UK students working with disabled and disadvantaged children in Romania MOINESTI LOCATION HANDBOOK

Transcription

1 UK students working with disabled and disadvantaged children in Romania MOINESTI LOCATION HANDBOOK

2 Introduc on This booklet aims to provide you with a be er understanding of what to expect on your par cular project in Romania. Demographic Informa on Moineş is a large town set amongst rolling green hills in the county of Bacau in the north east of Romania. The town was a significant producer of oil but reserves are depleted and the local economy is now based on mber. Moineş is proud of its son Tristan Tzara, an acolyte of Dadaism, the 20th Century an -bourgeois movement that was born in Switzerland out of the horrors of World War I. The Libra project, based at Tristan Tzara School, is an integra on project and Libra is supported by Romanian volunteers from local schools and receives ac ve help and encouragement from the Mayor and Town Hall. The occasionally overwhelming number of Romanian volunteers is a witness to the success of the project in previous years and the genuine desire of Bri sh and Romanian teenagers to work for the benefit of others. LOCATION: POPULATION: 20,855 PROJECT: PARTNERS: Moines Town, NE Romania, jud Bacau Integra on Town Hall, Pietricia and the Roma Community PARTNER SCHOOLS: Scoala Tristan Tzara, Liceul Spiru Haret, Liceul Grigore Cobalcescu CHILDREN: FIRST YEAR: 2011 Residen al Centres, Mainstream and Roma Team Structure UK LEADERS: 4 ROMANIAN LEADERS: 4 UK STUDENTS: ROMANIAN VOLUNTEERS: BENEFICIARIES: 60 VILLAGE CHILDREN: N/A ROMA: 25 DISABLED: 10 MAINSTREAM: 25 The Town Hall in the centre of Moines and Libra s curfew point

3 Arrival and day one The team usually arrives in the evening a er a long bus journey from Otopeni (Bucharest) and are taken to the Town Hall to meet the host families and other Romanian volunteers. On the first morning your host will take you to Scoala Tristan Tzara, the project loca on, where you will receive in-country training. The training will include: Team-building ac vi es Libra s Safety Policies A language refresher session You will have free me to have lunch, tour the town, visit banks and cash dispensers, be shown the curfew point and to meet the other Romanian volunteers. In the a ernoon you will spend me preparing the classrooms for the following day, sor ng resources and learning where things are around the school. Daily Schedule The youngsters arrive any me between 8.30am and the official start at 9.30am and the day starts with a whole-group ac vity and a welcome song. The group are then split into four teams named by you. A typical day is as follows: to Arrive, register, chat to All students to prepare rooms and resources to Everyone in courtyard for welcome song/game to Session to Snack to Session to Session to Lunch (in two shi s) to Session to Joint team games (mixed groups) Goodbye song, beneficiaries leave to Team feedback mee ng to Planning of ac vi es and resources for following day Finish Free Time Students o en forge las ng friendships with their hosts and socialise with them and the UK team together. To give some respite to the families, there will be a midweek dinner for the Libra team at a local restaurant. Students can spend the middle weekend with hosts at their houses in the countryside or visi ng Bacau. There is the opportunity to spend me at the pool at Pensiunea Davis, to visit a salt mine at Turgu Ocna or to taste the spa waters of Slanic-Moldova with the team. Students a end a curfew in the evening, usually in front of the town hall. You will then be asked to go home and to bed. It is not unusual for students to request an earlier curfew to get enough sleep for the following day!

4 Ac v es per age group 3 to 7 Year Olds Arts & Cra s Sports & Games PSHE/Drama Music & Dance Cut out hand shapes to paint and decorate. Hand painted bu erflies Mini collages which were stuck together to make a large one Tennis and names Snake game Aerobic exercises Parachute games Water cup races Obstacle course Name game Mirror work/ Simon says Songs/clapping Trace bodies Animal role play Human shapes Morals song Body percussion Si si si Ac on songs Improvised dancing Instruments Singing songs in a circle Bunny song Boogie man song Arts & Cra s Sports & Games PSHE/Drama Music & Dance Paper plates paint things important to them. Name plates Decorated T-Shirts Dog, cat, bu erfly and superhero masks Back-to-back drawing Picture frames to take home Tennis balls names Skipping Assault course Bang Snake game Water cup race Water fight Skipping Blind fold games 8 to 10 Year Olds Mirror games Make morals song and ac ons Transla ng game using cards Head, shoulders, knees and toes Balancing games Working on dramas for friendship and courage Si si si Birdie song Soco bate Oh a lei lei African chants Dance to Macarena Made instruments Body percussion Dance rou nes

5 Arts & Cra s Sports & Games PSHE/Drama Music & Dance Paper boats and planes Name badges Animal masks Nature s ll life with items collected from outside Drawing blindfolded Back-to-back drawing Tennis ball and names Skipping Net and ball game Water fight Football Frisbee Parachute Balancing games with water and communica on 11 to 13 Year Olds Names Mirror game Charades Trust games/ falling/li ing Faces Morals song Musical chairs Transla on of body parts Respect and Inspira on dramas Body percussion (3 parts) Beat boxing Musical statues Choreograph dance rou ne Musical instruments Write a song about being healthy Show Dance Arts & Cra s Sports & Games PSHE/Drama Music & Dance Paper plates Origami Building Bridges from art material Masks Back-to-back drawing T-Shirts and costumes Football Water fight Ball games Human pyramid Water games Hoop games Obstacle course 14+ Year Olds Names Trust games Quickest to clean a volunteer Anagrams Statues game Poems and chants Body percussion Bridges Si si si / oh a lei lei Tradi onal dance Beat boxing Rehearse dance

6 Informa on about the beneficiaries There are approximately 60 beneficiaries a ending the ac vi es every day: ages range from 5 to 25 years. The beneficiaries from Pietricica are young adults. They are physically able, but may come from emo onally unstable backgrounds or show au s c type behaviour. Some are quite intelligent and need addi onal s mula ng ac vi es. It is important to be alert as compe ve ac vi es can get out of hand. The carers tend to be reluctant to par cipate and prefer to keep their charges separate from the other beneficiaries. This should be sensi vely resisted since it is counter to Libra's policy of integra on and inclusion. They usually arrive by bus with one or two carers to support them and leave around 2pm. The Roma children love rough and tumble play: it is their way. Being such robust children, occasionally a problem might arise. It is best to calm a situa on down using a quiet but asser ve voice and posi ve body language. They love physical and 1-1 games, art and dance; in fact any interac on is welcomed and be prepared to be laughed at and enjoy a joke! Few a end school regularly and so they benefit from any ac vi es that require focus, concentra on or teamwork. You will probably no ce that at the outset such skills are difficult for them. They will derive a great deal of sa sfac on when they have managed to stay focussed, completed a task and receive praise for what they have achieved. You will find that they are a highly rewarding bunch of youngsters. The local school children enjoy all the ac vi es, especially the quiet games and love to challenge English students to cards or Backgammon! It is important not to overlook these children; the students tend to concentrate on the Roma children and this can lead to resentment. Some are extremely mature for their age, speak good English and are very willing to please by helping volunteers with younger, and some mes more difficult, beneficiaries. Number of children a ending every day PLACE TYPE NO AGE RANGE Pietricica Residen al Houses to 24 Roma Local community children 25 5 to 14 Mainstream Local schools and families 25 7 to 14 Ac vity Planning At the outset you will be placed in a team together with Romanian volunteers. Beneficiaries are sorted according to age and ability helping you to plan suitable ac vi es. You will no ce how really strong loyal es and friendships develop in teams over the fortnight. Each group has a single session of Art, Music, Games and quiet ac vi es during the day. Within teams, it is a good idea to get 1-2 students to take responsibility for the planning and prepara on of each session so that they can then lead the group in a single set ac vity. It can not be stressed too strongly that careful planning and the prepara on of resources are vital for the success of the ac vi es. The second week will be focussed on the end-of-project finale. The finale normally develops the year s theme and has become a key feature of the project allowing a public celebra on of all that Libra achieves. It is important that you work very closely with the Romanian volunteers by pooling ideas and sharing responsibili es for leadership. The building of a posi ve team spirit will determine the outcome of the project. Problems arise when volunteers switch off and seem not to be engaging with the children. Team work and energy are vital. Ac vity Leaders will always be around to guide and support. Use their experience and knowledge: they have experienced the joys and frustra ons just like you.

7 Accommoda on The majority of the team stay with Romanian host families and arrangements can be quite last minute. Staying with a host family allows you to be fully immersed in Romanian culture and family life par cularly in evenings and at the weekend. Occasionally Romanian families do not fully appreciate the seriousness of your work with the children and the demands that the project makes on you. It is vital that you communicate with your hosts and do not allow them to distract you from the programme that Libra has established. It is a good idea to bring a Bri sh gi for the hosts. You will not need sleeping bags. Food Libra provides lunch and a snack for all par cipants. Lunch is usually sandwiches, fruit and savoury snacks eaten together with the en re team. We soon develop an industrial sandwich produc on line in the school's kitchen where leaders have the not inconsiderable responsibility of making sandwiches for 70+ hungry children. We also have ice-pops that we give out as treats and prizes. Local shops sell a limited range of drinks and crisps and Romanian bakeries can be found. We usually shop for provisions at the local Pennymarket / Lidl store or at a local corner shop that par cularly welcomes the English offering the owner an opportunity to prac ce his English! We encourage con nued loyalty to a single taxi driver who, upon hearing the word Englaisa, will promptly arrive and swi ly and safely transport you round the town. Students are usually fed copiously by the host families although this is never requested nor expected. There are a number of fast food outlets in the town. You may well like to try Hotel Mondem and Pensiunea Davis. Both offer good menus at a reasonable price. There are also good restaurants along the road from Moines to Comanes. These are within walking distance although many choose to use our accommoda ng taxi driver. Water warning! Experience has taught us to give a en on to the amount of fluids you consume. Romanian summers can be very hot and shade is not always available. Bo led water, rather than tap water, is advised. You cannot underes mate how much water you will need!

8 Map of the Town Tristan Tzara Hospital Town Hall Roma Community