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As my “ClearlySo in Romania” trip came to an end, I found that I had made a lot of discoveries about Romania’s social business sector, both from the organizations I have mentioned in this blog, as well as from research and conversations I’ve had with other people knowledgeable about this sector. I would like to end this blog by sharing these observations and opinions. During the month of June, I found out that the Western concept of a “social business” is esoteric and slightly doubtful in Romania; understood by few, and applied by even fewer. Most of the people that I talked to have found it almost inconceivable that an organization could profit from its social activities, because most Romanian social organizations have a hard time funding their operations, let alone make a profit. Read more

The Romanian branch of the Order of Malta was established in 1991, after the fall of the communist totalitarian regime. Its social service (SAMR) started out by offering aid in predominantly Catholic regions of the country, but it has since expanded to all areas. There are currently 27 centers in Romania, and the main branch, based in Cluj-Napoca, is in permanent contact with two principal partners, Malteser Hilfsdienst in Germany and the Sovereign Order of the Malta Cavaliers (who also played a pivotal role in SAMR’s founding). Read more

On June 16^th I had a meeting with the Society of Orthodox Women of Cluj, whose president is Mrs. Gabriela Trimbitas. When I arrived there, they were just finishing a meeting, and they were kind and interested enough that they all stayed and talked to me enthusiastically afterwards. The organization aims to reduce the level of poverty and the exclusion from mainstream society of the poor, underprivileged and the elderly segments of the population. It assists elderly people who are alone at their homes by providing them with meals, conversation and companionship on doctor’s visits or shopping trips, and financial advice on managing bills. Additionally, it organizes different social activities for them to ease loneliness, including a prayer program and group outings. Read more

On June 10^th I visited with the Wassdas Foundation, whose manager is Mr. Otvosz Geza. The organization’s main focus is the integration of Roma people into mainstream society. It does so by writing up and releasing identification documents, improving the lives of those who are poor and homeless, and providing employment opportunities for them. This is an endeavor I seldom heard of before, and I was very interested to learn about Wassdas’ ideas and methods. Read more

On June 5^th I had my first meeting with Father Alexandru Hruban, executive director of the Cluj-Napoca branch of Caritas, a Greco-Catholic eparchial association. Caritas Romania was founded immediately following the 1989 fall of communism, when the Greco-Catholic church was once again free to operate officially. Caritas is one of the largest international NGOs in the world, putting in practice the social doctrine of the Catholic Church; Caritas Romania is one of its many branches. Caritas Romania supports programmes aimed at social justice, focusing much of its work on some of Romania’s major social problems, including the rise in street children and orphans, drug addictions, and poverty. The organization also provides food, home care, medical services and medicines to poor families, the elderly and the disabled. Read more

On June 2^nd, I arrived in Romania, ready to start my “ClearlySo in Romania” project.

First, some background information about myself, my interests in this project, and the goals of this trip. My name is Sandra Barbosu, I was born in Cluj, Romania and lived there for eleven years. In 2000, I moved with my family to the United States, where I am currently attending the University of Rochester. After our move to America, I stayed up to date with the state of affairs in my home country through online newspapers and newscasts, discussions with family and friends, and yearly trips back home.

The past decade has been a very dynamic time for Romanian politics and economics, especially the transformation that the country has undergone before and after its adherence to the European Union on January 1^st, 2007. By living abroad, I feel like I’ve had an interesting opportunity to observe this transformation from both an insider’s and outsider’s perspective, which has increased my understanding. Read more