The “Saints Archangels Michael & Gabriel” Social Establishment for victims of domestic violence

Between 2012 and 2020, PRO VITA Bucharest partnered with the “Saints Archangels Michael & Gabriel” Social Establishment in order to provide support for selected development projects.
Please check our FINANCIAL REPORT to find out how we have helped.

OVERVIEW

Location: 7 km away from the city of Giurgiu, on the highway to Zimnicea (ca. 70 km from Bucharest).

Led by: Ms. Veronica Ștefan (Director) with Fr. Valentin Ștefan.

Description: The center comprises a two-floor building with 12 bedrooms, 4 living rooms, 3 bathrooms with shower cubicles, laundry room, 4 service bathrooms, kitchen, dining room, activities room, office, playroom. Associated to the building there is a land with outbuildings (animal shelter, stable, a plot of land, and a large playground). When taken over from the State (2008), the building where once a similar activity took place, was in disrepair, without any amenities, lacking even windows, doors and plumbing. They have since remade the plumbing, the heating system and (partially) the roof; the land has been fenced, grass cultivated, double glazing doors and windows installed, and fruit trees planted etc.

The building has been fully insulated on the outside.

Assisted persons (oct. 2019): 40 persons – 10 mothers and 30 children; the number varies as when the social problems are to some extent solved, some persons leave. They are many more in wintertime, when the needs are also bigger. In addition, we also care for the families of the three men who tend to the animals and fields, who have 6 and 4 children respectively.

Staff: Fr. Ștefan and his wife Veronica; a teacher, a cook, 2 instructors, administrator and maintenance worker. Some volunteers are also involved in permanent or seasonal activities while the housework is being carried out with the support of the beneficiary mothers.

Amenities in the center building and annex spaces:

12 bedrooms (6 downstairs and 6 upstairs), all renovated and partially furnished with furniture received from our donors.
Animals (in the near-by farm): 17 cattle, 50 pigs, 2 horses, 200 sheep and 130 lambs, poultry.
A solarium and a garden provide most of the vegetables in the summertime.
Central heating with pellets (produced by own means from wood waste).

Social and administrative situation:

The establishment holds all the papers necessary for its operation. It also enjoys the blessing of local Church bishop. The establishment was consecrated in 2010 by His Beatitude Daniel, Patriarch of Romania.

The children receive age-appropriate education and are integrated in the schooling system. A minibus is helping the children get to and from the school.

A small chapel lies in the middle of the courtyard, where religious services are being held periodically.

The help that comes from the State is very limited and the establishment basically relies on the support of the community and the private companies.

The living conditions are specific to rural areas with the basic needs at a modest level. Yet the children and their mothers are being protected from the specific dangers of large cities (drugs, prostitution, crime, etc.) while being constantly supervised and guided with love. The establishment features a set of by-rules which everyone must comply with (mutual understanding, respect, helping one another etc).

PERMANENT AND ESSENTIAL NEEDS

Food: potatoes, onions, beans, oil, flour, canned peas, beans, liver paste; zakuska, olives, cheese, tea, butter or margarine, meat, prickled cucumbers, prickled peppers, cereals, tomato paste, spices, sweets (biscuits, wafers), fruits.
Forage (corn, wheat, bran, sunflower, peas).
Personal and general hygiene: laundry detergent, dishwashing liquid, floor cleaners; shampoo, soap, toilet paper, toothpaste.
Cleaning products: brooms, dustpans, mops, buckets, windows washing solutions, kitchen degreasing solutions.
Payment of utility bills: cold water (approx. 1,400 EUR/year payable on the year’s end), electricity (approx. 350 EUR/month), gas cylinders for stoves (approx. 100 EUR/month).
Fuel for the minibus: approx. 200 EUR/ month.