Dobrovat Centre
Mission: To provide a means of bringing about permanent improvement to the lives of disadvantaged families.
Location: Romania
Goals: To create a multi-purpose centre to be used to bring about positive change to people in the district of Iasi through education, training and entrepreneurial empowerment.
Project status:
SPONSORED BY: CHRISTIAN CITY CHURCH, BATH & BRISTOL (Freedom Centre)
Project description:
The Dobrovat Centre is a joint venture to be delivered through partnership between Robin Hood Ministries and Calea Bucuriei (The Way of Joy), a Romanian registered foundation dedicated to helping impoverished and vulnerable people in the Iasi district of the Moldova region. Calea Bucuriei (Way of Joy) operates through a number of projects, which include child sponsorship, the provision of clean water, and canteen facilities for families living in deprived areas, and the setting up of a health drop-in centre. At Dobrovat, a rural area in the Iasi district, Ceal Bucuriei (Way of Joy) foundation has been granted a 1,000m2 piece of land with permission to build and equip a multi-purpose centre to support the work of the foundation. A key outcome of the Dobrovat Centre project is for local people to benefit from educational and training opportunities that will give them practical qualifications and entrepreneurial skills. Possession of these attributes will help them to break through the cycle of dependency, opening the way for social change and economic advancement. To achieve this, the objectives for the Centre will be delivered through a number of initiatives, including the provision of UK professional training expertise, the setting up of an outreach centre for the people of Dobrovat and the establishment of educational summer camps for underprivileged children from the Iasi area. It is intended that the Centre will provide team-building opportunities for staff, volunteers and visiting experts and will become a flagship for future Robin Hood Ministries’ projects. Three phases have been identified within the Dobrovat Centre project, the first two phases being associated with the short-term goals for the programme. Phase one will see the full development of the vision for the Dobrovat Centre and its practical realisation, to ensure that the project is correctly resourced and to establish that all local authorisations needed for the Centre have been obtained. Phase two will cover the construction of the Centre and this will include a number of sub-projects for funding and management. An important element of this phase will be to provide workers from disadvantaged areas of Iasi with training in building skills and to employ them in the construction work of the Centre itself. At the end of the project each worker will possess a certificate of qualification and a letter of recommendation for future employers. Phase three of the project will see the emergence of secure long-term goals for the Dobrovat Centre. These will include full utilisation of the Centre and all its facilities, the appointment of a live-in administrator, and the establishment of the budgetary and management arrangements necessary to make the Centre self-sustaining.
Dobrovat Land
Children who will benefit from the Dobrovat Centre
Training social entrepeneurs for a better way of life
Artists image of the proposed competed project