Licitația ”Jewels for Hope: Colecția Lily Safra” strânge 38 milioane dolari

Aseară a avut loc licitația Christie"s, la Geneva, cu numele ”Jewels for Hope: The Collection of Mrs. Lily Safra”. Succesul a fost enorm, depășind semnificativ estimările inițiale. Hope and Homes for Children România e pe lista organizațiilor care vor beneficia, în anii care urmează, de suma strânsă prin vânzarea uimitoarei colecții de bijuterii.

De mulți ani,  Madame Lily Safra e o sursă de sprijin și încurajare pentru noi. Datorită implicării ei, am putut să oferim șansa unei familii pentru mii de copii, precum și copilăria pe care o merită. Rareori am întâlnit un interes atât de autentic pentru calitatea vieții copilor. chestiuni specifice, precum vacanțele de vară, cadourile de Crăciun, sau căldura pe care o au sau nu copiii pe timp de iarnă - sunt îngrijorări pe care le împărtășește.

Prin sprijinul ei, peste câțiva ani, putem ajunge să trăim într-o Românie în care copiii să crească în familii, nu în instituții.

"Jewels for Hope: The Collection of Mrs. Lily Safra" Auction raises $38 million

Last night, Christie"s auction "Jewels for Hope: The Collection of Mrs. Lily Safra" took place in Geneva. The success was enormous. Hope and Homes for Children is on the list of the organisations benefiting from the funds raised by the amazing jewelry collection sale. For many years, Madame Lily Safra has been a source of support and encouragement  for us. Due to her involvement, we have been able to offer thousands of children the chance to a family, and the childhood they deserve. Rarely have we seen such genuine interest in the quality of life of children. Specific issues, such as summer holidays, Christmas presents, or if children have heating during cold winters - are among her concerns.

The news that we are on Madame Lily Safra"s list of beneficiaries of her amazing jewelry auction brings a new world of opportunities: we are involved in transforming children"s lives. Through her support, we will be able to participate in reforming the childcare system in Romania, thus ensuring that, within the next few years, children in this country will live in families, not institutions.

Managementul serviciilor sociale

Sunt mii de posturi de management al serviciilor sociale în România, doar la nivel de județ. Cei mai mulți dintre cei care ocupă funcții de conducere, nu au specializări sau formări în management, nici măcar la nivel de principii de bază. Cumva, există presupunerea că sarcinile de management pot fi făcute din mers, fără pregătire prealabilă. Pe posturile de conducere, sunt puși asistenți sociali, lucrători sociali, psihologi, juriști, profesori, dar și alții, care se întâmplă să lucreze în direcțiile de protecție a copilului. De multe ori, cu cât mergi mai sus pe scara funcțiilor de conducere, cu atât sunt mai politizate. A fi un bun profesionist în asistență socială sau în psihologie, nu înseamnă că ești un bun manager. Nu înseamnă că ai capacitatea să îndrumi oameni, să-i ajuți să lucreze mai bine, mai eficient, sau să fie mai productivi.

Lipsa formării în managementul serviciilor sociale vulnerabilizează sistemul, prin absența pârghiilor de susținere, de împuternicire a angajaților. Sunt 2.458 de manageri în servicii sociale în România. Ca efect direct, calitatea îngrijirii copiilor și a familiilor acestora - are de suferit. Cei peste 50.000 de angajați din serviciile sociale au nevoie de îndrumare, de încurajare, de sprijin real, de apreciere. Fără toate astea, munca lor cu copiii și cu familiile este viciată de frustrări, de lipsa aprecierii eforturilor personale. Oricine, pentru a fi productiv, are nevoie de feedback constructiv și de un climat organizațional pozitiv.

Problema la noi e că mentalitatea de conducere e bazată pe principiile învechite: se conduce prin frică, prin urlete, prin amenințări, prin teroare psihologică, printr-o atitudine superioară, de ”șefi”, în care, mereu, șeful are dreptate, șeful vorbește, șeful trebuie satisfăcut.

Pentru un sistem de servicii sociale performant, e necesară formarea profesională a structurii de management, care e coloana vertebrală a întregului sistem. Doar după aceea putem discuta de performanță în sistemul de asistență socială.

The Management of Social Services

There are thousands of management positions in social services in Romania, only at the level of the counties. Most of those on the jobs, do not have any  management training, not even in terms of basic principles. Somehow, there is the assumption that management tasks can be done as you go, without any former preparation. On the management jobs, there are social workers, psychologists, legal advisers, teachers, as well as others, who happen to work in social services. On many occasions, the higher you are on the structure of staff, the more politicized the jobs. Being a good professional in social worker, or in psychology, does not imply you are a good manager as well. It does not give you the ability to lead people, to advise them, to help them work better, more efficiently, more productively.

The lack of training in the management of social services makes the system vulnerable, by the absence of support levers, by the lack of empowerment of employees. There are 2.458 managers in social services in Romania. As a direct effect, the quality of care for children and their families suffers. Those over 50,000 employees in social services need advice, encouragement, real support, appreciation. Without these, their work with children is flawed by frustration, by the lack of personal appreciation. Anybody needs constructive feedback and a positive organisational climate, to be productive.

The problem is, in our case, the mentality of "being a boss" relies on the wrong principles: you lead by fear, by shouting, by threatening, by psychological terror, by a patronising attitude. The boss is always right, the boss always talks, the boss should be satisfied.

For a performant social services system, the training of managers is vital. They are the support structure. Only after that is done, can we talk about performance in the social services system.

The Suffering the Lack of Affection Brings

I step into a family home and I see a group of youngsters. Among them, a carer. From upstairs, a four year old girl comes down, the youngest in the house. She has just woken up. Nobody notices her. A young teenage girl pushes a boy. The other youngsters laugh. Annoyed, he pushes the little girl, who happens to be close to him. She falls, she is hurt, but makes no noise. She quickly runs under the table, hiding.

I lean down, lifting the table cloth. The little girl is scared. She does not talk. I try to get a few words from her. Eventually, she comes to me. I take her into my arms and sit on an armchair with her. She rests in my arms, for a long time, without moving. I can feel her breath. And how much she missed a hug.

If in the family homes we cannot bring affection, if we fail to appreciate children"s emotions, it means we still have a lot to work on. We can change the environment, but eventually the children"s feelings of security and happiness are limited to the people around them and their behaviour.

This scene has been haunting me and it puts me thinking. The work with members of staff should be focused on emotions, on attachment, on the children"s need for affection. If not, we are to witness their suffering. The suffering the lack of affection brings.