Together with the authorities of the school district, FCE have started a special needs school in Marghita. FCE renovated the building, that is part of a larger local school, and the first class started in 2001. At the time it was not common for disabled children to be integrated in the regular school environment. Many families from and around Marghita are grateful for the opportunity to send their children to school.
The children all have different disabilities so the teaching is adapted to each child’s abilities and difficulties. FCE provides transport to and from school each day for all students. We have additional staff that helps the teachers and cleans, FCE also provides furniture and school supplies. All children are served breakfast and lunch that is prepared in our kitchen but is paid for by the municipality.
As more and more children started attending we needed to expand with more classrooms. In 2009, when all the children that previously lived at Casa Albă had moved in with foster parents, we started to use that building for the school instead.
In 2012, the special preschool was added and from autumn 2018 the entire special needs school with its more than fifty pupils was located in the Casa Albã building.
In a relative short amount of time we have seen substantial improvements in the attitude towards disabled children. It’s hard to imagine that as of 2000 many of these children were kept hidden away from society in their homes or at institutions. The groundbreaking work of FCE has become a model for others to follow.