Jibou
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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:
| Priorities | Objective 1 | Objective 2 | Objective 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Education | Develop Second chance and School after school programs | One school mediators positions to be established | Preventing drop-out in kindergarten and school (very high rate) |
| Health | Hiring a family doctor to serve the Roma community | One health mediator position to be established | Vaccination and early marriages prevention campaigns |
| Infrastructure | Bring drinking water and sewerage in the community | Rehabilitation of the roads in the community | School rehabilitation |
| Housing | Accessing to non-reimbursable funds for the construction of social housing | Improving living conditions in Roma households | |
| Other | Hire one local police for the areas inhabited by Roma people | Financing events with Roma specific | Hire 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:
| Problem | Solution | Budget | Beneficiaries | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lack of mediators | Employment of a school mediator | The entire community | Process ongoing | |
| Improper street infrastructure | Cleaning/asphalting the community gutter | The entire community | Process finished | |
| Accumulation of waste in the Roma community | Weekly garbage collection | The entire community | Process ongoing | |
| Poor housing infrastructure | Providing construction materials for the persons in need | People in need | Process finished |
ROMACT cycle was eventually closed in May 2018 in Jibou.