Tecuci
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Last update: 12/01/2017
Tecuci Municipality is located in Southern part of Galati County, Moldova, Romania and numbers 34.871 inhabitants. According to the Census of Population and Housing from 2011, Tecuci numbers 1.968 Roma people – representing 5.3% of total population. Unofficially, they are about 4.000 Roma citizens (according to local Roma leaders and Roma NGOs). Around 20% of Roma population left the municipality in the last 5 years.
In Tecuci live 6 Roma communities:
- Bălcescu neighborhood
- Gării neighborhood
- Tineretului neighborhood
- Criviţeni neighborhood
- Satu Nou neighborhood
- Cernicari neighborhood.
According to the County School Inspectorate, from 420 Roma children aged 3 to 5 years living in the municipality, only 294 are attending preschool/kindergarten. 270 out of 450 Roma children aged 6 to 17 attend a form of school. The reasons of the high dropout rate (40%) are related to parents migrating abroad, poor socio-economic status, low involvement of parents in school life, early marriage. Also, the quality of the schools children are learning in is poor, buildings are old and have not been rehabilitated and they are missing utilities and have old equipment.
There is no concrete data on number of Roma people who have a job, as for employment, or submission of documents in order to obtain certain rights and / or social services. It is estimated by the municipality, however, that 1% of Roma population has a job – typically they are involved in seasonal or occasional work or they are conducting business activities with or without authorization.
Around 30% of Roma dwellings are not connected to utilities, while 85% or Roma households are not able to pay for utilities. Most access roads to the homes of Roma people are not paved or are in very poor condition. There is no sewage and after rain or snow, the roads are flooded and become impracticable.
80% of Roma population is registered to a family doctor. 15% of Roma citizens of Tecuci are lacking identity papers.
The ROMACT Process
ROMACT process started on October 2016. In December, the Taskforce for Roma Inclusion was created.
The Community Action Group (CAG) identified some of the short/medium/long-term needs and measures:
| Priorities | Problem 1 | Problem 2 | Problem 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education | School dropout | Poor learning conditions in schools | Lack of interest from parents |
| Health | Lack of family doctor | Lack of medical insurance | |
| Infrastructure | Bad roads infrastructure | Low connection to public utilities | |
| Housing | Precarious housing conditions | Lack of alternative educational programs and/or of alphabetizing for adults | Lack of social houses |
| Jobs/labor market | Lack of jobs | Lack of professional trainings/qualifications | |
| Other | Lack of identity papers and civil status documents | Issues related to ownership rights of lands and houses held by Roma inhabitants |
Trainings/expertise provided for the local administration:
Training course on public procurement
Project Manager Training
Expert in accessing structural funding Training
Coaching on importance of Roma human resources for municipality management
Coaching and feedback on POR, POCA, POCU and POIM Operational Programs
Support for implementing POCU 4.1 project
Training course aimed to support the implementation partners from the municipalities that have projects with POCU financing to better understand the process and maximize the premises for a successful implementation
Information about financing lines launched or to be launched which fold under the identified needs, under various Operational Programs
Activities involving the community action group:
Training on community development, civic participation and the relation with the local authorities
Training on apply for small grants
Informative campaign on early marriages
Informative campaign on public services and antidiscrimination
Abolishment of Roma Slavery Day celebration
Results:
Several projects related to ROMACT purpose will be implemented:
Your Chance - Integrated measures of education, vocational training, employment, continuous social assistance and housing in the Nicolae Balcescu - Tecuci neighborhood
Donor: European Social Fund through the Human Capital Operational Program
Budget: 4.000.000 euro
Beneficiaries: 553 persons
Timeframe: August 28, 2017 to July 29, 2020
School - your friend
Donor: European Social Fund through Human Capital Operational Program
Budget: 1.880.742 euro
Beneficiaries: 1.415 persons
Timeframe: November 1st, 2017 to October 30, 2020
Health educational campaign- Vaccination against measles
Information campaign in respect of high school / vocational school admission on the dedicated positions as assigned by the Ministry of Education