ActivityReport2012_English

2012
Activity Report
is a not-for-profit organization helping children, young people and
families in need. Educational and training programs provide orphans
and other disadvantaged youth with opportunities to succeed in
life. Material and humanitarian aid initiatives redirect valuable
resources to people who need them. Motivated volunteers willingly
give their time and energy in service to those less fortunate, to
"love our neighbors as ourselves."
www.asociatiafavor.org
This report contains a brief summary of FAVOR’s main projects and activities in 2012.
It has been a year full of challenges and victories, a year of real progress in our fight to
improve the lives of needy children.
We offer our heartfelt thanks to all of our friends, supporters and volunteers who have
helped make FAVOR’s activities possible.
The Golden Rule
“Treat others as you want them to treat you.” (Mat. 7:12)
Growing up in an orphanage is not easy. For many young people, the hardest part comes
when it’s time to move out.
FAVOR’s Transitional Home provides young people raised in orphanages with
housing, support, counsel and training in skills needed for independent living.
Since the year 2000 when we took in our first group of orphanage graduates, 47 youth at
risk have lived and learned in the Transitional Home. Nine young men benefited from this
program in 2012.
Mihai and Ciprian, better prepared
to confront the challenges of living
on their own, after gaining
confidence and training in the
Transitional Home.
Gheorghe, a Transitional Home graduate who had only
completed 8 years of schooling when he left the
orphanage and come to us, proudly displaying his
Certificate as a qualified Security Agent. Having been
helped himself, Gheorghe now spends much of his energy
and free time helping people who cannot help themselves.
The greatest good you can do for another is not just to share
your riches, but to reveal to him his own. - Benjamin Disrael
“You Can Do It!” is an educational initiative started by FAVOR in 2007. We provide
free computer and English classes for underprivileged middle-and high school students.
These courses are available to all children under the care of child protection services, and
are also offered to students from many of the city’s poorest schools.
In 2012, FAVOR’s “You Can Do It!” classes, held in Centrul “Ghiocelul” helped 32 needy
students.
Centrul Curcubeu - The Rainbow Center
On Aug.10, 2012, Asociatia FAVOR officially opened the doors to the Rainbow Center
(Centrul Curcubeu) in Marasti, com. Filipeni. This new after-school center provides quality
education free of charge to children from extremely poor families.
In response to the alarming socio-economic conditions confronting many Romanian
children in rural areas, FAVOR set up Centrul Curcubeu, a program designed to provide atrisk kids with the vision, encouragement and scholastic skills with which they can forge
themselves better futures.
We completely renovated a run-down old school
building. Centrul Curcubeu now has two pleasant
classrooms complete with modern technology,
and a complete kitchen to provide the children
with nourishing meals. It is a warm, friendly place
where poor children can spend their afternoons
in constructive activity.
Opening Day festivities
Rainbow Center - An after-school program with a difference
At the Rainbow Center, needy children from grades 2 to 8 are given the opportunity to
learn in a pleasant environment with caring teachers.
Personal attention from motivated
volunteers helps students who are behind
to recuperate basic scholastic skills.
Progressive educational methods
and quality teaching materials help
students get a grasp of many
concepts they had not learned until
coming to Centrul Curcubeu.
The after-school program is really
working. Some of our students from
grades 5 and 6 could not read or do simple arithmetic when they first came to the
Rainbow Center. After just one semester of attention, they are now reading, figuring and
looking forward to learning much more!
Centrul Curcubeu
Summer Vacation School
Making the long summer vacation
more fun and meaningful for the
children of Marasti, Brad and
Balaia, FAVOR hosted a Vacation
School at the Rainbow Center.
Cotton candy was a very special treat on the
first day. The kids had never tasted it before.
A magic show by Augustin was another
highlight of the summer school.
A total of 80 children and 15 volunteers
participated in this wonderful Vacation School.
The Rainbow Center - more than just school
A nourishing meal for
children who don’t always
have enough to eat at home
is an important aspect of the
program.
Uplifting music and
inspirational stories help
build faith and give these
needy children a positive
outlook
Lessons in hygiene, cooking,
sewing and other arts and
crafts also serve to broaden
the children’s horizons.
All the children were given eye check-ups and
glasses were provided for those who needed
them.
Aid to children and families at risk
Each year, FAVOR’s humanitarian aid initiatives help to relieve children’s suffering and
provide the needs of many desperately poor families.
This year, 1070 children benefited from FAVOR’s distribution of 13 tons of aid. Through
direct visitation, “Free Stores” and personalized aid packages, food, clothing, school supplies,
shoes, bedding, toys, baby equipment and other items were delivered to 313 needy families
in 16 towns and villages.
“Free Stores”, held in Gherdana,
Plopana and Rogoaza, gave hundreds of
poor people the opportunity to select
clothing and other items for their own
Working from detailed lists, FAVOR’s
volunteers prepared and delivered
personalized aid packages for needy
families in some of the poorest
communities in Bacau county.
“It is more blessed to give
than to receive”
School Materials for Needy Students
One of FAVOR’s objectives is to encourage and facilitate education for underprivileged
children. With the present economic conditions, many poor families are unable to afford
the basic materials necessary for their children’s schooling. FAVOR helps by giving away
school bags and school supplies to hundreds of needy students each year.
In 2012, our contest, “Great Ideas from
Great Kids”, encouraged children to
think about ways in which they can
make a positive impact on the world
around them. Authors of the greatest
ideas were rewarded with bicycles!
Assistance to Poor Mothers and
Newborns
FAVOR volunteers make regular visits to the
Maternity Hospital in Bacau, bringing lovely baby
clothes, blankets and other items to the poorest
mothers there. Some of these are young girls, only
15 years old, desperate for help and encouragement.
In 2012, this project helped over 100 mothers and
newborns.
Christmas Projects
FAVOR helped bring the joy of Christmas to hundreds of needy children this year.
Beautiful gifts were given, along with an uplifting musical program, to the children of
Bacau’s Emergency Reception Center and needy rural communities. Food and sweets
were also given to many poor families, to make their Christmas brighter.