The Partener Program was developed to create practical, low-cost solutions to the most pressing problems identified by Romanian leaders and institutions. PCI also aims to rebuild Romania s lost tradition of using volunteers to solve societal problems. During more than forty years of Communism, Romanians were literally forced to volunteer for dubious causes, which shattered their trust in volunteers and in others. This program and others like it are trying to revitalize a concept that once flourished in Romania. Under almost fifty years of Communism, the needs of women and children were barely met.
Families still suffer the effects.
Today, disease and mortality for Romanian women and children are among the highest in Europe. But Romania has hope. With the prospect of membership in the European Union, Romania is working hard to improve its healthcare system and to undo the damage from decades of bitter poverty and a history of institutionalizing large numbers of abandoned children. Project Concern International has a 30-year tradition of sending highly skilled professionals from the U.S. to 25 countries around the world. In the past decade, PCI has sent almost 500 volunteers to Romania.