elementary teacher. After they finish their homework, they can move on to other activities which they love: learning English and improving their computer skills. That’s about it for their daily schedule”, says the project’s coordinator.

The initiative’s success is confirmed by the fact that the 20 children have started to get better grades in school and are proud that they are learning English and how to use a computer, almost reaching a stardom status among their peers in school who don’t have the same opportunity.

German volunteers

The project’s coordinator thinks that these children have received a lot with very little money, but her great satisfaction is that a young girl from Germany, who found out about the project, has thought it so interesting that she wants to work as a volunteer there. “With very little money, we’ve set up a really nice after-school centre. A student from Germany also worked with us in the project, as a volunteer. She found out about our association and about the project, bout this educational centre, she liked the idea, contacted us and came to work here even before we had opened. From August to October she worked in our centre, taking part in all the activities together with the other teachers”, says teacher Lidia Stărică.

Children from poor families in Ostra have an after school centre

The children are getting better and better grades

German volunteers

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