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Set up to support vulnerable people and to solve the communities' social, economic or environmental problems that are being ignored or insufficiently covered by the public or private sector, social enterprises in Romania, a domain at the beginning of the road, are facing financial difficulties, the lack of involvement of the authorities, but also the distrust of the people.
Andreea Cristina Sava, together with her husband, Emil, two young people from southern Craiova, studied sports therapy in the United Kingdom, where, both while in faculty as well as after, they also did internships. With a lot of experience in volunteer activities before leaving the country, Andreea and Emil Sava decided to return home and engage in social entrepreneurship in a physiotherapy center, which they set up in Craiova and equipped with state-of-the-art equipment.
"We had the opportunity to access European and government funds and we decided to take advantage of this opportunity, to come to Romania and try to set up a physiotherapy clinic, to do something new, and this funding helped us a lot. At the moment, we have two social contracts through which we offer free physiotherapy services to children with autism, but also to children at the day center within the Dolj Red Cross," says Andreea Cristina Sava, director of Kinetic Hub.
Andreea and Emil also do prevention, bringing to the attention of vulnerable people the importance of physical therapy.
Currently, Andreea and Emil support the Center from European and government funding, but, when this period ends, they will have to manage their own funds, revenues.
The services offered by the Center are for children who have problems with posture, the position of the neck in front of the shoulder, problems generally caused by the weight of the backpack or from a lot of sitting in front of the computer or even on the phone, but also for adults.
As regards the responsiveness of the authorities or the people towards this activity, Andreea states that it is difficult, because people are reluctant when they hear about social economy, "it seems to them that there is something wrong, in the sense that a red flag is raised "But why is it free?"
The money that came through the European project is coming to an end, and Andreea and Emil Sava want to resist, but it all depends on the degree of addressability of people who are not part of vulnerable categories.
Another social enterprise in Craiova is the Information & Involved Social Advertising Association, founded by a team of journalists involved in community activities as volunteers for years.
"There are two people by our side who belong to vulnerable groups, together we offer free marketing and advertising services for more than 10 institutions that deal with people who belong to vulnerable groups. Basically, we take their message to the community, we take small steps, but important ones, we contribute to reducing discrimination and a better understanding of the problems facing our beneficiaries, whether we are talking about children, young people or adults with autism spectrum disorders, Down syndrome, people with special needs or people at risk of poverty or social exclusion from marginalized communities," says the president of the Association, Elisa-Narcisa Dunca.
According to the National Register of Social Enterprises, in December 2021, there were 2,440 active social enterprises in Romania, of which 1,841 obtained this status in 2021, and 45 were with a suspended or withdrawn certificate. Their total number of employees was 975, and 223 belong to the vulnerable groups, Agerpres informs.
