During the year 2009, 30 teen-agers have been integrated and monitored in our Day-Centre. The beneficiaries are students in the 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th grade and they have been given diverse assistance depending on their needs.
I. Information about the assistance given
Tutoring – 18 teen-agers benefited of weekly tutoring sessions on different subjects: Romanian Language and Literature, English Language and Mathematics. Thus they have been trained for the National Tests. Consequently, an improvement has been observed in their academic results in the aforementioned subjects. All the teen-agers continued their studies in high-schools or vocational schools.
Assistance, Education and Personal Development Groups– the students were divided in 2 groups and they participated to weekly debates based on educational values. The teen-agers had the opportunity to realize which their identity profile was, what their skills and needs were – and how to fulfil them efficiently. They also learned how to interact with people, how to react to frustrations in an assertive way, how to accept and love themselves. Since October 2009 meetings were held on the topic "Lies and the Truth about me and my life”. In these groups, our adolescents had the opportunity to understand their identity, learn how to relate with others, to cope with frustrating situations in their lives in an assertive, how to properly prioritize their lives, etc. They were challenged to identify their personal lives such erroneous thinking patterns that lead them to adopt inappropriate behavior models and also were assisted to make those decisions for change according to the truth about themselves ,to give meaning, value and meaning of their lives.
Individual, Social Counselling (support and motivation for change). We identified the difficulties the teen-agers are confronting with and we gave special counselling to resolve those problems (low self-esteem, lack of asertivity, problems with aggression and conflict resoluntion, peer pressure, early couple relationships with adverse effects, difficulties caused by loss of one parent, unforgiveness, resentment , bitterness and other negative emotions that adolescents face, etc.).
Sexual Education Programme– organized for all the teen-agers in order to prevent early sexual behaviours with negative consequences in their lives.
Educational Counselling Programme – it gave the teen-agers the opportunity to discover their skills and what job they would like to do in the future.
Educational and Recreational Activities – monthly organized (weekly in holidays). It consisted of watching movies and discussing them, going to music concerts, participating to Easter and Children’s Day (the 1st of June) celebrations, to craft activities, organizing going-outs, organising special celebrations like Friendship Day, Thanksgiving Day, Promises Day, etc. One special activity was the summer camp as a reward for the work during the year. The practical aspects of the camp turned out to be useful for the teen-agers’ personal and emotional development, correcting behaviours, learning to socialize, to communicate, to relate to the others. They also had the chance to develop friendships with positive influence and to entertain themselves.
Material and Financial Aid – the teen-agers received donations including clothes, objects of personal hygiene and for domestic use, school supplies, food, free consultations to the dentist or money, depending on their needs and family problems. From September to December, every week adolescents were divided into groups dining at the catering company Lunchbox. Also, the teen-agers received gifts when participating to different activities, celebrations or competitions. In December, the teenagers also received food supplies from the Town Hall.
Mediation for solving medical or academic problems.
II. Information about the Management of the programme
For the programme ‘Day Centre for Teen-agers’ there were employed: Andreea Tomşa, social assistant, coordinator of the Day Center and Mihaela Coman, educational psychologist. 15 volunteers contributed as well to the project.
The management of the programme consisted of administrative tasks and preparation for the activities:
- monthly purchases – sweets and juice for the group meetings, for the individual counselling and for the recreational activities;
- monthly purchases – didactic materials;
- preparation for counselling, assistance, recreational activities; preparation for the support groups
- monitoring the tutoring programme in Nicolae Iorga and TraianDârjanSchools;
- monitoring the volunteer’s activity (they gave tutoring sessions to our beneficiaries): monthly meetings and training, motivation for their activity, evaluation, recruitment of volunteers for the summer camp;
- structuring the programme of sexual education;
- structuring the programme of educational counselling;
- organizing the summer camp and other activities with the teen-agers, either at the centre or outside doors;
- administering the site;
- book-keeping the papers (reception bills, deeds of gift)
- applying social inquiries and initial discussions with the teen-agers parents;
- planning the activities for 2009-2010;
- organizing and monitoring the tutoring programme in the Nicolae Iorga, Horea and Traian Dârjan Schools;
- official partnerships with the Nicolae Iorga, Horea and Traian Dârjan Schools;
- elaborating didactic materials for activities with the teen-agers, elaborating the evaluation forms for our services;
- elaborating all the forms and reports for obtaining the legal accreditation for our services;
- elaborating the plans, papers and reports for obtaining founds from the Town Hall.
III. Financial costs for the project during 2009
The total monthly cost for the year 2009 for one beneficiary was 458 RON. This cost represents expense of social care services free of charge, donations in money, goods and provision of infrastructure establishment (administration).
Project coordinator, Date
Andreea Tomsa 12.01.2009
