Bordei Verde RECL manager: “We’ve had a lot of emotional moments at PAPI”

27.01.2012

The year 2011 was very active for PAPI Bordei Verde (Brăila County). The most important project, started in November 2010 and completed in February 2011, was the CONECT project called “Entrepreneurs in agriculture – partners for the future”, in partnership with the communities of Mircea Voda and Florica. Nine entrepreneurs from Bordei Verde learned to create business plans. “They learned business management: how to administer their business, how to create a business plan, how to sell their products. Our IT administrator created websites for them, and some were very successful after that”, RECL manager Marinela Macreanu says.

Qualification courses in partnership with ARCA Braila

Another project contracted in 2011 by the RECL manager was he SOP HRD project “Increasing economic competitiveness and workforce employment in rural areas”, in partnership with the Regional Association for Consulting, Development and Assistance (ARCA) Braila.

Through hard work and a dedication, more than 30 people in Bordei Verde managed to get diplomas certifying their skills in the professions they had been practicing for a long time, but with the status of non-qualified workers. “Most were construction workers since it’s a popular job around here. They already had the skills, but did not have the papers certifying them. Following the courses, some of them became qualified workers and now they earn more”, Macreanu explains.

The project will end in 2013, and now a new series of trainees are eagerly awaiting their turn, in the hope that they will get diplomas recognised across the European Union.

“Those in the first series were very content. We also have here a bakery and the ladies there do not have qualification diplomas, so they can hardly wait for the training to begin again. They always come to ask when it will happen”, the manager says.

PAPI, the IT classroom

For several months in the autumn of 2011, Public Access Point to Information (PAPI) became an IT lab for pupils of the local secondary school. “The school was undergoing repairs at the time, so their IT classroom was closed. The computers were brought at PAPI and for a while pupils and teachers worked here”, the RECL manager says.

Locals were attracted by PAPI’s activities from the very start. They did not hesitate to join classes and ask for help when they had trouble.

“Missis Macrean is very much involved, she lets us know of any trainings we might use. She is very interested in the fate of our community”, says Madalina Vasile, who managed a farming cooperative in Bordei Verde.

The activity of Marinela Macreanu is very diverse - from contracting and organsing courses to promoting the community through cultural activities, to direct support for locals looking for a job. Although it takes lots of effort and commitment, it’s all well worth it.

“I remember that someone who had no idea how to use a computer, a woman whose sister had lived abroad for four years, came to us and asked for help. We created a messenger address and they managed to speak. We created a resume for another local resident, posted it online and later we learned we had a job. There were plenty of emotional moments since I work here”, Marinela Macreanu says.

Online resources:

RECL Vărăşti – Three Years’ Experience, 17 Educational Projects for the Community

PAPI exchanges create opportunities for partnerships