Jibou

General Information
 
ROMACT Cycle: 
Closed
Mayor of the Municipality: 
Dan Ghiurco
Contact Person within the Municipality: 
Ileana Rus - Inspector in the Social Department Office
Facilitators: 
Marius Parno
Total population: 
10 407
Source: 
Census 2011
Roma living in the Municipality: 
1 200
Description of the Municipality: 

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Last update: 12/01/2017
 
Jibou municpality situated in the north-eastern part of Salaj County, on the left bank of Somes, 25 km from Zalau municipality, Salaj county residence. Jibou city is composed from 4 villages: Cuceu, Husia, Rona and Var.
In Jibou lives a compact big Roma community, on Caramidarilor Street, with over 1.200 Roma, native Romani language speakers. As origin, their main occupation was brick layers. The needs of the Roma community are linked primarily to the lack of housing. In most houses live 8 or 9 people in a room of 16 square meters. Shacks are very close to each other. Another need of the Roma community is the lack of jobs (currently only 40 people have individual labor contract). Most children in the community finish 8th grade. In terms of infrastructure in the community the roads are unpaved, without sewage. Many families are not connected to drinking water and electricity networks due to lack of property documents. Another problem is related to waste collection and the fact that the sanitation service does not collect waste from the Roma community.

The ROMACT Process

ROMACT process started on July 2016. The Joint Action Plan (JAP) was approved and included in the Local Development Strategy on 20 December 2016.
 
The Community Action Group (CAG) identified some of the short/medium/long-term needs:
 

PrioritiesObjective 1Objective 2Objective 3
EducationDevelop Second chance and School after school programsOne school mediators positions to be establishedPreventing drop-out in kindergarten and school (very high rate)
HealthHiring a family doctor to serve the Roma communityOne health mediator position to be establishedVaccination and early marriages prevention campaigns
InfrastructureBring drinking water and sewerage in the communityRehabilitation of the roads in the communitySchool rehabilitation
HousingAccessing to non-reimbursable funds for the construction of social housingImproving living conditions in Roma households
OtherHire one local police for the areas inhabited by Roma peopleFinancing events with Roma specificHire one local Roma expert within the city hall

With ROMACT expertise, the city hall applied for European funding and received help to implement projects related to reducing the number of marginalized communities at risk of poverty and social exclusion through integrated measures.
 
Several trainings were also provided:
 
Trainings provided for the local administration:
Applying for European Structural Funds
Elaboration of the JAP
 
Activities involving the community action group:
Training on community development and civic participation
 
So far, the following measures to solve problems in Roma community were taken:
 

ProblemSolutionBudgetBeneficiariesStatus
Lack of mediatorsEmployment of a school mediatorThe entire communityProcess ongoing
Improper street infrastructureCleaning/asphalting the community gutter The entire communityProcess finished
Accumulation of waste in the Roma communityWeekly garbage collectionThe entire communityProcess ongoing
Poor housing infrastructureProviding construction materials for the persons in need People in needProcess finished

ROMACT cycle was eventually closed in May 2018 in Jibou.

Timeline Points

18 Jul 2016
Step 1- Becoming Commited- Signature of the letter of commitment
23 Nov 2016
Step 2- Agreeing on needs and plans- Community priorities list finalised
20 Dec 2016
Step 3- Translating priorities into measures- Joint Action Plan for Roma inclusion adopted by City Council
1 Jan 2017
Step 4- Funding, Implementing and Monitoring
16 Mar 2018
End of ROMACT process
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