Simleu Silvaniei
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Last update: 03/10/2016
Șimleu Silvaniei is located in the Sălaj County in North-Western Romania and is around 29 km from the county capital Zalău. According to the 2012 census, the total population of Șimleu Silvaniei amounts to 17,341 inhabitants, of which 2,362 people are Roma. However, unofficial estimates the municipal Roma community at closer to 3,000. The Roma live in a variety of large and smaller communities, with the largest one being Pusta Vale, situated 7 km away from the municipality. It is a traditional community where the Romani language is used on a daily basis and where religion plays an important role. As a consequence of the importance of religion, the local Pastor is held in high esteem; he is considered their spiritual leader and is very involved in community life.
The area where most Roma live in Simleu Silvaniei is connected to mains water, electricity, sewage networks. The majority of the community have access to these services. Though there are a few exceptions on particular streets (with a population of roughly 500 people), these residents do not have access to the services listed. Most of the homes in the community are modest; some of them are in an advanced stage of degradation and they required urgent pest control measures, refurbishment and connection to utilities.
The main problems that Roma face in Simleu Silvaniei are access to healthcare (lack of access to medical insurance and facilities, and lack of health mediators) and unemployment (there are high unemployment rates among the Roma). A large share of the Roma population are welfare recipients and work on day-to-day jobs or seasonal jobs.
The ROMACT Process
On the 19th January 2016 Simleu Silvaniei joined the ROMACT programme with the Mayor’s signature on the Letter of Commitment. The Local Authorities (LA) of Simleu Silvaniei have taken a series of actions to improve the living standards of the Roma community. Actions have included several educational programmes, improvements to infrastructure and social services provision. There is also a Roma representative on the Local Council.
Like other municipality’s participating in the ROMACT Programme, our Simleu Silvaniei Community Action Group (CAG) have agreed a list of short-term and long-term priorities for their community:
| Short-term priorities | Objective 1 | Objective 2 | Objective 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infrastructure | To ensure all houses have electricity | Rehabilitation of an old building which used to be a school | To build a medical facility |
| Education | Extending the day care and the school in the community, physically and in terms of study possibilities | To restart second chance school and an after school programme | To ensure there is available transportation for children to attend school at all levels |
| Employment | Help Roma citizens access funds for small business development | ||
| Long-term priorities | Objective 1 | Objective 2 | Objective 3 | Objective 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infrastructure | Extend the water, sewerage and electricity networks so that it reaches the entire community | |||
| Education | Decrease the number of school dropouts among Roma children | Develop educational programmes for Roma parents and for adults in general | Employ a school mediator | Implementing programmes in order to develop and sustain permanent education |
| Health | Have a pharmacy in the village | Employ a health mediator | ||
| Other | Build social houses | Build a chapel in the cemetery for religious burials | Create a playground for the children in the community | Renovate the church in the community |