Caracal

Caracal is located in the southern half of Olt County, 48 km away from Slatina, 46 km from Corabia and 37 km from Balș. The settlements around the city are exclusively rural. The population has 30954 inhabitants of whom 1229 are self-identified Roma (2011 Census) and 4560 hetero-identified (unofficial sources) Roma.

In Caracal there are four Roma communities (Fânărie, Gară, Maceşului area, Târgului area); these are dispersed communities and are located within the city with the exception of Măceșului area and part of Fânărie.

Roma speak both Romany and Romanian, and in terms of religion 85 % say they are Orthodox and 15% Adventists. The Roma without identity documents are isolated cases as the Roma expert from the City Hall supports them in obtaining these.

Education

Students are served by four schools: School no. 1 Caracal, Technological High-school “Constantin Filipescu” – Caracal, School no. 3 and National College “Ionita Asan”. Regarding kindergartens, the one from Roma community in Fânărie was built by a Dutch foundation and two year groups exclusively of Roma children are organized there; the kindergarten is accredited by the Ministry of Education, but they may not be awarded grants for the rehabilitation of the building because it is owned by the Foundation. There is also the kindergarten within Technological High-school “Constantin Filipescu” – Caracal and Kindergarten “Dumbrava Minunata”. A community education centre was established in the community, whose activity focuses on helping school children in need and on providing a daily meal. Romany language courses are organized and are taught by a Roma teacher.

The main problems in the field of education are school dropout caused by the poor economic situation of the family, the lack of parents’ interest in children’s education, and parental migration abroad, the children remaining in the care of relatives. No school mediator exists. The level of education of adults from the Roma community is low, most of them having under 7 years of schooling, while educational institutions would need adequate renovations and facilities.

Health

In the town of Caracal there are several medical units, while five physicians serve the Roma community (of the 300 patients assigned to a physician, 150-200 are Roma). The three health mediators have an intense activity. The number of uninsured people in the Roma community is high, up to 2000-2500. Also, locally there is a relatively large number of physically disabled (90) and mentally disabled (47) people. The family physicians serving the Roma communities have problems with the Roma because they transfer from one doctor to another, and cases of TB, HIV and hepatitis have been recorded.

Housing and Infrastructure

There are 672 homes in the community, of which 120 have no ownership documents. The community has access to the electricity network, to running and drinking water, sanitation services, and the gas network. There is no possibility of access to local public / private transport. In terms of housing, the problems are created by the lack of ownership documents for the land where they build their homes, overcrowded areas, poor housing conditions, lack of utilities, and poor hygiene. In terms of infrastructure, Roma neighbourhoods have access to all facilities of the city, though the roads are unpaved.

As important points for the implementation of zefiR project, we note the existence of three health mediators who are recognized by the community and of a Roma teacher in the Kindergarten of Fânărie Roma community (formerly the Roma expert from the City Hall), who is appreciated for the efforts she makes for Roma children. In Fânărie they established a kindergarten built by a Dutch foundation, with the support of the Roma teacher. They created an educational centre whose work focuses on helping children in need.