vision
A rural Romania where youth are the changemakers in their communities.
mission
We empower youth to become leaders of their communities through educational programs that encourage critical thinking, initiative and teamwork.
values
We believe in the potential of children from Romanian villages.
We respect their rhythm and needs.
We take good care of nature.
We promote tolerance and dialogue.
We didn’t choose Laslea
Laslea chose us
It’s our childhood village
We are inspired by our grandmother, tanti Lenuța, 95, the dean of age of the village.
We have spent all our holidays here, playing hide and seek, climbing all the trees we could see, wondering through the hills. This is the place where we’ve learned how to ride the bicycle, how to respect all animals and plants, here we’ve learned to tell the difference between the carrot leaf and the parsley leaf.
It has an enormous potential
Laslea is visited, annually, by over 3000 tourists. It is located near Sighișoara, in the Transylvanian Highlands, best known for their biodiversity and cultural heritage.
Its five villages are home to multicultural traditions, Transylvanian Saxon architecture and handicrafts. Here you can find weavers, coopers, shepherds, carpenters and farmers. Livestock farming still follows the calm pace of the countryside.
It lacks development opportunities
A quarter of the villagers have emigrated in the last 10 years, for economic reasons. There are no public services to guide youth or unemployed adults. There is no institutional strategy to address locals from vulnerable backgrounds. Small, local producers’ association initiatives were unsuccessful, as such, they represent a fragmented presence in the local economic market. The community isn’t coagulated, and the dialogue between citizens and authorities is missing.
Some facts about Laslea
Official data from 2019-2020, retrieved from Romanian authorities, regarding life in Laslea, Sibiu
Elements from the evaluation of the social fabric in Laslea, Sibiu
Socio-economic data
4248 locals, 1000 residing outside the commune
2627 population eligible to work
114 employees with a labor contract
380 unemployed persons
98 registered unemployed
6,6% unemployment rate (compared to 1,8% for Sibiu county)
170 beneficiaries of Guaranteed Minimum Income (social aid)
165 beneficiaries of family support (social aid)
several dozens of small producers, farmers, artisans (dairy, beekeeping, meat products, vegetables and fruits, fabrics)
Educational data
800 children and youth up to 25 years old
430 children enrolled in the local school
28 students in year 8 in 2019, only 14 gradutes
23 graduates în 2020, 7 absentees at national exams
0% passing rate in national tests in the summer of 2019
4 elevi scoring 5/10 or more in 2020,
only one student with grades higher than 5 in all exams taken in 2020
33 registered young NEETs (not in employment, education or training)
50% of the unemployed have either no education or primary education
a very low rate of families valuing the importance of education as key for success in life
civic data
dysfunctional dialogue between citizens and public authorities
lack of confidence
lack of solidarity
citizenry frustration due to poor knowledge of rights and obligations
civic lethargy
preliminary actions of citizen involvement of some locals
interest in debating issues of the commune