Newsletter August 2008 En

Newsletter Pentru Voi, TimisoaraTimişoara

June - August July 29th,2008 2006

Winner Pentru Voi Foundation “Different but together” Pentru Voi Foundation’s project in Timisoara won the Greatest Award of the Civil Society Gala, on 20th May, at the Romanian Athenaeum. After winning the prize for the best project in the section "Social services for people in need", our project entered the final phase of the competition, along with the winners from all the other sections of the competition and won the highest distinction of the Civil Society Gala! It is the first time when the Civil Society Gala Award is won by an organization from Timisoara and it is also a premiere for an organization for persons with intellectual disabilities. "We thank our partner, Timisoara Municipality, which has supported us for 11 years now! We are thankful to the financer of this project, the Open Society Institute Mental Health Initiative! I am very pleased about this award because we advocate for the rights of persons with intellectual disabilities, who are one of Romania's most marginalized social categories. The media brings up the disability issue only when another scandal about institutions bursts. We have proved that persons with intellectual disabilities belong to the community! Even if we are different, the only way we can lead a good life is together!", declared Laila Onu, Executive Director of Pentru Voi Foundation, at the Civil Society Gala. The project "Different, but together" aims to support employment of persons with intellectual disabilities.

National Conference UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Romania 22-23 September 2008 Timişoara Pentru Voi Foundation organizes on 22-23rd September the National Conference with international participation - “UN Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities in Romania”.

“The dawn of a new era” for persons with disabilities in Romania? “Today promises to be the dawn of a new era – an era in which the 650 billion people with disabilities will no longer have to endure the discriminatory practices and attitudes that have been permitted to prevail for all too long,” said former UN Secretary - General Kofi Annan. Romania signed the UN Convention on 26th July 2007 but has not yet ratified it. Will the Convention mean “the dawn of a new era” for the 500 thousand persons with disabilities in Romania? The Conference gathers important personalities of the disability sector: Ingrid Körner, president of Inclusion Europe and Victor Wahlstrom, former president of Inclusion International. The event is financed by the Open Society Mental Health Initiative and Vodafone Romania Foundation. More details about the Conference can be found at www.pentruvoi.ro

The 3rd edition of National Conference for Self-advocates 2-3 September 2008 - Mamaia Pentru Voi Foundation organized the 3rd edition of the SelfAdvocates National Conference with the theme UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The purpose of the Conference was to seek answers to questions like “What is the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities? What does it mean to me and what does it bring new? What are my rights and how can I protect them?” The event was financed by the Open Society Mental Health Initiative and Vodafone Romania Foundation. More details about the project can be found at www.pentruvoi.ro

Vocational Training designed for Persons with Intellectual Disabilities Pentru Voi Foundation and Romanian-German Foundation from Timişoara organize starting with 1st September 2008 two courses designed for persons with intellectual disabilities from Timişoara: a computer (10 places) and a Building Finisher Course (12 places). The courses are part of the project “I want and I can work”, financed by the European Union and by the Romanian Government through the program PHARE 2006 - Economic and Social Cohesion Training Sessions for Professionals from the Supported Employment Field Pentru Voi Foundation organized on 3rd June a training session on „Supported Employment for intelectually disabled people”. The training session accommodated 25 professionals and it precedes another course, both planned for 2008. The emphasis of the course was on developing new competences and was designed for professionals from the supported-employment field. The two training session, part of the program „Different but together”, are organized with the financial support of Open Society Mental Health Initiative. A series of discussions and case-studies covered various aspects of promoting supported-employment, preparing the service users for supported-employment, career planning and analyzing the workplace, approaching the potential

Development of Human Resources - Social Inclusion Measures. The courses are financially and administratively supported by the organizers (cost of the course, course materials, transport to and from FRG and lunch). The trainers are employees of the Romanian-German Foundation, they are accredited and have adapted the course curricula for the needs of persons with disabilities. For more details: 0356 421 215 or www.pentruvoi.ro

IBM Consultancy at Pentru Voi ANNETTE CHITRA ANDRADE

Annette Chitra Andrade, a representative of IBM who heads leadership development in South Asia from India, offered a consultancy program contributing in this way to the organizational development of Pentru Voi. Her work focused on training the management staff on Organizational Development and also on establishing a number of specific objectives applicable to Petru Voi. Chitra quickly understood the needs of our Foundation and she enhanced the organising of several Consultancy sessions with other IBM representatives in Timişoara. Furthermore, Chitra promoted Pentru Voi to other companies in Timişoara and proposed ideas for improving the 2% Campaign. We are thankful for her contribution and also for her devotion for the mission of the Foundation.

Bronze at National Special Olympics Games in Germany Pentru Voi Foundation sport-team, trained by instructor Zina Costin, participated to Special Olympics, competition that took place in Karlsruhe, Germany, between 16-21st June 2008. Pentru Voi Team brought home one bronze medal at bocce team. „It was for the first time when our sportspersons participated at bocce team at international level. Three months before the competition, we did not even know this sport existed. Under these circumstances, the bronze medal is a great performance. Furthermore, our team had a great feeling participating to such a great sport event, in Germany.”

declared Laila O n u , Executive Director of Pentru Voi Foundation. T h e Romanian Team, represented by the sportspersons of “Dumitru Ciumăgeanu“ Special School in Timisoara, won several other medals at the athletics section: one gold medal, two silver medals and one bronze medal.

Proposal for modification of methodological norms regarding the Law 448/2006 With an already extensive experience in getting actively involved in the legislative process, by communicating to decision takers proposals and comments on legislation in the disability field, Pentru Voi Foundation made its voice heard regarding the Government Decision (GD) for the modification and amendment of the methodological norms for the application of Law 448/2006 on the protection and promotion of the rights of persons with disabilities. Pentru Voi Foundation handed in to Minister Paul Pacuraru a letter in which we highlighted the fact that the above mentioned GD is illegal, as it modifies the provisions of the Government Emergency Ordinance (GEO) 86/2008. Thus, article 78, paragraph (3), letter (b) of the Law 448/2006 was modified by GEO 86/2008, as follows: “to buy products of services from authorized protected units, produced through the own work of the employed persons with disabilities, on the grounds of a partnership agreement, for the same amount of money which was due for the State, according to the provisions from letter (a).” The projects of methodological norms, which was

supposed to explain the concrete manner in which the law shoul be applied, modifies the provisions of the law, which is illegal. Thus, the project replaces the text “to buy products of services from authorized protected units, produced be the own work of the employed persons with disabilities” with “to buy products of services from authorized protected units, produced by or with the involvement of the employed persons with disabilities”. This changes the meaning of GEO 86/2008 and does not prevent the immoral use of article 78 of Law 448/2006. Pentru Voi Foundation proposed a version of text which is a much clearer and easier to be applied, inspired by the German model, namely: “at least 50% of the value of the contracts signed by a protected unit on the grounds of article 78 of Law 448 is to be used for the payment of the salaries of the persons with disabilities employed by the respective protected unit”. The letter was first handed in to the General Secretariate of the Government, to the Prime Minister of Romania and to the National Authority for Persons with Handicap, but no measures were taken as until now.

* FLASH NEWS * FLASH NEWS * FLASH NEWS * •

High level IBM visit, July 2008

A delegation of CEO IBM Bucureşti, Adrian Budura, Sale Representative IBM Timişoara and Irina Stoltz, Corporate Citizenship & Corporate Affaires Specialist, visited Pentru Voi Foundation. Impressed by the activities ran in our Center, they decided to start a collaboration with the Pentru Voi Protected Unit. They also showed interest to support our 2% Campaign, through IBM Romania. We are twice thankful to Annette Chitra Andrade, IBM India Consultant, who facilitated the visit.

• Study visit to Norway, August Manuela Oprea, psyhologist at “Ladislau Tacsi” Day Center, went on a study visit to Norway, organized by the Psychiatric Sanatorium from Modum Bad with the support of Karen Elisabet Berg. Manuela participated to a seminary on “Treatment of dissociative disorders generated by traumas, with accent on abuse” and afterwards she visited the local Clinic, an activity-centre and a protected unit.

Study visit to Holland

The Protected Unit is continuously developing

Melinda Malonay, kinetotherapist at “Ladislau Tacsi” Day Center, went on a study visit of three weeks organized in the context of New Generations Exchange - Holland for young professionls, with the support of Rotary Club Timişoara, Rotary Wijchen and our friend, Joze Janssen, member of Rotary Club from Elst.

At the moment Pentru Voi has 51 employees, persons with intellectual disabilities. On 1st July, Pentru Voi employed 10 persons and we plan that another 10 will get a job in September.

The purpose of the visit was to learn about various approach methods applied in the social services field on people with intellectual disabilities in Holland. She visited several day centres, protected units and also a medical unit specialized on physiotherapy.

The mobile teams were very effcacious in the last couple of months: Procter & Gamble and Contitech are the main employees. We are now trying to initiate a new collaboration: with Preferitta Coffeteria and with Flextronics. The newest activities carried out in the materials range, consist of portioning and packing fertiliser for plants - two persons were employed full time for these tasks. This summer we managed to buy a new oven for the bakery in Sacalaz, therefore the pastry range will be more difersified and the products will be of superior quality.

Pentru Voi Foundation organized three summer school! Summer School at Sasca Montană & Poieni Strâmbu, 21-27 July

Summer School at Râul Alb 29 August - 4 September The program included training sessions designed for persons with intellectual disabilities, music, dance, sport events, trips, disco and the traditional campfire.

Pentru Voi organized this year three summer schools for its service users. The summer school organized in July at Sasca Montana (Caraş Severin county) and Poieni Strâmbu (Timiş county), accommodated 80 beneficiaries, persons with intellectual disabilities.

The summer schools were organized with the financial support of the Open Society Mental Health Institute.

The third summer school was organized at Râul Alb for 20 adults with severe intellectual disabilities. The Blue Group

The most beautiful garden Ladislau Tacsi Day Center organized between March – August 2008 the contest “The most beautiful garden”. The participants were the four groups - yellow, green, orange and blue of the center. They were provided with the necesary materials and according to their preference and imagination the groups carried on various activities specific to gardening. The contest itself is perceived as a rewarding prize because everybody is waiting the prize award ceremony to find out what is the winner garden.

The Orange Group Ion Slavici Street no 47 300521 Timişoara, Romania 0256.228.062, [email protected] www.pentruvoi.ro