 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |  |
 |  |
 |
 |
|
|
Twins Separated by Learning Abilities: Children's Initiative in Romania Offers Help
At a Jewish camp this summer, twins Peter and Alin, age 12, were free to go their own separate ways. "My favorite activity was playing soccer," Peter volunteers, eager to reminisce about the week sponsored by JDC through the Jewish Federation of Romania (FEDROM). Alin highlights the Jewish activities and what they learned about Moses and the broken tablets. "We did a mock trial, like a play," he explains. The boys' academic tastes are equally diverse: Alin likes math, Hebrew, and computers, while Peter prefers geography; his school does not offer computers.
Though twin brothers, the boys have not been classmates for years because when they were entering 1st grade, Peter did not meet the English level requirement of the Jewish day school where Alin is a student. "My goal is to bring Peter's level up to the point of being accepted there because the education is excellent," says the boys' mother, Felicia, who helps them daily with their homework. Furthering the importance of Felicia’s goal, a psychiatrist who evaluated him said that learning a language other than their native Romanian would greatly enhance Peter's mental and intellectual development. Despite Felicia's best efforts, the 41-year-old high school teacher admits that her son has special learning needs that she alone is not managing to surmount. In addition to holding a full-time job, Felicia helps Peter with his studies in the morning before work and then assists Alin at night when she returns home. "I am a modest person, but I know I am capable of helping Peter with all of his subjects except English," she says, looking down at the floor. "I simply don't have enough knowledge of the language." She notes that, without a tutor, her son would have had to repeat the 5th grade. While both parents hold college degrees and respectable positions, they cannot afford basic monthly expenses or the "luxury" of educational support for their son. Yousef, 41, explains that the metal factory where he works as an engineer is near bankruptcy, so salary checks are sporadic and he will likely find himself unemployed in a few months. Cash assistance from JDC via the Jewish Federation of Romania (FEDROM) pays for Peter to be tutored in English by one of Felicia's colleagues. "Without the help of the Jewish community I don't know where we would be," Yousef says. In Bucharest, where salaries are meager and meeting the cost of living is a day to day struggle, needs beyond the basic are unattainable: the family requires assistance to buy clothing and school materials for Peter and Alin. "I would somehow have to borrow money that I don't know how I would be able to repay." Peter and Alin are two of more than 120 Jewish children in Romania, ages 0 to 18 years, that have already been identified as requiring assistance from JDC's forthcoming Children's Initiative. Among their primary needs are food, clothing, medicines and medical treatment, school supplies (e.g. notebooks, pencils, gym sneakers), and Jewish education. March 2006 |
