In 2005 the Ruhama Foundation helped the Roma community in the village of Telechiu, the commune of Tetchea with identifying and prioritizing the problems faced by the community. The most serious problem raised by the members of the community was the poor shape of the houses: built out of clay, covered in nylon, without any windows. After analyzing the economic situation of the area and after public consultation with the Roma community, it was decided to start building a number of 5 new houses in the community which were meant for the poorest families that had the worst off houses and which were proposed by the community members in the public debate. The organization’s team and the community members proposed to get the support of the local public authorities by lobbying to private companies in the region. The Ruhama Foundation’s team supported by the mayor Bujor Chirila, by the local authority and the Roma community members started a campaign for attracting sponsorships and donations from local firms in order to build the houses. Concurrently the foundation’s team held a series of meetings with the community members in order to promote volunteering in constructing these houses. In these meetings the community members agreed on who were the persons that could volunteer for the job. The construction of the houses was coordinated by a community member who had experience in construction work alongside a member of the organization’s team.

                                                                       

The Tetchea Town Hall was in charge of getting a sponsorship for 500 pieces of asbo-cement. These pieces were distributed for the roof construction of the 5 houses and the renovation of other dozens of houses identified after a public consultation of the community. The community decided which the poorest families were, whose houses needed their roof fixed. Moreover the Tetchea Town Hall allocated funds for connecting the households to the power grid. The foundation launched an announcement at the local radio station through which it requested donations (furniture, doors, windows, stoves, building material, etc.) for the houses in Telechiu. Following this announcement 13 doors, 11 windows, 2 stoves and furniture were collected. The truck for transporting the donations from Oradea to Telechiu was supplied by an employer from the Tetchea region, the Ruhama Foundation having supported only the fuel costs. Over 15 individuals and companies were involved in this activity through donations and financial material or service contributions.

                                                                

The 5 new houses were taken over by the beneficiary families in December 2006 and were finished and furnished throughout 2007.