Believing in young people – Gift code R1

When Cosmin’s girlfriend walked out on him, he found he couldn’t pay the rent living alone. His jobs on building sites were always without contract, uncertain and paid by the day. And as a young person who had spent the first 18 years of his life in Romania’s care system, he had no family to fall back on.

“Cosmin was scared when he showed up here one Sunday,” says Luiza Fechita, social worker at Blythswood Care’s Daniel Centre on the outskirts of Cluj. “He had been sleeping in different places each night but knew one of the boys already on our programme.”

The 19-year-old is still in the process of working out a progress plan with the help of Luiza and others in the Daniel Centre team, but has made a promising start. He has found employment with a delivery business, cycling 20km a day to deliver fast food to homes in and around Floresti.

“Having a stable job is a target for all the boys on our programme,” Luiza says. “Learning to be a reliable timekeeper is essential and we also teach them to cook, to budget and to look after money, and to present themselves well.”

Cosmin had got as far as the ninth grade in school before dropping out. Returning to complete high school is one possibility that the Daniel Centre will help him to consider. Gaining a driving licence is another, with a local charity offering free driving lessons.

“He doesn’t say much but he is very attentive,” Luiza observes. “With time we will help him to work out what he likes and where he wants to go.”