Le Rosey volunteers at Habitat for Humanity Beius
Between 25th and 29th of October 2010, 11 students coordinated by two teachers from the renowned European Le Rosey Institute in Switzerland volunteered at the Habitat site in Beius. These young people came through the CAS school program (Creativity, Action, Service), which is mandatory in obtaining the high school international diploma. The school offers students many CAS programs from which they can choose the one that suits them better or they can suggest other activities that they wish to do. The purpose of CAS is that young people learn from practical experience how to get involved in the community and how to help those around them.
“I am very enthusiastic about what is happening here. For me, it’s a great feeling to see young people from across Europe working together for a common goal. I’m glad I chose Habitat because I learn something very useful, and, at the same time, I help someone who really needs support. I will definitely recommend my colleagues to come and build homes in Beiuş, next year!”said Konstantin, a volunteer from Bulgaria.
Gabor family, which will receive housing, consists of five members and lives on a street on the outskirts of Beius. From father to son, they practice the same profession, that of ceternari, ie they make and install metal gutters to drain water from the housetops. They are living in a single room, which is actually an annex to the parental home. The only bed inside is shared by the two parents and the two school children, leaving the youngest daughter, the 2-year old Louise-Clara, to sleep between the two armchairs that Ianoş sticks side by side to form a crib. There is also a small table used for cooking and eating. A closet, a chair and a small tiled stove fill the small room where the Gabor family lives its life. Seven years ago, Ianoş asked the mayor for a piece of land on which to build a house for his family. It has been five years before the application was approved. Then Ianoş thought that the only chance to build a home was to contact the Habitat for Humanity Beiuş.
“I was very happy when I received the land from the municipality, but the excitement soon passed when I saw that I couldn’t actually build my own house in the next 20 years. But I was lucky to find out about Habitat and to be accepted into their program. Now I am very happy that soon I will have a home and I am grateful to these young people who came to help us build our house that I dreamed of for a long time.” says Gabor Ianoş, the household beneficiary.
Volunteers began building on Monday morning the wooden structure that will form the walls of the house, but by Thursday they will raise it to the roof level. During their stay in Romania, the students will combine the work on site with the opportunity to participate in other activities. They have already been invited by their co-workers to a football match, then they will visit an orphanage where they can play with the children and they will go sightseeing in Bihor county.
The collaboration between Habitat for Humanity Beius and Le Rosey dates back from 2002. Meanwhile, over 100 students helped build houses for families in need. For this Swiss school, voluntary work is considered of major importance for the development of young people, which is why hundreds of students are involved every year in humanitarian or volunteer activities organized by schools and NGOs and could become a model for many Romanian schools in the near future.
