PARTNERSHIP FOR PEOPLE AND DEVELOPMENT

Project: "The water passed. Find the hope."

The Partnership for People and Development  was formed after the floods in the spring of 2005 with the intention to create a post-urgency approach model for the affected communities by contributing on long term basis (2-3 years) to their reconstruction and development.

Members of the Partnership for People and Development:
• Environmental Partnership Foundation
• Association for Community Relations
• The Princess Margarita of Romania Foundation
Associate member: PACT Foundation

As part of the project "The water passed. Find the hope", the center of Cobăteşti - a village in Harghita County seriously affected by the floods - was completely reconstructed by the Environmental Partnership Foundation.
The initial amount for the project was only 5,000 USD. After finishing the feasibility study of the project we realized that we would need ten times more money than we had initially, therefore we asked for the help of other partner organizations. As a result of our request The Association for Community Relation (Cluj Napoca) and The Princess Margarita of Romania Foundation contributed to the fundraising and implementation of the project.

The three organizations formed The Partnership for People and Development for this noble cause. In the same time two more organizations offered funding for the project, namely: Arcanum Foundation - Switzerland and the Ökotárs Foundation - Hungary.

The rehabilitation of the central square of the village Cobăteşti consisted of paving 800 square meters with cubic stones, placing ten benches, building a fountain and making a playground for children. Also a memorial monument was raised in the loving memory of the people who died in the floods. Of course the reconstruction was performed respecting the principles of organic landscaping; the materials used were exclusively natural, like stone and wood.
Moreover the Environmental Partnership Foundation insisted on involving the local community in the reconstruction works, therefore these were performed by local businesses.

The total value of the project reached almost 60,000 USD.