More than 4,000 children have already holidayed at camps outside Chisinau. Other children are yet to spend time at such camps, while the day camps in the city were already closed. For the 2023 summer season, the local public administration organized 14 day camps at educational institutions, three permanent camps, 13 sports camps outside the city and different thematic camps.
Day camps
For setting up the 14 day camps, the municipality allocated almost 400,000 lei. The program at these camps during June 5-23 lasted from 8am until 5pm, except for Saturdays and Sundays. Only the day camp housed by the Theoretical Lyceum “Mihail Sadoveanu” continues with the second round. The lyceum’s administration was able to engage staff on account of leave.
Raisa Stratulat, senior specialist of the Out-of-School, Youth and Sport Management Unit of the General, Youth and Sport Education Division, said the day camps are popular with parents and children of primary schools. As many as 1,305 students were able to relax at day camps.
The day camps cannot work throughout summer as many of the educational intuitions housing these also house Baccalaureate centers that require special access conditions. Also, most of the institutions planned repair works that cannot be executed during the school year.
The personnel working at these camps are less motivated from financial viewpoint, primarily the teachers who need to interrupt the leave and become engaged as educators. “If this activity – day camp – had been legally registered as a follow-up to the activity with students during the vacation, most of the problems related to the shortage of staff would have been solved easier,” stated Raisa Stratulat.
Permanente camps
In the three permanent camps managed by the municipality, 6,400 children will spend their leisure time this summer. The 4.4 million lei allocated for organizing these camps went mainly on bloc maintenance works.
At the camp “Poienița Veselăˮ, a project to build the cooking facilities’ roof was designed. Buildings of the camps were repaired and the water filtering system for the swimming pool was renovated. At the camp “Alunelulˮ, the filtering system, engineering systems and buildings were repaired. Similar works and works to repair the access ramps for children with disabilities and the external stairs were executed at “Cireșariiˮ camp, noted Raisa Stratulat.
Furthermore, a new block is being erected at the camp “Poienița Veselă”. This will be adjusted to the needs of children with disabilities. In the course of the year, but primarily at the beginning of the year, engineers of the General, Youth and Sport Education Division and local Youth and Sport Education Divisions of the city’s districts, together with specialists of the General Finance Division, assess the managed camps and the main works are performed with the available funds.
Raisa Stratulat said that the wanted investments cannot be made at present given that the municipal budget is tight. “By using the allocated funds, we meet the sanitary-hygienic conditions according to the current norms, ensure the security of children at the camps and execute pressing repair works,” noted the senior specialist.
Costs and prices
During the 2023 summer season, the municipality of Chisinau allocated almost 33.5 million lei for organizing the summer vacation of children, including preparing the 14 day camps, three permanent camps and the other camps for welcoming children. The 13 sports camps located outside the capital city will welcome 2,205 children, the ecological camp - 450 children, three art camps – 90 children. There are also 13 vocational camps based in 13 extra-school institutions, 24 thematic camps housed by community centers for children and teens and 26 thematic camps housed by the Municipal Library “B. P. Hasdeu” and its branches.
The tickets to day, permanent and sports camps are distributed to beneficiaries free or if the parents agree to pay 20% of the cost. The free tickets represent 15% of the total number of tickets and are provided to families with three and more children, one-parent families, families in which one or both of the parents are with disabilities or are pensioners, children who are under guardianship, in family-type services or in temporary placement centers, children of teachers, children who are under the supervision of the General, Youth and Sport Education Division. In the case of children with disabilities, tickets are offered free to children and also to persons who accompany them. In total, 100 free tickets are available for the camp “Aunelul” and 120 tickets for the camp “Poienița Veselă”.
In day camps, a ticket for 15 days cost 2,525 lei and the parents’ contribution was 505 lei. For the day camp housed by the Technological Lyceum for children with poor vision, the ticket cost 3,925 lei and the price was fully covered by the municipality. A ticket to permanent camps costs 3,500 lei for a ten-day round and the parents pay 700 lei. For sports camps, parents pay 726 lei out of the total ticket price of 3,630 lei. In sports camps, 420 tickets are offered free.
As many as 9,910 children will benefit from tickets that are 80% or 100% covered by the municipality.
Distribution of tickets
The responsible authorities assure that the tickets are distributed transparently and in a digitized way. The persons in charge of the distribution of tickets at day, permanent and sports camps and the accounting offices that issue the tickets have access to the e-Tabere (e-Camps) platform that has successfully worked for five years. “Owing to the e-Tabere platform, we know how many tickets were distributed, reserved, paid. If some of the tickets are later refused, the General Division makes them available immediately,” said Raisa Stratulat, senior specialist of the Out-of-School, Youth and Sport Management Unit.
Those interested can register independently or vocational and thematic camps using a form on www.extrascolar.md that is permanently updated. The parents must present a photocopy of the child’s birth certificate at the school and the sales slip to confirm that the payment was made. All the payments are made by bank transfer to the accounts made available by the educational institutions.
Milena Macarciuc, IPN
