PAPI changed mentalities and relaunched volunteering in Costeşti
11.02.2011
| The PAPI Volunteer group in Costești, Iaşi County, became a must-have for the community, and the number of people involved in the group’s activities keeps growing. Created as a group for pupils by the RECL manager Tamara Liteanu, the group now has many adult members. The activity of the group managed to change the mentalities of some locals who were suspicious about volunteering, because they were thinks of the so-called “volunteer work” from 20 or 30 years ago, which was actually mandatory and motivated by propaganda slogans, not real priorities |
The PAPI volunteer group changed the way people think about volunteering, an activity seen by some adults as a continuation over the year of the “voluntary labor” or “patriotic labor” of communist times. It was mandatory work, that had as purpose reaching a propaganda aim according to the politics of the single party. There was no connection with a volunteer’s pleasure in participating alongside others in solving a community problem, due to one’s own beliefs and not because there was no other choice. “It was regarded as highly unpleasant. I’ve been through that. But it’s not the case with this group. In all PAPI Volunteer and e-Holiday activities, we explained our objectives right at the start, told them about the activities and explained everyone is free to come and go as they please, with no constraints regarding participation”, says teacher Elena Malanca, principal of the school in Costeşti.
The “PAPI volunteer” group was founded in 2008 at the initiative of RECL manager Tamara Liteanu, who realised the youngest members of the community were interested in getting involved, but need an adequate programme and a coordinator. “We started a volunteer team at PAPI, whose members are pupils and highschool students. The first to be part of PAPI Volunteer were PAPI users – pupils staying with grandparents during holidays or pupils from the commune that were studying in Târgu Frumos, Iaşi or Paşcani. Others were students of the Secondary School in Costeşti that were active as part of eHoliday 2008. But we’ve also had University students and locals councilor getting involved. From the very start, the group was always very active, not just during summer holidays. The activities of PAPI Volunteer offered those involved a chance to know their commune, discover its values, become aware every single person counts and has a place in society, that everyone’s opinion is important; they had become important and were no longer anonymous”, RECL manager Tamara Liteanu says.
Volunteering “programme”
The group got involved in creating exhibitions that would show the existence of local traditions and culture, as well as ecological programmes and one dedicated to showcasing tourist attractions.
“We had an exhibition with hand-crafted objects, representing creations of popular craftsmen, objects specific to our area, tools, and popular costumes. The volunteers also helped collect materials regarding local customs and possible tourist attractions. We went from door to door in the commune collecting data about the past, the people and their preoccupations, old traditions still surviving today, we gathered home-use objects, tools, old clothes forgotten in corners of attics and covered in spider webs”, recounts the RECL manager.
Local reforestation, a priority for PAPI Volunteer
The group recently took part in the “Tree of the Year” competition with a story about a monumental oak din Giurgeşti, aged about 130. „We took photos and measurements, collected stories from locals, and submitted them in the idea that, if we win, we will have 3,000 Lei to plant trees and clean an area”, Tamara Liteanu says. One of the concerns is organising activities that are good for the environment, by cleaning potential tourist areas such as Cişmeaua de Piatră.
„For instance, when we cleaned the area from Cişmeaua de Piatră, we took tools from the City Hall; but there many of us and not enough tools. So we asked for help from locals in the area, who liked our ideas and helped”, the RECL manager explains
Volunteering with social impact
Activities with social impact were not neglected. For instance, last autumn, the volunteering group took care of transporting fire wood for local institutions.
“we asked the parents to help with their carts so that we can take wood to the school. We had approval to cut the wood, but had not transport. Some of the volunteers decided to ask their parents to bring in the carts in order to supply the school. In that case we’ve had more volunteers than expected, because other parents also came in. Some of them cut the wood in smaller pieces and ordered them in the school’s deposit”, the RECL recounts.
Through its continuous work, the group became well known in the commune, so people started joining in more. “We explained people what the group is all about, how it works, how we cooperate with the City Hall. People were thrilled that such a group and such activities exist”, Tamara Liteanu says.
In spring, the group wishes to continue cleaning the area and finding new ways to promote local tourism. The first thing would be to create a website and a Facebook page.
A recipe for success: motivation from the leader and volunteers
The motivation driving volunteers were essential in the successes the PAPI Volunteer group had, as well as the motivation of the Costeşti REWCL manager to start such a group and lead its ongoing activity. „Why did I keep going? Because they wanted to get involved in the community through the good practice examples they’ve had: acknowledging the value of artisans, the value of local heritage and customs, the little objects for home use that still survive to this day, the possiblity of being promoted on ecomunitate.ro, showcasing local buildings and many others that they have discovered after being part of the group. What motivated me? Only their enthusiasm and my curiosity in discovering these values that could be brought to light and explored in the benefit of the community”, Tamara Liteanu says.
When it comes to the motivation of volunteers who participate in the group’s activities, the RECL manager thinks “they are driven by the idea that they are important through the responsibilities they take on. Also, the time spent together meant a lot and many friendships begun. Of course, small rewards they got were also part of it: a trip to the Cucuteni Museum of History and Archaeology, on July 22nd 2009, when the group had its first birthday, as well as working visit to Giurgeăti, when we registered the 130 years old oak for the arboreleanului.ro competition, when the group turned two. Trips, visits, with a little added flavours from cake and sodas”, Liteanu says.
Since the PAPI Volunteer activities have beneficial effects for the community, volunteers have also become more popular among locals.
One of the volunteers in the group, Dănuţ Viziteu, now in the 11th grade at the Târgu Frumos high school, explained how the group is seen “from the inside”: “We go with classmates and friends to these activities. We like doing these things, like the ecology events or the museum we gathered old objects for. We want to have a museum with things from our village, one that would tell our story. We also recorded the stories the elders of the village have about how the place used to be like”. He also said that learning about volunteering at home was useful when he went to school in Târgu Frumos: “Volunteering was good for me. It helped later, when I went to the high school in Târgu Frumos and took part in activities of the Assiris Association. There was a partnership between Assiris and PAPI Costeşti”, Dănuţ Viziteu says.
Volunteering in KEP communities
Volunteering is increasingly important in KEP communities. For instance, the PAPIs in Saschiz, Rupea and Valea Viilor will organise a two-month project aiming to create a corps of volunteers. The regional “PAPI volunteers” project received 25,570 Lei worth of financing from the CONECT programme, a partnership initiative for the member communities of the Knowledge-Based Economy Project. Elsewhere, in Mircea Vodă, Brăila County, pupils and young local volunteers are the one taking part of promoting the Knowledge-Based Economy Project in the villages of Mircea-Vodă, Deduleşti, Filipeşti and Surdilă-Găişeanca. These volunteers are popularising the actions taking place at PAPI, inviting people to use computers and the Internet and come to traings for various professions.
Online resources:
The Târgu Frumos Young Volunteer Association, An Important Institution for the Town
Saschiz, Rupea and Valea Viilor need “PAPI volunteers”
Keywords: CosteștiSaschizRupeaValea ViilorMircea VodăIașivolunteeringecology eventsPAPI