From August 6 to November 30, Holcim Romania have a new edition of the Build a House, Give a Home campaign.
Starting in May 2018, project beneficiary Hope and Homes for Children Romania, together with the Baia Mare Municipality and the Nicolae Bălcescu Lower Secondary School, are implementing the project “Integrated measures in education for 840 children and 260 young people and adults: Education for the Future!”
On July 12, Hope and Homes for Children, the General Directorate for Social Assistance and Child Protection (DGASPC) in Bucharest Sector 4 and Holcim Romania organised an event to launch the construction work on the Cavalerii small group home in Sector 4. By the end of the year, this will be the new home of 12 children coming from the Robin Hood placement centre, which is currently being closed down.
On 3 and 4 July, the Hope and Homes for Children Foundation, in partnership with the General Directorate for Social Assistance and Child Protection (DGASPC) Bistrița-Năsăud and the Bistrița-Năsăud County Council, inaugurated three small group homes – two in Năsăud and one in Bistrița, which have been developed in the closing down process of the Năsăud placement centre.
On Saturday, June 30, 15 swimmers participated in the Bucharest Swimathon to support the cause of the Hope and Homes for Children Foundation and raised the necessary funds to help a mother and her four children remain together.
After the success of the first edition, in the fall of last year, the project A Bookcase in Every House, a partnership between Deliver Love – The Letter Studio and Hope and Homes for Children, continued this year.
Hope and Homes for Children and the General Directorate for Social Assistance and Child Protection Botoșani (DGASPC) have initiated the closing down of the Dumbrava Minunată placement centre in Pomârla, Botoșani County; the project aims to build and open two small group homes for the 24 children and young people out of the 48 currently living in this centre.
On June 7, His Excellency Paul Brummell, the UK Ambassador to Romania, hosted an event dedicated to the 20th anniversary of the Hope and Homes for Children in Romania. Hope and Homes for Children is a global organisation founded in the UK in 1994 by Mark and Caroline Cook.
On May 17, the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis, signed the official decree to decorate Hope and Homes for Children Founders Mark and Caroline Cook and regional director for Central and South Europe Ștefan Dărăbuș. The three have become Knights of the Faithful Service order, as a token of “appreciation for the remarkable and constant activity to the benefit of the Romanian child protection system reform and for their hard work to ensure the financing of dedicated programmes”.
On May 13, over 500 Team Hope runners participated in the 7th edition of the Volkswagen Bucharest Half Marathon and raised over 250,000 lei that will be directed to the Hope and Homes for Children prevention programme against child-family separation.
Andra, Smiley, Alexandru Tomescu, Irina Iordăchescu, Zoli TOTH Project, Marius Manole, Andrei Licareț, The Mono Jacks and the Violoncellissimo Ensemble performed on the Romanian Athenaeum Stage.
Hope and Homes for Children initiated the Special Winter Games in 2000, in order to socially integrate children and young people with special needs through winter leisure activities and sports competitions.
The 2016 Hope and Homes for Children Romania annual report received the highest distinction, the Platinum Award, in the Vision Awards Annual Reports Competition 2016/17, which is an international competition organised by LACP – the League of American Communication Professionals. The report also came 23rd in the Top 100 Worldwide Rank 2017 in the same competition.
In January 2018, the Hope and Homes for Children Foundation and the Iași General Directorate for Social Assistance and Child Protection (DGASPC) have finalised the closing down of the Iași Veniamin Costache placement centre.
On February 19, the Hope and Homes for Children Foundation, together with the Iași General Directorate for Social Assistance and Child Protection, opened the Teilor small group home in Târgu Frumos, Iași county.
Hope and Homes for Children and NN have published the results of the Health for a Better Life programme, providing medical treatment and interventions to 80 children and young people in the Foundation’s programme and healthy lifestyle counselling to another 160 children.
September 2017 saw the end of the closing down process for the Henri Coandă placement centre, the last old-type institution in the Bacău county. Hope and Homes for Children started the process in 2014 in partnership with the Bacău General Directorate for Social Assistance and Child Protection.
Pirită (pyrite or fool’s gold) is a small makeshift neighbourhood on the outskirts of Baia Mare, close to the water treatment plant; the improvised shelters sit on the former waste rock and tailings site. This is where over 50 families, with over 100 children, live in unsanitary conditions, with no electricity and running water.
Farmexpert, one of the major medicine and para-pharmaceutical distributor in Romania, has joined Hope and Homes for Children as a strategic partner by investing 40,000 EUR in the Foundation’s child-family separation prevention programme. With the support of Farmexpert, 60 children risking abandonment will be able to remain with their families.
On December 5, Andra held a concert entitled “Andra for Hope”, to support the families that are part of the Hope and Homes for Children child-family separation prevention programme.