Education plays a crucial role in children's development, impacting not only their academic progress but also shaping their personality, values, and social skills. For this reason, ADRA Romania works on projects that facilitate access to education, aiming to break the cycle of poverty and promote equal opportunities.

In Romania, the school dropout rates are a pressing social issue. Despite education being compulsory in Romania up to the twelfth grade, tens of thousands of students drop out of school every year, which is a cause for concern, the organization says.

According to research, the reasons why students drop out of school are mainly determined by the environment in which they grow up, in which multiple factors can be identified: poverty, family instability, health problems, a faulty teacher-student relationship, lack of motivation, and role models, and so on. For these reasons, children lose the chance for professional development, a fact that prevents them in the long term from integrating into the labor market and, implicitly, results in losing the opportunity to keep up with the development of the society in which they live.

ADRA's "I want to go to school!" project has national coverage and aims to support children who have good academic performance but are at risk of dropping out of school due to challenging family situations. Through this initiative, ADRA Romania is working to prevent early school dropout, providing children with the opportunity for a better future and promoting equal opportunities.

The main activities within the "I want to go to school" project are: the distribution of necessary educational supplies to children who have been selected as beneficiaries, including a schoolbag equipped with supplies in September and a second set of supplies in the middle of the school year; the distribution of basic food for the beneficiary children and their families every month, during the entire school year; the periodic distribution of hygiene kits, as well as clothing and footwear, depending on the identified needs; counseling for parents to motivate them to support the children's education process; training and education activities for teachers from the schools involved in the project to improve the teacher-student relationship; the organization of periodic meetings with the aim of developing the self-esteem of students from vulnerable backgrounds, accomplished through discussions about their future plans and guidance towards achieving the objectives; the organization of free camps, during the holidays, for award-winning children who achieved great results at the end of the school year.

"School dropout is a complex problem facing Romania and is closely related to social, motivational, and even family factors that go beyond the educational area,” said Gabriela Istrate, ADRA Romania project manager.

“It is true that dropping out of school primarily has repercussions on the child who risks irreversibly compromising his future, but the consequences of this phenomenon reverberate through society in general. I am happy that ADRA Romania has chosen to invest in education, again, this year and will bring hope and joy to the hearts of children,” shared Istrate, concluding, “We are moving forward with excitement, but also with the confidence that God will provide us with the necessary resources for this new school year, and I have all the respect for the sponsors and volunteers who are with us in this project,” she adds.

In the 2024–2025 school year, ADRA Romania’s involvement in the project will support 502 students from Banat, Bucovina, Crișana, Dobrogea, Maramureș, Moldova, Muntenia, Oltenia, and Transylvania, all of whom have good academic results and are struggling to overcome their condition through education.

Beneficiaries are identified through the partnerships that ADRA Romania has with schools in the area and local town halls.

The original article was published on the Inter-European Division website.