POTential Made in Gologanu! Secondary School, Gologanu, Vrancea
The local soccer field located on the outskirts of the village, where we could organize events. sports competitions, games, and practice, is currently in very bad conditions.
The fence is broken and often the caws and sheeps come in to eat the grass and people start bringing their trash there as well. Our students with the support of local government decided to get involved and bring the place back to life.
Change story facilitated by teacher Tatiana Cristian.
List all the problems identified by students:
- 1 Bringing the local soccer field back to life.
- 2 Connecting our village to gas heating system
- 3 Finish the street ditches in the village
- 4 Adding more computers to the computer lab
- 5 Keeping our village clean with waste management and recycling
Explain what problem was selected to be solved and why:
The students decided to get involved in the rehabilitation of the soccer filed locate in the outskirts of the village, close to the main road. The soccer field was in a very bad condition. There as a lot of trash, animals were coming in and the fence was broker and in some places missing.
Our village Gologanu, is one of the most beautiful places in Romania, I am saying this with modesty. Our houses are well taken care of, all the street are paved and have flower names, almost all community members have roses in their yards and in front of their house. You need to come and see it for yourself!
When we will restore the soccer field we believe that our village will be even more famous, because of the events which can be organized there, community members lifestyle will improve and our community will be healthier and more responsible.
Who is affected by this problem? How it affects them?
Our students and overall community members, don't have a place where they could meet, exercise or conduct different formal and non formal games. Or village doesn't have anymore a soccer team.
Students could use the filed for school competitions as well as different activities as well as festivals, and others.
This is a problem for the community members as well as those who are just passing by. Together we can change this!
List all the solutions you have:
- 1 Greening the place - 2. Recycle the trash
- 3 Plan trees and flowers on the side of the field
- 4 Take care of this area over the long term
- 5 Raise awareness in the community regarding the importance of keeping the place clean
- 6 Confront those who are not respecting the law
What solution did you select to implement?
Greening the place was the first step. Students from 5th to 8th grade put on gloves and started to collect the trash and selected it for recycling. We planted 100 ornamental trees (100 year Romania Anniversary)
This project brought together the students, the community and local government. All the solutions listed above will be implemented, because the students understand that they can generate change.
Describe what happened when implementing the solution
During Saptamana altfel the students prove that they have a responsible citizens, the visited the village and spoke with over 100 people to learn about the needs of the community.
The project team also visited the city hall to speak about the project, the problems they found during the needs assessment as well as their goals regarding the soccer field. We were surprised to find out that our local government actually had an approved project regarding rehabilitation of the soccer field. The mayor thank the students for their support and initiative.
The fence was changes and next the students together with teachers cleaned up the field and recycled the trash. 100 ornamental trees were planted on all sides of the field.
In August we are planning to finish our work and plant roses to make the place even more beautiful.
What is the impact and results of your work?
The field is again beautiful and ready for different activities such us sport and cultural activities.
At the start of June we had a circus event on the field and the entire community was proud and happy with this opportunity.
How many beneficiaries are there?
more than 100 people
What did people say about your work? Write two testimonials.
,,the soccer field is alive once again and this will change for the better community attitude and behavior"
" the field located on the outskirts of the city on the road DN23 is a mirror of our community, the field was never this beautiful!"
What were some of the challenges you have faced and how did you overcome them?
Everything went really well, all those involves were very serious and willing to show that they CAN. The students were a real team, they were creative during the project (they even composed an I CAN carol, they made cards and an eco Christmas tree, they painted crackers I can messages and made donations to low income local families; during the spring they created decoration and shared their work with Change Architects community) they felt that they are part of a big community, they learned to be proud to be part of this project and make the place a better place.
The students also got involved in the Let’s get green! and they won the first place in Vrancea county. Myself as a teacher I feel like the place will be well maintained, and used with responsibility. We feel that our efforts will change people's attitude.
How long did it take you to implement the solution?
more than 30 days
What did you do to promote the project? Who learned about your project and what answers did you get?
The project was promoted inside the school with teachers, students, parents and overall community members. We were supported by local government and the mayor who supported us in our project.
We had a local even in the city where we promoted the project and the parents, students and local community members were present.
How many people learned about the project ?
- more than 100 people
How do you plan to continue the project in the future.
We want to organize multiple events here in the future as well as sport activities, festivals, meeting and so on. We want this project to be a start for healthy activities and for those who love traditions and our village as well us to rediscover our creativity and power to create change.
