IBC General Secretary Anne Babb and IBC Programme Officer Mirjam Schmitz’s second field visit as part of the new IBC prevention through Life Skills education programme led them to Sibiu, where Blue Cross Romania has been active since 1990. Alongside the national Blue Cross organisation in Poland, BC Romania is IBC’s second partner in the prevention programme aimed at teenaged refugees from Ukraine and their local peers in Poland and Romania that started at the beginning of the year. Just as in Poland, focusing on prevention rather than treatment, the project adds a new element to the existing range of activities of the Romanian national Blue Cross society.
While in Sibiu, Anne and Mirjam gave a two-day practical training for the new Life Skills facilitators and introduced the project to the local education authorities. They also facilitated a stakeholder consultation, during which community members gathered to discuss problems specific to the local context and map risk factors and positive resources for young people.
A big thank you to BC Romania and the project team for having us! Now that the foundation for this new project has been laid, we look forward to a fruitful collaboration in the service of the Ukrainian and Romanian youth in Sibiu.
