Introduction
Location
Romania is a country in southeastern Europe bordering Hungary and Serbia to the west, Ukraine, Moldova and the Black Sea to the north and east, and Bulgaria to south. Its capital and largest city is Bucharest. Bucharest is located in the southeast of the country and the sixth largest city in the European Union. It became the capital of Romania in 1862 and is the center of Romanian culture, media, and art.
Major events
In 1967, Nicolae Ceausesu becomes President. Nicolae Ceausesu was a Romanian Communist politician. In 1980s, Obsessed with repaying the national debt Ceausesu orders a ban on importation of any consumer products and commands exportation of all goods produced in Romania except minimum food supplies. In 1989, Romanians unite in protests against the communist leadership and local demonstrations sparked a national uprising that finally ousted communist ruler Nicolae Ceausesu and his cabinet.
Body
The phenomenon of street children in Romania must be understood within the local historical background. Under Nicolae Ceausesu, both abortion and contraception were forbidden, leading to a rise in birth rates. Women were required to have at least four children and the use of contraceptives was forbidden. Ceausesu continued to spend large sums of money to make Bucharest a showcase socialist capital. At the same time, Ceausesu decided to pay off all his foreign debts. Thus, after 1980, it became increasingly difficult for families to support their “mandatory” four children. Therefore, many parents could only keep their first four children and put the rest in orphanages. Also, during Ceausescu’s reign, frequent malnutrition and low standards of living caused the life expectancy rate to be significantly lower than in most developed countries. This led to many parents dying at an early age. Moreover, the malnutrition of mothers during pregnancy and the lack of routine pregnancy drugs/medical attention led to many babies being born with birth defects. The 1990s was a difficult transition period. Romania has gone through many economic and social reforms. However, Poverty is still a major problem- over 1000 street children squat in Bucharest’s train stations, the number of children infected with the HIV virus continues to rise, prostitution is yet to be curbed. Many working street children face health problems, including skin diseases, scabies, wounds and burns, some also have tuberculosis and hepatitis, while most display signs of chronic malnutrition. Street children are also exposed to sexual abuse, often starting within their own family and then continuing on the street, and physical abuse, with about half of children working on the streets of Bucharest reporting that they have been beaten at least once, especially by the police. In coping with the harshness of their lives on the streets, many children turn to drugs or solvents, including common glue and paint thinners. Street children similarly continue to be discriminated against by the authorities, such as the police, at school, and by the health system. While many street children have never been to school, an even higher number are illiterate. Many of young street children sniff glue to pass time. They smear solvent inside a plastic bag, then place the opening over their mouths and inhale. These street children are abandoned by Romania’s society. They sleep in the cracks of the subway station and, for money, they either beg, steal, sell glue, or prostitute themselves. Nine-year-old boy, for example, holds a foreign visitor’s hand tightly and calls her ‘Mama.’ The majority of these street children have various diseases like HIV and AIDS. Street children have lost their childhood. They have little hope of a better future.
Conclusion
Social workers help them in academic discipline. As early as they are young but experiencing such a horrible situation like being put into orphanage, social workers help them through enhancing their social functioning and overall well-being. Social functioning refers to the way in which those children perform their social roles, and the structural institutions that are provided to sustain them. A professional social worker association: “Providing financial support is only one part of the solution. This strategy by itself will not shift the causes of poverty.” Because of the legacy of poverty, social workers settled things with the local government to establish a system whereby street children can register as citizens, and thereby gain access to healthcare, education and other entitlements.
Foreign Government Assistance
Other countries offered works for those who want to have a better life where they have to leave their children in their relatives. In 2008 over 96,000 cases were reported.
UN Agency Assistance
They provide protection to those street children through and help their families. The percentage of children taken into care has remained the same over the past ten years. Small children under the age of three constitute the group who are most taken into care. Children with disabilities are routinely placed in institutions or with foster care.