APPLICANT

CASA SAN GIUSEPPE – CONGREGATION OF THE SISTERS OF THE IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY

STR. STEJANFUL – ODORHEIU SECUIESC – HARGHITA – ROMANIA

For around 20 years, Casa San Giuseppe has welcomed children from all over Romania who face social hardship, are orphaned, or live in extreme poverty. In addition to providing food, accommodation, and care, it supports their education until adulthood. Alongside the approximately 160 children and young people aged 2 to 17 living at the home, it currently supports around 60 former residents studying at Romanian universities, securing scholarships and paying for their student accommodation. Some have already graduated.

Casa San Giuseppe is a private institution established through the determination of Mother Ionela, who recently passed away. As a private institution, it receives no government funding and relies entirely on the generosity of its benefactors and Divine Providence.

PROJECT TITLE

FUTURE FOR CHILDREN – CHILDREN ARE THE FUTURE

“Those who educate children well deserve greater respect than those who bring them into the world: parents give them life, educators the art of living well.”
(Aristotle)

PROJECT BENEFICIARIES

The project benefits children aged 3 to 18 living at CASA SAN GIUSEPPE, as well as children and young people who visit the home for study, recreation, or sports camps. Every resident has a unique story: some have lost both parents or one parent; others have been abandoned by families unable to support them. Some were forced to work as shepherds at a very young age, witnessed their parents commit unspeakable crimes, or were left behind when their parents went abroad in search of a better life. Relatives or parish priests from their home villages often bring them to Casa San Giuseppe. Some families have left all their children there. Nevertheless, the aim is to preserve ties with their families of origin unless circumstances are particularly serious. During the summer school holidays, many residents therefore spend varying lengths of time with their families.

During this period, around forty residents remain at the home: those who no longer have any ties with their families of origin. Casa San Giuseppe offers other children living in poverty the opportunity to enjoy a holiday and recreational activities similar to those at our summer camps. Groups of 35–40 young guests arrive to spend a week of peace, prayer, and fun.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The FUTURE FOR CHILDREN – CHILDREN ARE THE FUTURE project was created by a group of volunteers and the sister in charge of Casa San Giuseppe in Odorheiu Secuiesc, Romania. Their aim is to give children and young people facing socioeconomic or psychological disadvantages, or living with disabilities, the opportunity to take part in original, high-quality creative, recreational, and educational activities, some of them innovative, COMPLETELY FREE OF CHARGE.

Casa San Giuseppe could be described as a “home for children in difficulty,” since it welcomes around 150 children from across Romania. Yet a better description might be a “school of life” or a “gift from heaven,” as the congregation’s founder, Sister Maria Ionela, called it. Through the dedication of Sister Emilia and ten fellow sisters, the children are welcomed, cared for, fed, and, above all, prepared for life according to Christian principles, while receiving support through primary school, secondary school, and university.

Over more than 20 years, around 400 children have had the opportunity to grow up in a safe, dignified environment, study, and become citizens of the world, with the same opportunities as their peers in more prosperous countries. In addition to its 160 residents aged 3 to 18, Casa San Giuseppe currently supports around 60 university students who will become teachers, doctors, or accountants.

From their first visit, more than a decade ago, the Italian volunteers recognized that the work of these sisters, led by Sister Emilia, was driven by love and dedication to the children, regardless of their background, religion, or ethnicity. Their sole aim was to rescue them from the hardship, exploitation, and neglect into which they had the misfortune to be born.

PROJECT AIMS AND OBJECTIVES

The FUTURE FOR CHILDREN – CHILDREN ARE THE FUTURE project aims to help Casa San Giuseppe improve the quality of its services, recognizing that education and a good upbringing are the key to changing these children’s lives.

Workshops will encourage relationships, personal growth, and skills development through further study of essential subjects such as foreign languages and information technology. They will serve the home’s residents throughout the school year, as well as the many children who spend a week’s holiday at Casa San Giuseppe during the summer. These groups come from Romanian orphanages where they live in inhumane conditions throughout the year, and will have the opportunity to enjoy a period of peace, education, and learning.

The FUTURE FOR CHILDREN – CHILDREN ARE THE FUTURE project is important to the community because it brings together children and young people who are too often excluded from everyday social life, integrating them into existing groups and enabling them to participate actively in the community WITHOUT DISCRIMINATION. At the same time, it recognizes and develops their individual qualities, abilities, and talents, offering opportunities and resources they would not normally be able to access.

The project aims to:

– Include children and young people from marginalized backgrounds in study groups, encouraging social relationships and integration with their peers;

– Support learning for those whose families cannot help them and who cannot afford similar activities;

– Offer opportunities to take part in art, language, sports, and educational workshops alongside peers in a safe, welcoming environment with extensive outdoor spaces. Participants will be able to discover their talents, develop skills, and showcase their achievements through exhibitions, concerts, sports competitions, and documentary activities;

– Reduce the socioeconomic inequalities intensified by the pandemic through educational and learning activities, as well as play and social interaction;

– Include young people with disabilities, specific learning difficulties, and different cultural backgrounds in the groups, helping challenge prejudice and stereotypes among their peers and families and contributing to a more welcoming community;

– Offer a varied range of activities to suit participants’ different abilities and interests. Each will have its own aims and methods while contributing to the project’s overall objectives.

For children and young people aged 3 to 18, these aims will be put into practice through the following activities at Casa San Giuseppe:

• Language workshops led by native-speaking teachers, using the multimedia equipment already available, twice a week.
• Computer and advanced technology workshops taught by specialist staff in the home’s classrooms, three times a week.
• Classes in mathematics, chemistry, physics, and all school subjects for children and young people who need additional learning support.
• Tennis, soccer, swimming, and skiing courses to develop physical coordination and sporting skills.
• Art workshops to develop skills in ceramics, woodworking, and techniques such as decoupage, creating both religious and nonreligious objects.
• Week-long summer camps for children from Romania, offering access to the activities described above and a chance to enjoy leisure and relaxation away from the severe educational deprivation they experience in everyday life.

PROJECT TIMELINE, IMPLEMENTATION, AND LOCATION

The project will run from September 2021 to August 2022 and may be renewed annually for up to three years.

Children and adolescents will be grouped by age and ability. Classes will take place on weekday afternoons, while sports camps will be held at weekends, including winter sports weekends, tennis camps, and swimming camps.

Classes will be held at Casa San Giuseppe, which has:

• Multimedia classrooms
• Art workshops
• Music rooms
• A fully equipped gym
• Tennis and basketball courts

The activities held elsewhere will be swimming lessons at the town’s heated indoor pool and skiing lessons at nearby ski resorts.

EXPECTED OUTCOMES AND BENEFITS 

The expected outcomes and benefits concern opportunities for children and adolescents to broaden their knowledge and cultural horizons, facilitating their integration into schools and universities. This will give them invaluable support in interacting with their European peers and equal opportunities for future success. Let us not forget that Romania still has a 40% illiteracy rate!

PROJECT COST 

The estimated annual cost of the project is approximately €10,000 and includes:

• Organizing workshops and paying qualified instructors: multimedia workshops to learn and improve computer skills using the equipment in a dedicated classroom at the home were organized from September 2021 to August 2022. Grouped by school age, participants attend three days a week for an hour and a half, for a total of 180 hours.
  Total cost: €2,500.00
• Organizing sports or cultural camps, including meals and accommodation: sports days and camps are held throughout the year, with snow activities in winter and swimming in summer. A physical education teacher accompanies the children to ski resorts at weekends, taking a different group each week. The estimated cost covers transport, meals, accommodation, and skiing lessons for a total of 10 weekends.
  Total cost: €3,000.00
  During the summer, groups of children are taken to the swimming pool for swimming and water-confidence lessons, totaling 80 hours.
  Total cost: €1,000.00
• Organizing summer stays, including meals, accommodation, and recreational activities. These are primarily intended for children and young people aged 6 to 18 from poor or disadvantaged families throughout Romania, who spend a week at Casa San Giuseppe. Games and recreational activities are organized to give them moments of peace and joy.
  Total cost for 8 weeks, with around 30 participants per week: €3,500.00

ACTIVITY REPORT: SEPTEMBER 1–DECEMBER 31, 2021

With the start of the school year and the children’s return to Casa San Giuseppe, the following activities planned under the “FUTURE FOR CHILDREN” project began:

1 – Computer workshops in the multimedia classroom, using the available computers and tablets, for young people aged 10 to 17 grouped by age and ability. Lessons covered the main programming languages and the use of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.
A total of 100 hours of lessons were delivered at a total cost of €1,380.00.

2 – Winter sports weekends were organized in November and December for six groups of 20 or 21 young people each, with skiing and snowboarding lessons. A physical education teacher accompanied the groups throughout the weekends, which also provided an opportunity for sport and recreation away from their everyday routine.
Total cost: €1,800.00

Total cost of activities from September 1 to December 31, 2021: €3,180.00