{"id":47953,"date":"2021-04-08T14:34:54","date_gmt":"2021-04-08T14:34:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.documentaria.ro\/content\/?p=47953"},"modified":"2021-10-06T16:18:37","modified_gmt":"2021-10-06T16:18:37","slug":"ema-english-version-andrei-pungovschi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.documentaria.ro\/content\/archives\/47953","title":{"rendered":"Ema (English version) \/ Andrei Pungovschi"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_row unlock_row_content=”yes” row_height_percent=”100″ back_image=”47955″ back_position=”right center” overlay_color=”accent” overlay_alpha=”0″ gutter_size=”3″ shift_y=”0″ row_name=”SUS”][vc_column column_width_percent=”100″ position_horizontal=”left” position_vertical=”bottom” overlay_alpha=”25″ gutter_size=”3″ medium_width=”0″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″ width=”1\/1″][vc_empty_space empty_h=”5″][vc_empty_space empty_h=”5″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_height_percent=”0″ override_padding=”yes” h_padding=”2″ top_padding=”0″ bottom_padding=”2″ overlay_color=”color-xsdn” overlay_alpha=”90″ gutter_size=”3″ shift_y=”0″ row_name=”TEXT”][vc_column column_width_percent=”70″ position_vertical=”middle” align_horizontal=”align_center” overlay_alpha=”50″ gutter_size=”3″ medium_width=”0″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″ width=”1\/1″][vc_empty_space empty_h=”3″][uncode_share layout=”multiple” no_back=”yes” title=”SHARE”][vc_empty_space empty_h=”3″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_height_percent=”0″ override_padding=”yes” h_padding=”2″ top_padding=”0″ bottom_padding=”5″ overlay_color=”color-xsdn” overlay_alpha=”90″ gutter_size=”3″ shift_y=”0″ row_name=”TEXT”][vc_column column_width_percent=”65″ overlay_alpha=”50″ gutter_size=”3″ medium_width=”0″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″ width=”1\/1″][vc_column_text]The teacher picks up a white, plastic, goose egg-shaped object off the table, which emanates a beam of white light, like a flashlight. She looks at the thirteen children in the classroom, and her gaze settles on a blond little girl in the front row. \u201cMiss, you\u2019ve planted thyme, haven\u2019t you? Wanna see thyme seeds under the microscope? Come on!\u201d Ema, the blond little girl, carefully picks up the microscope, as if she were afraid not to break it, points the light to a white sheet of paper on which there are a few thyme seeds and watches the enlarged image on an iPad screen. Behind her, the other children see the same image, projected onto one of the white walls of the classroom.<\/span><\/p>\n

Ema is eight-years-old, she\u2019s a second grader and, for the past few months, she\u2019s been taking part in the programs of the P\u0103dureni Community Center. The \u201cafter,\u201d as the students call it, was founded in 2017 and, up until now, has helped 225 students at the primary school in P\u0103dureni. All of the project beneficiaries come from underprivileged environments, from low-income families. After school hours, the kids at the center move to a small building in the schoolyard, in the designated after-school room, where they get help with their homework and with taking part in informal activities. Through the center\u2019s program, the students have gone on trips, taken part in cultural activities, as well as in volunteer-organized sports competitions.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space empty_h=”2″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_height_percent=”0″ override_padding=”yes” h_padding=”2″ top_padding=”0″ bottom_padding=”5″ overlay_color=”color-xsdn” overlay_alpha=”90″ gutter_size=”3″ shift_y=”0″ row_name=”TEXT”][vc_column column_width_percent=”85″ overlay_alpha=”50″ gutter_size=”3″ medium_width=”0″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″ width=”1\/1″][vc_gallery el_id=”ema0809″ medias=”47823,47824,47825,47826,47827″ gutter_size=”3″ media_items=”media|lightbox|original,icon,caption” screen_lg=”1000″ screen_md=”600″ screen_sm=”480″ single_text=”under” single_width=”10″ single_overlay_opacity=”50″ single_image_anim=”no” single_padding=”1″ single_text_reduced=”yes” lbox_caption=”yes” lbox_social=”yes”][vc_empty_space empty_h=”3″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_height_percent=”0″ override_padding=”yes” h_padding=”2″ top_padding=”0″ bottom_padding=”5″ overlay_color=”color-xsdn” overlay_alpha=”90″ gutter_size=”3″ shift_y=”0″ row_name=”TEXT”][vc_column column_width_percent=”65″ overlay_alpha=”50″ gutter_size=”3″ medium_width=”0″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″ width=”1\/1″][vc_empty_space empty_h=”3″][vc_column_text]At home, in the room she shares with her brothers, 11-year-old Mihai and David, who turns one in a month, Ema sits down on the carpet and starts doing her favorite thing – reading. \u201cWhen I\u2019m home, I like to draw and read more, so I can learn things by heart. Ever since I was little, I liked to read and I still do. I sometimes read in school before the teacher comes in, I still have some time.\u201d She sets the book down next to David, who\u2019s playing with a notebook. She lies face down and starts following the letters with her finger and reading out loud. She recognizes some words faster than others and adapts her pace to this. Where it gets tougher, she goes through the letters whispering, one by one, and as the group starts to make sense toward the end, she gleefully utters the entire word. \u201cShe feels how he\u2019s l-e-a-n-i-n, how he\u2019s leaning o-v-e, over.\u201d The reading goes slowly, about a sentence per minute, but she seems to be enjoying it. At some point, her older brother Mihai enters the room.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did you have to write for?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t have to write anything today.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about reading?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo, do you know it?\u201d<\/span>
\nHe takes her homework notebook and they peruse it together. \u201cLook, here you made mistakes. You should\u2019ve capitalized this I and this G, too.\u201d He keeps perusing it. \u201cYou have an <\/span>excellent<\/span><\/i> here, two <\/span>excellents<\/span><\/i>.\u201d Ema goes back to reading, this time slightly faster, with help from Mihai, who steps in when he sees her spelling out the words. \u201cLeave me alone, don\u2019t tell me!\u201d, Ema strikes back.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space empty_h=”2″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_height_percent=”0″ override_padding=”yes” h_padding=”2″ top_padding=”0″ bottom_padding=”5″ overlay_color=”color-xsdn” overlay_alpha=”90″ gutter_size=”3″ shift_y=”0″ row_name=”TEXT”][vc_column column_width_percent=”85″ overlay_alpha=”50″ gutter_size=”3″ medium_width=”0″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″ width=”1\/1″][vc_gallery el_id=”ema76876″ medias=”47828,47829,47830,47831,47832,47833″ gutter_size=”3″ media_items=”media|lightbox|original,icon,caption” screen_lg=”1000″ screen_md=”600″ screen_sm=”480″ single_text=”under” single_width=”10″ single_overlay_opacity=”50″ single_image_anim=”no” single_padding=”1″ single_text_reduced=”yes” lbox_caption=”yes” lbox_social=”yes”][vc_empty_space empty_h=”3″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_height_percent=”0″ override_padding=”yes” h_padding=”2″ top_padding=”0″ bottom_padding=”5″ overlay_color=”color-xsdn” overlay_alpha=”90″ gutter_size=”3″ shift_y=”0″ row_name=”TEXT”][vc_column column_width_percent=”65″ overlay_alpha=”50″ gutter_size=”3″ medium_width=”0″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″ width=”1\/1″][vc_empty_space empty_h=”3″][vc_column_text]Mihai is the reason why Ema is attending the after-school. He was the first in the family enrolled in the program at the center. He went for a year. Their mother Lumini\u021ba says it was useful. \u201cI liked it a lot when Mihai, my son, went to the after, \u2018cause when he left school, he\u2019d do his homework there. They helped him with homework, whenever there was something he didn\u2019t know. He no longer spent time at home doing homework.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Lumini\u021ba is fixing lunch for the kids. In one of the two rooms of the home they live in, Mihai and Ema are playing with David, keeping him busy until food is ready. Lumini\u021ba sets two small plates on the table, fills them with ketchup, and runs into the kitchen. She quickly returns with two large platefuls of French fries. She sets them down onto the table and places a loaf of bread next to them. As Mihai and Ema sit down to eat, she places David in a highchair by the table, puts a few fries before him, blows on them and tears them into small bites on which she blows to cool them down. Lumini\u021ba is a housewife, she takes care of the kids and the household. Their father works as a plumber in Bucharest. He leaves home at 7 in the morning and comes back at 6 in the evening.<\/span><\/p>\n

After the meal, Ema goes out into the yard, which she shares with her cousin, and they start to play. Lumini\u021ba no longer allows Ema to play with any other children ever since the pandemic started. Even though the case count in Giurgiu County was pretty low in October, when I visited them, she\u2019d rather keep her close by, in the yard, to avoid taking any chances. She allows her an occasional brief run to the shop at the end of the street, for candy.<\/span><\/p>\n

The older Mihai enjoys more freedom. He leaves for football practice. Ema withdraws into their room and starts to play with her younger brother, until Lumini\u021ba comes in and challenges her to a new round of reading. \u201cRead me this lesson, let me see if you know it.\u201d Ema reads for a few minutes. The dissatisfied Lumini\u021ba stops her and suggests she should practice some more. With a smile on her face, Ema picks the book off the floor, jumps out of bed and starts all over again.<\/span>[\/vc_column_text][vc_empty_space empty_h=”2″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_height_percent=”0″ override_padding=”yes” h_padding=”2″ top_padding=”0″ bottom_padding=”5″ overlay_color=”color-xsdn” overlay_alpha=”90″ gutter_size=”3″ shift_y=”0″ row_name=”TEXT”][vc_column column_width_percent=”85″ overlay_alpha=”50″ gutter_size=”3″ medium_width=”0″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″ width=”1\/1″][vc_gallery el_id=”ema45678″ medias=”47834,47835,47836,47837,47838,47839,47840,47841″ gutter_size=”3″ media_items=”media|lightbox|original,icon,caption” screen_lg=”1000″ screen_md=”600″ screen_sm=”480″ single_text=”under” single_width=”10″ single_overlay_opacity=”50″ single_image_anim=”no” single_padding=”1″ single_text_reduced=”yes” lbox_caption=”yes” lbox_social=”yes”][vc_empty_space empty_h=”3″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_height_percent=”0″ override_padding=”yes” h_padding=”2″ top_padding=”0″ bottom_padding=”5″ overlay_color=”color-gyho” overlay_alpha=”90″ gutter_size=”3″ shift_y=”0″ row_name=”TEXT”][vc_column column_width_percent=”65″ overlay_alpha=”50″ gutter_size=”3″ medium_width=”0″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″ width=”1\/1″][vc_empty_space empty_h=”2″][vc_column_text]*the names of children pictured in this story have been changed, to protect their identity<\/em><\/p>\n

Documenting this material was made possible through the help of the\u00a0<\/span>United Way Foundation<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and the financial support of the\u00a0<\/span>Globalworth Foundation<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

“Nesting a brighter future for children”<\/span><\/a>\u00a0is one of the main educational\u00a0programmes\u00a0undertaken by United Way Rom\u00e2nia. Its core goal is to support 12 day centers founded by United Way Rom\u00e2nia, which work as community hubs.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The program, funded by\u00a0<\/span>the Globalworth Foundation<\/span><\/a>, prevents school dropouts in poor urban and rural communities, where the children\u2019s education is not the top priority, but rather the daily struggle to find the necessary resources for survival. Its integrated approach consists of actions focusing on the child\u2019s needs. Parents, teachers, volunteers, and local NGOs work together to solve the issue of school dropouts, which is not the child\u2019s problem, but the problem of the entire community.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

The 12 community centers in Urla\u021bi, Fundulea, B\u0103icoi, Jilava, P\u0103dureni, Cluj-Napoca (Pata-R\u00e2t), Timi\u0219oara (School no. 20) and 5 communes in county Timi\u0219 (S\u00e2nandrei, Ma\u0219loc, Carani, \u0218emlacu Mare and Bucov\u0103\u021b), have benefitted 2,700 children, 2,160 parents and 540 teachers, throughout the program\u2019s five-year span, in over 1,700 educational activities.<\/em>[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_height_percent=”0″ override_padding=”yes” h_padding=”2″ top_padding=”0″ bottom_padding=”5″ overlay_color=”color-xsdn” overlay_alpha=”90″ gutter_size=”3″ shift_y=”0″ row_name=”TEXT”][vc_column column_width_percent=”70″ overlay_alpha=”50″ gutter_size=”3″ medium_width=”0″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″ width=”1\/1″][vc_empty_space empty_h=”2″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

RECOMAND\u0102RI<\/span><\/h1>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_height_percent=”0″ override_padding=”yes” h_padding=”2″ top_padding=”0″ bottom_padding=”2″ overlay_alpha=”50″ gutter_size=”1″ shift_y=”0″ row_name=”RECOMAND\u0102RI”][vc_column column_width_percent=”70″ overlay_alpha=”50″ gutter_size=”3″ medium_width=”0″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″ width=”1\/1″][uncode_index el_id=”index-bog65475869708″ loop=”size:4|order_by:date|order:DESC|post_type:post|authors:12″ footer_style=”dark” footer_full_width=”yes” gutter_size=”1″ post_items=”media|featured|onpost|original” page_items=”title,media,text,category” product_items=”title,media,text,category,price” portfolio_items=”title,media,text,category” screen_lg=”800″ screen_md=”800″ screen_sm=”800″ single_text=”overlay” single_width=”6″ single_overlay_opacity=”30″ single_text_visible=”yes” single_text_anim=”no” single_overlay_visible=”yes” single_overlay_anim=”no” single_image_anim=”no” single_h_align_mobile=”left” single_v_position=”bottom” single_reduced=”three_quarter” single_padding=”2″ single_text_reduced=”yes” single_title_transform=”uppercase” single_title_dimension=”h6″ single_title_family=”font-101183″ single_title_weight=”200″ single_title_space=”fontspace-781688″ single_border=”yes” custom_order=”yes” no_double_tap=”yes” single_text_inline=”yes” filtering_menu=”inline” single_text_hover=”yes” single_block_click=”yes” single_title_serif=”” single_title_divider=”yes” single_no_background=”” items=”eyI0MjM3X2kiOnsic2luZ2xlX3dpZHRoIjoiMTIiLCJzaW5nbGVfaGVpZ2h0IjoiNCJ9LCI0MTkzX2kiOnsic2luZ2xlX3dpZHRoIjoiMTIiLCJzaW5nbGVfaGVpZ2h0IjoiNiIsInNpbmdsZV90aXRsZV9kaW1lbnNpb24iOiJmb250c2l6ZS0zMzg2ODYifSwiMjQyM19pIjp7InNpbmdsZV9pY29uIjoiIn19″ single_title_bold=”yes” single_half_padding=”” single_image_size=”thumb” footer_position=”left” carousel_rtl=”” order_ids=”4193,4231,4247,4252,4225″][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row row_height_percent=”0″ override_padding=”yes” h_padding=”2″ top_padding=”0″ bottom_padding=”5″ overlay_color=”color-xsdn” overlay_alpha=”90″ gutter_size=”3″ shift_y=”0″ row_name=”DESPRE AUTORI”][vc_column column_width_percent=”70″ overlay_alpha=”50″ gutter_size=”3″ medium_width=”0″ shift_x=”0″ shift_y=”0″ z_index=”0″ width=”1\/1″][vc_empty_space empty_h=”2″][vc_column_text]<\/p>\n

ABONARE NEWSLETTER\u00a0<\/span><\/h1>\n

[\/vc_column_text]

\n

<\/p>

    <\/ul><\/div>\n
    \n
    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n

    <\/span> <\/label><\/p>\n

    <\/p>\n