Cristian House in Timisoara
- the first protected house in Romania
- 5 adults with severe mental disabilities
- 300 volunteers from 8 companies
- 90.000 euro invested in project
- 1400 volunteering hours
- March – the Volunteering Month
The “Pentru Voi” Foundation in partnership with the Association Habitat for Humanity Romania released the “Casa Cristian” project in Timisoara, for 5 adults with severe mental disabilities. The project aims the first protected house construction in Romania, for people with severe mental disabilities. Vodafone Romania Foundation was funding the project developing in partnership with the Timisoara City Hall and Local Council together with the Open Society Mental Health Initiative Budapest and Habitat for Humanity Romania.
The construction began in November 2008 in the presence of the Mayor of Timisoara, Mr. Gheorghe Ciuhandu, of representatives of the sponsors, of volunteers involved in the project.
They worked together to erect the first wall and to nail the first nails. Then Mr. Ciuhandu made an appeal to the inhabitants of Timisoara to involve funds and volunteers to finish the construction.
The second wall of the future home for people with disabilities was erected by the volunteers on site and the beneficiaries of the “Pentru Voi” Foundation, people with disabilities newly graduates of qualification courses in construction.
“Month of Solidarity and Social Insertion in Timisoara” was released in March. A series of topic events meant to encourage citizens’ involvement in volunteering were organized, in order to finish the first protected house for 5 adults with severe mental disabilities in the west of the country by the end of March. Said and done with precious help of local and corporate volunteers.
23 ladies from Timisoara celebrated Women’s Day working on site, highly involved and serious to carry out their tasks under the supervision of the construction specialists.
Next, 26 Vodafone volunteers participated together with Habitat for Humanity’s experienced builders to finish the interior and exterior of the Cristian House, the first house specially designed to respond to the needs of the five beneficiaries.
Smithfield Prod volunteers and several beneficiaries of “Pentru Voi” Foundation qualified to work in constructions have insulated the walls with mineral wool and assembled cardboard plates; they also applied stucco on the external walls of the house.
Mr. Morten Jensen, CEO at Smithfield Prod, worked together with his colleagues. Some of them were top management employees from sails, quality control, production, logistics, environmental compliance, and acquisitions departments. They were open to involvement in social issues of the community they live in.
Alcatel-Lucent employees came once again in Timisoara to finish the construction of Cristian house. They already helped those 5 beneficiaries in last year in winter when the working was just in the beginning.
Baumix Company donated all the polystyrene and external stucco materials needed to build the protected house. At the same time, the company had mobilized two specialists in thermo systems on site and invited all Baumix partners and clients in Timisoara to see the implementation of the whole system themselves. Several beneficiaries of the “Pentru Voi” Foundation graduating courses in constructions learned technical details and the steps for the correct installation of thermo insulation and enduring decorative stucco. Each new skill acquired helps young people with mental disabilities find a job to become independent.
Provident Financial Romania was in Timisoara too. 16 volunteers have insulated the walls and dug sewerage systems.
We are all entitled to decent housing. Nevertheless, for many of us, it is only a dream to have our own house. With their help, now 5 adults with severe mental disabilities have their home and a decent life from now on.
How the house looks
To see more pictures of the project please click here!
Press releases
24.03.2009
Vodafone Romania Foundation and Habitat for Humanity have become partners to build social houses in Timisoara
– Vodafone Romania Foundation has released today the greatest volunteering project to build houses for disadvantaged families together with the Association Habitat for Humanity Romania. The first beneficiaries are people with severe mental disabilities in the care of “Pentru Voi” Foundation.
READ MORE
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24.03.2009
Invitation Press Conference
“Pentru Voi” Foundation, Vodafone Romania Foundation and Habitat for Humanity invite you to participate to the press conference organized on the site located at 65 B, Anton Bacalbasa st. (Freidorf area near the “Ladislau Tacsi” Day Care Center) at 12.00 hours on Tuesday, March 24. READ MORE
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19.03.2009
Smithfield Prod builds dreams for people with mental disabilities
Timisoara, 19 March - 38 top management volunteers from Smithfield Prod helped building the “Cristian” protected house for five adults with severe mental disabilities in Timisoara. READ MORE
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18.03.2009
Baumix brings heat to Cristian House
Baumix Company helps building “Cristian” House in Timisoara, thus supporting five beneficiaries of the “Pentru Voi” Foundation. Baumix donates the full thermic insulation and external stucco for the first protected house for adults with severe mental disabilities in Romania. The young people with mental disabilities from Pentru Voi graduating a course on construction will learn from Baumix specialists useful working techniques. READ MORE
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07.03.2009
Women Build on Women’s Day
On March 7, 23 ladies from Timisoara chose to spend the Saturday on site as part of a volunteering action to build the first protected house in Romania, in order to support five people with severe mental disabilities. READ MORE
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05.03.2009
March – the Month of Solidarity and Social Insertion at “Pentru Voi”
Timisoara, March 5. The “Pentru Voi” Foundation in partnership with the Association Habitat for Humanity Romania release the “Month of Solidarity and Social Insertion at Pentru Voi” in March. This month, a series of topic events meant to encourage citizens’ involvement in volunteering will be organized, in order to finish the first protected house for 5 adults with severe mental disabilities in the west of the country by the end of the month. READ MORE
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25.11.2008
The first protected house for people with disabilities is being built!
The Mayor of the Timisoara city, Gheorghe Ciuhandu, attended the release of the project to build a protected house for 5 people with severe mental disabilities today. The project was initiated by the “Pentru Voi” Foundation together with the non-profit association Habitat for Humanity Romania. READ MORE
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11.11.2008
Everybody is entitled to dignity and respect
Timisoara, 11 November 2008 – the “Pentru Voi” Foundation together with the non-profit association Habitat for Humanity Romania have started a project to build a protected house for 5 people with severe mental disabilities READ MORE
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Cristian House Beneficiaries’ Stories
Claudia is a 29 years old lady with Down syndrome. She lives with her 72 years old grandmother and her 82 years old aunt in poor health condition. Their home, a two room apartment, has not been renovated for years now because the family could not afford it.
Claudia goes daily to the „Ladislau Tacsi” day centre where she has different kind of activities. She enjoys it a great deal: every morning she tells her grandmother that she is going to work.
Income: 154 Euro / family member / month
Remus is 28 years old and lives with his family (mother, father, and two brothers). They live in Timisoara in a small two bedrooms apartment. His father is presently unemployed, though occasionally he finds work from time to time. His mother is the personal assistant of Remus, and his brothers are students.
Generally, their income consists of his mother's salary (as a personal assistant), the special allowance Remus receives and the allowances from the Government of his brothers as students.
Remus has a severe learning disability and he was institutionalized for two years, during his childhood.. Remus began visiting the „PENTRU VOI” Day Center in 1998.
He enjoys watching television, participating in activities in the Snoozle room, playing sports and walking outside.
Income: 50 Euro / family member / month
 Simona is a young severely disabled woman, 26 years old – mental retardation, challenging behavior and overweight. She lived with her parents, both also persons with intellectual disabilities, until last year, when her mother got cancer. Simona has a younger brother, institutionalized, with profound disability.
Simona’s family asked for respite (short break) services, but, due to the limited period, these kind of services wasn’t enough to accomplish Simona’s and her family’s needs.
After her mother died, her father can not take care of Simona, so she is living now at DINU, in Sacalaz, one of our group homes. She adapted quite well with the colleagues and the general environment, but she misses a lot her family. Simona is emotionally disturbed, very insecure, anxious, and when she is very upset, she cries and screams a lot. She needs permanent support for all the daily activities, including feeding, personal hygiene, cleaning her room, she has few social and relational skills.
Simona’s needs are hard to be accomplished at DINU, because the house is not in Timisoara, she misses the city because she used to walk a lot with her parents. Her father visits her very rarely, because he doesn’t have the possibility to go to Sacalaz too often.
Also, at DINU live four others service users, who has mild and moderate disabilities and their needs are different from Simona’s needs and the house is not properly adapted to severe disabilities - in terms of accessibility of the rooms, the bathroom or the kitchen.
The other Two service users of the Cristian group home are going to be from one of those big institutions nearby Timisoara.
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