What are the main work projects in Romania?

Our Romanian hosts have asked us to assist with two different, but very important, projects. Providing child care for infants and toddlers at a "failure to thrive" clinic, and Teaching conversational English in middle and high schools As a volunteer in Romania, you can choose between these two assignments.

Child care: If you want to help care for babies, you will work at the Tutova Clinic which is located just outside Barlad. Tutova Hospital has 90 beds for adults and children, plus about 30 cribs for infants up to age two. The cribs are reserved for severely underweight babies who arrive shortly after birth to be nurtured back to health. The babies are generally scheduled to stay at the clinic for about a year at which time they should be reunited with their families. Unfortunately, in 25 percent of the cases, the parents never return. Romania is a poor country and many of the children who end up at a failure to thrive clinic are there because their parents are among the poorest of the poor. Many mothers and fathers are simply unable to care for another child and they believe that their children will get better care at the clinic.

The end result is that many children stay well beyond one year and the clinics become overcrowded. Moreover, most clinics are extremely understaffed. When we were first invited to Tutova, there was only four staff for 35 children - 24-7. There is simply no place for these toddlers to go until the government authorities can place them in an orphanage or foster home or adoption is offered. Some children stay at a clinic until they are age two because the system is not able to move them to more age-appropriate housing.

As a volunteer, you will be asked to play with these infants and toddlers - feeding, bathing, teaching, diapering and giving them the stimulation, love, and nurturing that they need and a parent or grandparent would normally provide. This is vitally important work because, as child psychologists have reported, the first three years in every person's life are the most important years. It is during these years that critical physical, emotional, intellectual, and psychological development occurs. That development is significantly impaired when children do not experience sufficient adult love, play, touch, nurturing, and stimulation. You can make all the difference in these children's lives by volunteering for just two or three weeks at a time. Because Global Volunteers sends upwards to 14 three-week teams of volunteers to Tutova clinic every year, your contribution will be matched over and over again throughout the early years of these precious children.

Conversational English: You can also choose to teach conversational English at one of the Barlad middle or high schools. Lessons are conducted in conventional classroom settings and the emphasis is on improving real-life speaking skills and not on formal rules of grammar. You'll usually teach four hours a day, Monday through Friday, and have four hours each day to collaborate with your teammates and prepare for class. The rest of the day is free time.

This too is a very important service and any native English speaker can do it. You do not need to have any teaching experience, although professional teachers are always needed. Romanian teachers and principals invited Global Volunteers to their community to teach conversational English because it is important to their student's future. English has become the international language of commerce and technology and although the Romanian teachers offer excellent training in English grammar, they appreciate the added benefit that their students receive from working with native speakers. Moreover, every volunteer is a vital link in the long chain of short-term volunteers who serve in these communities. Global Volunteers sends 12 to 14 teams of volunteers every year - year after year - and over time the impact is enormous.