ASR – Association of Samaritans in Romania
“Together in the Fight for Life” – Fundraising for Children with Leukemia
In December 2010, the founding members of the Association working with Samaritanus Ambulance encountered a special situation. They transported a 10-year-old girl with leukemia home from the county hospital’s pediatric hemato-oncology department. During the Christmas holiday season, they asked the girl what she wished for from “Santa,” and her response was “WRINKLES”. Moved by the depth of her answer, we focused our attention on these sick children treated in the pediatric hemato-oncology clinic.
In May 2011, together with actors from the National Theatre, we created an artistic event in the hospital called “Clinic Clown” for the children admitted to the pediatric clinic. Following this event, we held discussions with Professor Dr. Baghiu Despina, head of the Pediatric Hemato-Oncology Clinic, who explained the shortages they face in treating these children, notably the lack of special beds and medical equipment.
To address some of these shortages, along with the management of the National Theatre, we organized a charitable fundraising event. On December 13, the play “The Marriage” by Gogol took place, raising 4,900 lei. The entire amount was handed over by a lawyer and public notary, who supervised the correctness of the collection and handover of the funds, to the “Together for Children with Cancer” Association. Samaritanus Ambulance ensured the transport of equipment purchased by the “Together for Children with Cancer” Association from the UK, covering the costs of this transport carried out by Dacoda from Bucharest. The transport cost was 1,369.21 lei, fully covered by Samaritanus Ambulance.
“SAMARITANUS Summer Camp” Cultural and Educational Project
The need for belonging and the desire to identify with a group is felt by every individual from the earliest ages. Thus, the Samaritan team in Târgu Mureș, in collaboration with Dr. Sandra O’Connor, a doctor in behavioral medicine, and museographer Angela Săplăcan, launched two summer camp projects for children.
The approach is through play and art, with children benefiting from engaging and entertaining activities structured as cognitive-behavioral therapy, aimed at providing good social integration and the foundations of a harmonious community.
With the help of educators Onica Felicia from Cerghizel General School, Giurgea Gabriela from Cerghizel General School, Gyulai Rodica from Romulus Guga Gymnasium in Târgu Mureș, Sava Letiția from General School No. 7 Târgu Mureș, and Butiurcă Adela from Liviu Rebreanu Gymnasium Târgu Mureș, we were able to engage 50 participating children from the aforementioned educational institutions.
“Wandering through the Museum” fits within the cultural, educational, and social insertion domain, focusing on valuing the material and immaterial cultural heritage of the Mureș County Museum. Activities included visits to the Samaritanus Ambulance, where children learned first aid and the meaning of volunteering, visits to the Palace of Culture, Platoul Cornești, Târgu Mureș Fortress, and the National Theatre.
“Together for Life” – Charity Event for the Benefit of Laura Câmpean
Due to the notoriety of charitable events organized in previous years, Laura Câmpean’s mother requested help for her daughter, diagnosed with a brain tumor, requiring surgery in Finland. Under the slogan “Together for Life“, we are organizing a fundraising event, with all funds to be donated to Laura Câmpean, aimed at covering her travel expenses to Finland.
Artist Kovacs Nori from Hungary joined our efforts, volunteering to perform alongside artists from the Mureș Artistic Ensemble. The event is also supported by Târgu Mureș City Hall through a public-private partnership.
“Samaritans’ Week”
Social responsibility is the most important indicator of the values we hold in our society. The efforts of our Ambulance Service together with the Association of Samaritans in Romania are focused on the people of Mureș County and their social needs. We work for a better quality of life, social safety, and health.
For December, under the slogan “Let’s be together in the fight for life“, we aim to help the “Saint Elizabeth Association”, which operates an authorized social canteen, to secure the necessary funds for the food of those assisted.
‘SOS DEAF’’
It is known across all European countries that the issue of access for the deaf-mute to emergency calls is a mission with significant social impact. To stop discrimination, on a political level, Written Declaration No. 35/2011 was adopted, signed by a record number of 480 members of the European Parliament, which obligates the signatory states to ensure access to emergency calls through text messages, not just voice calls, a system that would resolve accessibility for the deaf-mute to emergency calls. No country has managed to address this discrimination so far.
In this context, ASR initiated a project to use the SOS Deaf application developed by Varga Zsigmond and IT engineer Daniel Cândea, which is a real-time communication and alert system that fits the Total CONVERSATION – Sign, Type and Speak standard. This system provides autonomy for individuals with hearing and speech impairments to request emergency help independently using generic predefined messages. The predefined messages are specific to each emergency situation and contain vital information about the user’s health as well as their location.
To implement the SOS Deaf project nationwide, operational protocols were signed between the Special Telecommunications Service and Samaritanus Ambulance for call dispatching, and with the Association of the Deaf in Romania. The Ministry of Labor and the Ministry of Health did not agree to initiate the project.
