Gemeinschaftlicher Kinderschutz in Siebenbürgen (Rumänien) im Geiste des Heiligen Franz von Assisi

Abstract

Communal Child Care in Transylvania (Rumania) in the Spirit of Saint Francis of Assisi: Primary, Secondary and Tertiary Prevention within the Framework of the Child Care Network Established by Csaba Böjte O.F.M.: Once liberated from the Ceauşescu dictatorship, Rumania stepped on the path of democratisation while struggling with grave economic and social problems. Especially families, and within them children, became sensitive victims of the transformation that often led to the phenomenon of child desertion. A Franciscan monk, Csaba Böjte recognised the difficult situation that did not spare Hungarian minorities either and started building a child care network 14 years ago in the South Transylvanian Deva (Déva/Diemrich) as a private initiative. By now close to 1500 children in need are taken care of within this framework in more than 40 Rumanian settlements by the staff and volunteers of the Saint Francis Foundation of Deva, which would be impossible without the support of numerous donors. Communal child care is currently carried out at several foundation nursery schools, primary schools, one vocational school, 30 day-care centres, secondary school and university dormitories, a maternal home, an information centre and a dozen children’s homes. It might be possible to measure success for instance by the increasing number of children lacking parental care who study in higher education, or who have started their own families and have jobs.