ASCENSIUM, a Romanian Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), began in 1991 to improve the lives of Romanian women and their families and in this way to reduce the numbers of babies abandoned to the orphanages. Twelve years later, a full team of Romanian professionals runs the project, promoting a comprehensive approach to health, social, and educational issues — and changing the lives of hundreds of Romanians every year.
Beginnings
Before the Romanian Revolution in 1989, health care in Romania was extremely poor. It was particularly poor around childbirth. In his bid to increase the working population, President Ceausescu made contraception and abortion unlawful. All married women were subjected to bi-monthly gynaecological checks to determine whether or not they were using contraception. The maternal mortality rate was so high that the figures were not reported to the World Health Organisation.
Ceausescu’s aim was to turn a rich agricultural country into an industrial state. During his time in power he destroyed villages and towns and in their place he built factories and apartment blocks for the state’s workers. "Ceausescu’s Children" hit the headlines in 1989 when western journalists discovered the horrors of the Romanian Orphanages. The "orphans" were not without parents but were the children born as a consequence of his policies.
The work of ASCENSIUM began in 1991 when Mandy and Steve Hughes moved to Romania. Their aim was to improve the lives of Romanian women and their families and in this way to reduce the numbers of babies abandoned to the orphanages. The work started with Mandy teaching mothers postnatally about breastfeeding, contraception and home safety in the local Maternity Hospital — supported on occasions by British volunteer health visitors. Twelve years later a full team of Romanian professionals runs the project, touching and changing the lives of hundreds of Romanians every year.
The Current Situation
Romania in 2003 still has many problems that affect access to adequate health care. The voluntary sector is actively being developed to cope with the "gaps in services." The future of ASCENSIUM's work is still reliant on charitable giving and support is needed to ensure that this valuable work can continue to grow and develop, such as the support received from the UK-registered charity SHARE which finances the current work.
ASCENSIUM’s office is in Sibiu, Transylvania, where the programmes are planned and coordinated. Sibiu is a historic industrial city with a population of 155,045 (2002) Sibiu County has 422,224 inhabitants with 53 towns and 126 villages. Many of the villages have bad access roads and no public transport. Many villagers live without internal plumbing or sanitation. The collapse of the manufacturing industry in the towns has meant high unemployment in the surrounding areas. Large numbers of people depend on poorly paid casual labour in the villages mainly based around agriculture.
There are still children filling the so-called orphanages. The inflow of western aid has improved conditions in orphanages and has made them an attractive option for families with children they cannot afford to care for. Contraception is not free because the Orthodox Church does not approve of it. The poorest families simply cannot afford it. The alternative option to prevent children is abortions, and the abortion rate in Romania still remains the highest in Europe.
Childbirth practices have improved over the past ten years but it is still rare for fathers to be present at the birth and there is still no pain relief during labour.
Since 1998 the ASCENSIUM programme has changed and developed to meet the changing needs of the population. The development of the Rural Programme has targeted ante-natal and post-natal women and the improvement of literacy and numeracy skills in children.
Working Towards a Better Future
ASCENSIUM’s aim is to reduce the marginalisation and social exclusion of the population of Sibiu County by promoting a programme of activities with a holistic and comprehensive approach to health, social and educational issues.
The project’s workplan includes:
- Promoting human rights by facilitating access to information
- Preventing the abandonment of babies and avoidable termination of pregnancies by supporting the concept of FAMILY and offering information on contraception
- Increasing general health status through health promotion/education activities that are not provided by the state system
- Advising and supporting ante-natal and post-natal women in the isolated villages where there is limited (if any) access to health care facilities
- Offering psycho-social counselling for children and their families
- Establishing a productive relationship between schools, parents and children
- Facilitating integration in the school system of children with learning difficulties and educational disadvantage
ASCENSIUM has two main programmes, the Health Programme and the Socio-Education Programme.
The Health Programme
Ante-natal and post-natal health education coupled with advice and support for women and their partners is provided in the villages, hospitals and the ASCENSIUM office. The ante-natal courses last for six weeks. They are run in six villages at a time and then the Health Team moves on to another six villages. The numbers attending varies and often depends on the weather. Attendance decreases in the winter months when the temperature drops to minus fifteen degrees centigrade with heavy snowfall.
Attendance at the ASCENSIUM office and hospitals is consistently improving as word spreads. The Health Team also visits families at home for some weeks following the birth. This is to offer advice and support on nutrition, safety, and child development as well as addressing parental concerns. Often the hospital staff asks the Team to visit a family where there have been concerns — e.g., after premature birth.
The ASCENSIUM team visits secondary schools to teach sexual health including sexually transmitted infections, first aid, hygiene, and relationships. Mainstream schools benefit from these sessions on a monthly basis and occasionally an open invitation is extended to all of the community. Access to this information has increased the uptake of family planning services. Abortion has become less frequent as a result, despite there being a rise in abortions elsewhere in Romania.
Other work includes running First Aid and communication skills courses and teaching students at the College of Nursing. ASCENSIUM runs a regular health slot on the local radio station. A limiting factor is the lack of resources. The Health Team could achieve much more with additional staff and good reliable equipment.
The Socio-Education Programme
The socio-education programme aims to identify the potential problems of children and their families — socially, psychologically, and educationally. ASCENSIUM workers can then offer support and act as a liaison between the families and the authorities.
Literacy and numeracy classes are run for the Romanian children and for those with special needs who are not included in the school system. Although most parents believe in education they often need their children to work in the fields especially at harvest time. As a result many children do not receive consistent education. The Team uses existing school premises by agreement with the teachers to teach reading, writing, numeracy, social skills, and citizenship.
Educational counselling is undertaken for children who have learning difficulties within the school system, and remedial tuition is provided. The average village school class size is 12 children who are between the ages of 7 and 14 years. The children must achieve a minimum of five points out of ten in order to progress to the next year of school. The Team supports the children until they catch up with their peers. This programme currently operates in five villages and has succeeded in reducing both absenteeism and abandonment of school.
The Summer School / Holiday Clubs programme takes place in up to ten different villages and offers a range of activities including games, competitions, singing, and dancing. The number of children taking part in this programme increases every year — up to 500 children are currently participating in the programme. The prize for children who win the competitions held during the first three weeks is a week at ASCENSIUM’s conference centre in the village of Cisniadiora, just outside Sibiu. Here they enjoy play opportunities, cultural visits to the local museums, and each other’s company.
Results
