DAY CENTER FOR TEENAGERS
ACTIVITY REPORT
JANUARY - JULY 2008

Starting from January 2008 until now, our Day Center has assisted 30 teenagers. The teenagers included in this program were in the 7th, 8th, 9th and 10th grade. They received a differential assistance, according to their specific needs.
Information regarding the assistance:

- Tutoring sessions - learning activities for assisted teenagers to get prepared for anual exams and to continue personal studies, developing their English language skills - 15 teenagers disposed of weekly tutoring sessions for Romanian, Math and English. Concerning all the teenagers assisted in this way, there was an improvement of school results in these subjects. All of them continued their studies in high schools and profession focused schools.

-Groups of assistance, education and personal development
Teenagers from 7th and 8th grade participated to support groups ,having an educational role, where they had the opportunity of discovering who they are, what are they preoccupied of and what their gifts are, what their needs are and how can they cope with them efficiently and healthy, how to relate to other people, how to cope with frustrations and hard times in their lives in an assertive way and how to learn to accept and love themselves.
The teenagers from the 10th grade, being in the last year of assistance, took part in a group of personal development and spiritual growth. In this group the teenagers met different biblical characters, and learned from their lives and experience how to deal with difficult situations they battle to, and in the same time they were motivated to adopte Christian attitudes, values and principles.

- most part of the time, we were involved through individual counseling in the lives of these teenagers that experience loneliness and sadness of having lost one of the parents, hard feelings, anger, or they are just not able to forgive their fathers and mothers that stopped supporting them, concern or fear for tomorrow, for their daily needs that are not fulfilled, feelings of inferiority or disbelief because of the failures from school or family life or just because of rejection.

-Sexual education program organized for all assisted teenagers, with support from the Pro-Vita staff, having the purpose of preventing early sexual behaviors that have dangerous effects on their lives.

-Career educational program in which the assisted teenagers had the possibility to discover what their gifts and preoccupations are, being counseled in choosing a future career.

-Material and financial support- the teenagers received food packages from the City Council at Christmas and Easter, second-hand clothing, gifts from Blythswood organization from Scotland for each event planned for them, food donations and free teeth treatments.

-Support and interventions in order to resolve medical or school problems (like dentists, doctors and school)

-Recreative-educational activities monthly organized ( weekly-during the holidays) with the teenagers: film watching and discussions afterwards, music concerts, Thanksgiving holiday, Christmas program, Easter program, 1st of June, crafts, getting out in the city and many others. One of these activities was the summer camp, that concluded our work during the year, by experiencing and applying all that we try to bring in the lives of this teenagers, it was an appropriate time for personal and emotional development of the teenagers, to correct behavior problems, to learn how to socialize, relate and communicate with other people and a great opportunity to make friends that have a positive influence and relax.

Informations regarding program management:
There were two hired people in Day Center for Teenagers program: a social worker Andreea Tomsa, the coordinator of the center, and Mihaela Coman as an educational psychologist. The activities were also supported by 15 volunteers.

Day Center coordinator:
Andreea Tomsa

Date:
22.07.2008

JULY

After a long time of planning and preparing the transportation, the table menu, volunteers that can help us in camp, choosing the right theme for the camp, daily discussion questions, games, songs, surprises, shopping, we finally got to enjoy the camp, in Rusesti, Marisel, during 14-19 of July, in the middle of all the wonders that God created. The camp was called The Ultimate Gift and for six days we discovered together different gifts that we had or we could have in our lives.

The first day of camp called The gift of life helped us understand how precious we are not because of how we look, the money we have or because of our talents, but because God is our Creator, and His standards and values are so different from those of the world we live in. The choice is our to make: we either believe the lies of Satan that wants to burden us with deceiving and changing standards that will make us unhappy, or we choose to believe God that paid for us the highest price, that gives us true value : the life of His son, Jesus Christ.

In the second day of camp we experienced together The gift of work, when we learned that it is very important that we value work even as teenagers, no matter what its nature is at this age, how important is to fulfill the best we can all our responsibilities because the way we are now will determine our future and the way we live our lives. During the camp, the teenagers had the opportunity to experience this gift by helping in the kitchen, washing dishes, laying and cleaning the table, things that teenagers were very happy to help with.

The third day of camp was called The gift of relationships and it focused mainly on the importance of forgiving in relationships. All teenagers had the opportunity of understanding what true forgiveness means, how can it be possible when there is no hope for reconciliation and what are the consequences of unforgiving in your life and in the life of others. Many teenagers that experience hardfeelings, anger or unforgiveness related to their mothers or fathers that stopped supporting them, friends that betrayed them, had the opportunity of being released from unforgiveness.

In the fourth day of camp we talked about The supreme gift- Jesus Christ and we understood that we can receive or we can reject this gift, that can never measure to any other gift from our lives, it is the most precious gift that God had, if He had a more precious gift He would have gave it. Once you receive this gift, it makes you responsible to live your life obeying God.

The next day of camp called The inheritance gave us the opportunity of talking about heaven, wanting to get there and understanding how we can get there.

The small group discussions from every day, the time from each morning and evening that we spent singing and praying, the time we spent daily reading the Bible motivated the teenagers from camp to reevaluate their lives, some of them choosing the purpose of a life lived by obeying God, a life that has God as a priority.

From the daily program never missed games and competitions, a time that we used to get closer to each other, to get to know each other better and have fun. We enjoyed the games, we were glad that the teenagers were not bored, all of them making the most of this time.

In general the camp atmosphere was full of joy, fun and friendship.
The camp concluded our work throughout the year, was a close up, it helped to experience and apply all that it is tried to bring into their lives, a great time for the teenagers personal, emotional and spiritual development, to correct behavior problems, to learn how to socialize, relate and communicate, a time to develop relationships that have a positive influence and relaxation.
After camp we organized at the Center a camp evaluation meeting, where the evaluations of the volunteers and those of the teenagers confirmed once again that the time we spent there was useful for everyone.

MAY - JUNE

In May we continued our assistance by meeting with the teenagers at the support groups, at the tutoring classes for Romanian language and literature, mathematics and English classes, and recreational activities.

The month of June was characterized by lots of joy, fun, games at the Day Center. We celebrated the 1st of June, the Children's Day, with games and competitions and we had prizes and gifts for each teenager from the Blyswood Organisation.

We had a series of meetings when we watched a movie and then we talked about it, crafts meetings, games at the Day Center, orientation games in the town. The goal for these recreational activities was to provide on daily basis an enjoyable environment for all the teenagers who are bored during the summer time, who live in a small apartment and have no financial possibilities to spend their holiday some place else. These activities had as a result the moral education for the teenagers, the development of their taste for beauty, the practise of the manual skills, social skills, the development of friendships with a positive influence in their lives.

We also had individual meetings with the teenagers in order to evaluate the assistance given from November until now, the positive and the negative aspects of it, the changes that were produced in the lives of our beneficiaries, and we talked about what we can do better next year. These meetings helped us to see the results of our work, the good decisions that the teenagers made in this period, the changes within themselves and in their behaviour. These meetings also helped us to understand what our emphasis should be in the assistance we offer at the Day Center.

During this period we also had to prepare the summer camp for the teenagers, we had meetings with the volunteers that would help us in the camp, we chose the theme, the activities, the program, the menu, the transportation to and from the camp, etc.

APRIL

Pro-Vita Collaboration

During this month, in the collaboration with other workers from the Pro-Vita Clinic, we began the execution of a sexual education program with the purpose of informing and preventing early and unwanted sexual behaviour, which has harmful effects on the lives of the assisted teenagers. During these meetings, we discussed about the characteristics of this period of life that we call adolescence, about HIV and other sexual transmitted diseases, about abortion and other negative consequences that may appear as a result of the beginning of the sexual activity before marriage, emphasizing the sexual abstinence. We chose to implement this kind of program for teenagers because we believe that the most important thing is to prevent. We wish that everything that has been heard and said at these meetings could give strength to lead a healthy life, from the sexual point of view. For those whom already began their sexual life, we hope to be a turning point in their life, to start taking wise decisions for their lives and in this area, which is very important for them.

Meeting with the group of Scotsmen from Lewis Island
Also, in this month, the assisted teenagers met some very special people who came all the way from Scotland to get involved in helping the vulnerable class from Romania. This meeting was a challenge for our teenagers in order to help them know God better, not only with the mind, at the information level, but with the heart and their whole life.

Easter Celebration at the Day Centre
On the occasion of Easter we organized at the Day Centre for Teenagers, a festive meeting with soda, sweet bread, gifts from the Blystwood organization.

The teenagers also received food supplies from the Cluj Town Council.

Within this meeting we remembered the suffering of our Saviour and the price he paid at the cross for our lives. This price asks for an answer, this love calls us to take the decision to give up our sins, and to live not for ourselves but for the One who died and resurrected for us and now sits at the right of the Father, and who will come with glory taking with Him all the ones who carried Him in their hearts and thoughts, concerns and in everything that they do here on earth.

At the end of the meeting the participants were challenged to write down there sins with red ink on paper that dissolves in water. All their sins vanished and all that remained was the red coloured water. This activity helped them to understand and to experience the forgiveness they receive for their sins and that they can live only through the blood of Christ. The conclusion of the meeting was to not to take in vain the death and suffering of Christ through indifference towards him and his love.

JANUARY - MARCH

In this period the activity at the Day Center for Teenagers was as we were used to in the last time, by meeting with them at the support groups, at the tutoring classes and other activities.

We also begun our individual counselling meetings, where we discovered at a different level the sentimental, behaviour and social problems the teenagers were having. Some of them experience loneliness and sadness caused by the loss of one of the parent, others experience resentment, anger or unforgiveness toward there fathers or mothers who gave up on supporting them. They worry and fear of tomorrow because their basic needs are not fulfilled; they experience the feeling of inferiority or insecurity caused by failures at school and in their families or by peer-rejection. We are encouraged to observe the openness and the vulnerability in the way they communicate during these meetings, the consistency of their attendance at the groups and counselling. All of these express again their cry out for help, their need for being heard, understood, loved and valued.

In order to integrate them in an emotional, moral secured environment, different from theirs, we tried to organize monthly a recreative activity for the teenagers that attend our Center. For January we chose to watch a movie together and then debate on it, emphasizing and issuing the importance of personal care, of clothing, and the importance of the accurate, moral, appropriate language. For February we prepared for our teenagers a special get-together for Valentines Day, where we discussed the difference between real love and passion, and the romantic relationships at there age. In March we organized for the teenage girls an 8 March get-together with pizza, soda, movie and discussions about the real beauty and feminity.

For the 8th of March celebration, we offered gifts to our teenger girls and our voluntaires as well.

In this period we maintained our monthly meeting with the voluntaries. In these meetings we would like to motivate and equip their work (weekly tutoring in math, Romanian language and English) to show our appreciation for their dedication, to give them strength and courage in what the do and make them aware of the change and the good that they bring in the lives of these teenagers.