Alesd

General Information
 
ROMACT Cycle: 
Closed
Mayor of the Municipality: 
Doca Ioan Coloman
Contact Person within the Municipality: 
Balogh Alexandru
Facilitators: 
Laura Tartiu
Total population: 
10 066
Source: 
Census 2011
Roma living in the Municipality: 
1 213
Description of the Municipality: 

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Last update 03/10/2016

Alesd is a small city located in Bihor County in Romania and is part of the North West Development Region of Romania. Alesd is the administrative centre for 4 localities - Alesd, Pestis, Tinaud and Pădurea Neagră. According to the latest census information, Alesd has a total population of 10,066, with 12% of the total population from the Roma community (1,213 people), representing the Calderasi and Geambash Roma groups. However, the unofficial local estimates are slightly higher than the recorded figure which places the population at around 1,500 in the municipality of Alesd - most of them living in the Obor Neighbourhood. Beside Roma, other minorities live in Alesd among them are Hungarians and Slovaks.
After the fall of communism in December 1989, the industrial sector in Alesd suffered a sharp decline and in 1998 Alesd was declared “deprived area”. This attracted foreign investment and allowed the creation of around 1,500 jobs, which are mostly in the textile and construction material industries. A large segment of the working age Roma are employed in these industries, while another significant share are involved in agriculture.
Roma citizens living in the Obor community face issues related to education, housing and infrastructure as well as employment and health. Their most important needs were identified as priorities by the Community Action Group (CAG) which was formed through the ROMACT process, described below.

ROMACT Aleșd photo gallery

The ROMACT Process

In October 2015 with the Mayor Zeno Tipter’s signature on the Letter of Commitment, Alesd joined the ROMACT programme.  Within three months of joining the programme, the process led to the agreement between the Community Action Group (CAG) and the Local Authorities on the Local Action Plan which was afterwards approved by the Municipal Council through an official Decision on the 27th of January 2016,  for the period 2016-2020. The Community Action Group started by formulating their short-term priorities:
 
 

Short-term priorities of the CAGObjective 1Objective 2Objective 3
EducationRe-initiate the “Second Chance” education programme for adultsEnsure the means of transportation for children living far away from the schoolIncrease the work time of the school mediator
InfrastructureRepair the roads deteriorated by the works on the sewerage system Connect to the water and electricity networks houses lacking them in the Roma neighborhood
HousingSolve the legal issues around land and house ownership in the Roma community
HealthEmploy an additional health mediator
OtherTrain the staff of the Multifunctional Centre on Roma culture and traditionsOrganise regular CAG meetingsOrganise activities promoting and preserving Roma culture; organize celebrations for the 8th of April

The long-term priorities of the CAG are:

Long-term priorities of the CAGObjective 1Objective 2Objective 3Objective 4
EmploymentCreate more work opportunities for Roma
HousingProvide land plots for new houses for the Roma communityBuild social housing
EducationTake measure to decrease the school dropout rates of Roma childrenSupport young Roma in high-school so as to avoid dropoutOrganise awareness campaigns for Roma parents on the importance of education
InfrastructureReplace the pipelines of the water network in the Roma community Build a protection wall against floodings in the proximity of the Cris river

The Local Action Plan – drafted jointly by the CAG and Local Authorities and adopted by Municipal Council includes the following measures, which were made in response to most of the priorities set by the Community Action Group:
 

Objectives included in the JAPObjective 1Objective 2Objective 3Objective 4Objective 5Objective 6
EducationRe-initiate the “Second Chance” education programme for adultsIncrease the work time of the school mediatorExpand the after school programme Organize activities to prevent school dropout of Roma childrenEnsure the means of transportation for children living far away from the schoolOrganise awareness campaigns for Roma parents on the importance of education
HousingCreate a support programme for the most deprived Roma familiesEquip the multifunctional day center from the Roma community with furniture and other needed equipment
HealthEmploy a health mediatorMonitor the implementation of the national health programmeOrganize periodical meetings with the doctors from the city to discuss the health problems Roma face
InfrastructureRepair the roads deteriorated by the works on the sewerage systemConnect to the water and electricity networks houses lacking them in the Roma neighborhoodReplace the pipelines of the water network in the Roma communityProvide land plots for new houses for the Roma communityBuild social housingBuild a protection wall against floodings in the proximity of the Cris river
EmploymentOrganize periodical meetings with the companies in the areaOrganize trainings for the members of the Roma community
OtherOrganise intercultural and Roma culture trainings for teachersOrganise activities promoting and preserving Roma culture; organize celebrations for the 8th of AprilSolve the legal issues around land and house ownership in the Roma community Solve the issues related to Identity documents for all the community members

In order to facilitate the implementation of the Action Plan, ROMACT supports the municipality staff members through coaching and expertise on applying for EU funds and EU project management.

In addition to the short-term priorities described above, in September 2016 the Community Action Group from Alesd - Obor put forth the idea of a fundraising campaign for a Roma citizen living in the neighbourhood who was in a dire situation with her four children. A campaign was initiated under the name of "A home for Simona" which aims to gather resources for the reconstruction of the house of Ms Simona Csonka, and refurbish it with the necessary items to improve the Family’s living conditions. The Community Action Group contributed with the search for donations and through volunteering on the construction site, while the municipality of Alesd offered services related to the proper connection of the house to electricity and other amenities. More on this story here.
 

In January 2016, the Local Council adopted an action plan for Roma population, for the period 2016-2020.

Trainings provided for the local administrationBeneficiaries
Project implementation4 persons from the city hall
Coaching on Integrated Local Development (DLI 360) in marginalized communities where there is Roma populationThe city hall
Activities involving the community action groupBeneficiaries
Training on community development and civic participationThe community action group
Coaching on setting up a NGOThe community action group
Expertise provided to the local administrationBeneficiaries Status
Replacement of the water and sewage network in Obor neighborhoodRoma community 1.200 direct beneficiariesFinalized
Households connection to electricityRoma community 150 direct beneficiariesFinalized
National Rural Development Programme, Measure 322 - Village renewal and development, improving basic services for rural economy and population and upgrading of the rural heritage, Axis III - Quality of life in rural areas and diversification of the ruralRoma childrenFinalized

Results:
 
A sample of projects related to ROMACT:
 
The replacement of the sewage network in the Roma community (Obor) was finalized.
An NGO from CAG members was created.  
The campaign “A home for Simona” was launched and finalized with the construction of a new house for Simona, a Roma member of the Alesd – Obor community, and her family of four children.
The procedures for the building of the dam near the river have begun.
The renovation of the road that goes round the community is included in an infrastructural project (from EU funds).
The water network rehabilitation for the whole municipality (included also the Obor neighborhood of the Roma community) was finalized in the beginning of July 2017.
 

Timeline Points

21 Oct 2015
Step 1 - BECOMING COMMITTED - Letter of Commitment signed by the Mayor
27 Jan 2016
Joint Action Plan included in the Local Development Strategy
28 Jan 2016
Step 3- Translating priorities into measures- Joint Action Plan for Roma inclusion adopted by City Council
17 Aug 2017
Creation of Taskforce
5 Sep 2017
End of ROMACT process
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