Local Leadership

The Alex Fund supports Fiecare Copil in Gradinita (‘Every Child in Preschool’), Romanian NGO Ovidiu Rom’s program currently operating in 19 impoverished communities.  Fiecare Copil in Gradinita is helping 1290 poor children attend preschool and kindergarten so they will be able to enter primary school  with the same skills as other better-off children start school with. Ovidiu Rom’s methodology encompasses close collaboration with local leaders, teacher training and educational resources, parent involvement and incentives, and educational enrichment such as summer programs.

It is the community’s obligation, in a civil society, to ensure that all its children get nurturing, education, health care – and the opportunity to reach their full potential as adults.

In August 2010, Ovidiu Rom and the Ministry of Education invited Romanian mayors to apply for funds to get every poor child in their communities in kindergarten

Ovidiu Rom allocated approximately €150 for each child between ages 3 and 6 whose family lived below the poverty line. In addition to providing food coupons to the families whose children had perfect attendance, these funds covered teacher training and educational resources. Fiecare Copil în Grădiniță (“Every Child in Preschool”) currently supports 1400 impoverished children in 19 communities across 11 counties.

Again in May 2011, Ovidiu Rom and the Ministry of Education have issued a call for applications.

Ovidiu Rom oversees the distribution of funds and KPMG audits our records.

Active involvement of the Local Action Group

Ovidiu Rom’s work in a community begins with a meeting of the local authorities, school administrators, and parents of young children living in blighted neighbourhoods to discuss their rights and obligations with regard to public education and to determine a plan of action. When agreement is reached that the community is committed to solving the problems of late enrolment and truancy, a Local Action Group is formed to work together to get “every poor child in kindergarten”.

Steps in recruitment and enrolment

• Local Action Group members carry out door-to-door recruitment, identify all children who are not registered, or have dropped out, or attend only sporadically.
• Parents are offered assistance in registering their children.
• School administration procures sufficient classroom space and teachers.
• School mediators visit the children’s homes to ensure regular attendance and parent involvement.
• Ovidiu Rom assists in finding funds to cover the “hidden costs” of school, such as uniforms, clothes and shoes, special notebooks and school supplies, etc.

2011 Brief of Fiecare Copil in Gradinita go to >

Case Study: Castelu, The step-by-step story of one community’s year-long effort to get every child in pre-school go to >

Program locations go to >

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