Come nius
Pesaro & Pyh채joki
Here we are, very close from the end of the first project year Dana Moraru T.I.M.E. was a part of many lives, both students and teachers, during last 8 months. The beginning meeting in October 2012 brought together teachers who have never seen each other before that, who had different perceptions and expectations from the project (of course on their students benefit). I can’t explain how, but we dealt with all challenges and were able to do a lot of steps along this first year.
reports, at least 40 flights, 10 trains and 10 buses … and so on. In other terms we can talk for days about strong friendships between students and/or teachers, about hours and hours spent on gaining skills in journalism, about Freshman Prom, social issues, environment in Fennoscandic forests or about journalism techniques (as interview, observation, documentary). And when all of these should be covered, we can start to tell stories about hugs and smiles, about some tears appeared from nowhere and apparently for no reason, about hundreds of posts on students’ Facebook profiles, about great joy regarding an unexpected meeting between teachers in Helsinki airport.
In terms of numbers and figures we can say about T.I.M.E.: three students meetings, more than 150 students and 30 teachers directly involved into project activities, three newspapers with more than 25 articles, more than 20 workshops, two videos, two evaluation From this point of honest,
Romanian group. From left: Alexandra Badea, Cristina Discultu, Ana-Maria Bucata, Dana Moraru and Ioana Barbulescu
but proudly attitude, we can look forward, to the next meetings: in Puchov, Slovakia, in Istanbul, Turkey, in Elblag, Poland and in Lincoln, United Kingdom. We can hope that we’ll continue to think and to act as a team,
in order to build for all our students the properly context to develop themselves as very good future journalists. New skills are there to be discovered and assimilated by the students: citizen journalism principles, ethics
Polish group. From left: Malgorzata Mikolajczyk, Klaudia Lachacka, Milena Lewandowska and their teacher.
This Comenius paper
We edited this second Comeniuspaper in April during our third meeting at Pyhäjoki. There were Finnish students from Pyhäjoki, Romanian Alexandra Badea, Cristina Discultu, Ana-Maria Bucata, Ioana Barbulescu and Polish Malgorzata Mikolajczyk, Klaudia Lachacka and Milena Lewandowska. We publish in this paper the reports made in Pesaro and Pyhäjoki. The special subjects in the next paper are the environment and Finland; the readers will then be able to take a closer view of the environmental subjects. Sari Rintamäki The teacher of finnish language and literature in Pyhäjoki senior school.
and law in journalism, photojournalism and broadcast journalism. We all know that these will be only the beginning of students’ travel to professionals, but it will be a valuable start. I can’t stop to ask myself
about the purpose of a Comenius project … should it be to bring joy, to offer youth, to share experiences, to build friendship, to prepare the future European citizen … maybe a bit from everything.
Two lives. Two names. One person. Have you ever judged a book only by its cover? Have you ever judged a person by the way he earns a living? Maybe you have never thought that sometimes this isn’t always a choice, and there is in fact more than meets the eye. Take for example a woman staying with her constantly violent partner and getting judged for not leaving. There isn’t enough help for women in this situation like Marinella and Silvia, two ex prostitutes now devoted against this problem as representatives of the community Papa Giovanni 23rd. In order to understand better this social situation, on the 18th of February 2013 we got the privilege to meet the Papa Giovanni the 23rd community that helps not only abused women and children, but also gets involved in the solving the problem of prostitution. The meeting took place in the Cappuccini church, Pesaro, Italy with obviously the collaboration of Marinella and Silvia. The Papa Giovanni the 23rd community was founded 40 years ago in Rimini and they aim to “give life to people who are in a situation of injustice, give them family throughout this injustice and try to eliminate it.” Usually women just pursue a dream which in reality turns into a nightmare. They are forced into this by financial problems faced by their families or by being tricked into accepting an honourable job,
either as babysitters, dancers, waitresses or masseuses. If they choose to refuse when they realize the real situation, verbal threats will come in followed by physical violence, even threats towards families come into the picture. Not only do these women have the physical violence of their “owner” to worry about, but they have the verbal and physical abuse from their clients to face. Marinella, Silvia and the others in this small section of the community go out on the streets every Thursday night to talk to, and offer help to prostitutes. They offer them a better life, family and love. Silvia claimed that going out on the streets for the first time was like a rebirth for her. She believed that this experience changed her completely, she said the reason behind this is that when she saw their eyes, they were unforgettable, they revealed the truth, the purity and the trust that they have in the community. In most cases, these women live two lives, they have two names as their real name is never used in the street. The moment that you are given the girls’ real name is the moment the trust has fully developed, which is a big step in helping the girl and finally getting her of the streets. These kinds of organisations are extremely important as there is no other chance for the girls to be rehabilitated, because they need to work until they pay a 70000€ debt, a sum
which is impossible to pay in according to studies, 15% of a lifetime as this would involve the total population in Italy uses prostitution. This may not having 3500 clients. seem a lot, but when you take The most important fact is that into account that 54% of the prostitution wouldn’t exist if population in Italy is female, there was no demand for them, this number seems to get incdemand which is developed reasingly bigger. Then we have from pleasure formed through to take into account the fact perversion. We found out that that the majority of Italy’s in-
Presenting the schools is a great item in every Comenius meeting.
habitants represents the older generation, therefore this number once again rapidly increases. So, the next time you turn your back, or you are ashamed to look in the direction of a prostitute, be aware that this isn’t a choice they made, this was forced upon them.
This needs to stop. Romanian group. Callum Skinner (England), Stefano Michele Morelli (Italy), Anna Martinmaki (Finland), Aino Jalli (Finland), Atilla Can Basaran(Turkey), Alessandro Faggi (Italy), Matús Urícek (Slovakia)
The Pesaro school Comenius-coordinator Andrea Angelucci played magnificently in the Rossini Theatre.
Here a working group from Pesaro. It was great to see how well the students co-operated and what a fine report they made.
An Invisible Fight Written by: Michele Cacciapuoti, Maria Ologeac, Diana Rindasu, Arianna Bernardi, Johanna Juuso, Sofi Sulanen, Joele Montagna, Taha Demirtas
Y
ou have a comfortable life, but what about the homeless people? Have you ever thought about them? Sometimes in life we succeed but sometimes we fail. But what happens if you have a failure? You remain without money, without friends and soon without shelter and you become a homeless. One of them is Giovanni, a fifty-four years old man, who has been living on the street for the last two years. But he wasn’t alone all this time, he was helped by a no-profit organization named “La Citta della Gioia” ( “The City of Joy”), which has volunteers and shelters for homeless people and it’s active nationwide and also in Pesaro. The volunteers are bringing food and clothes for them and they also ask them about the reasons which made them living on the street and helped them to deal with the consequen-
ces. One of the main reasons is the addictions like alcohol and drug and it means that it involves the loss of their jobs and families. Many people know the reasons and the consequences of being homeless but few of them know about their experience. Yesterday we learned something about the survival on the street by visiting Giovanni’s home. According to him “the street is not a happy place and from the first days you struggle with problems such as finding something to eat or to dress. And living on the street means a fight for everything”. Furthermore he said that “the street kills you!”. There are structures to help those people. Yesterday we visited “Casa Mariolina” situated in “Via dell’Acquedotto” and led by a team of young volunteers from Pesaro; the aim of the structure is to take care of homeless people and give them everything that the street can’t offer them. It started in 1999 from a small group of volunteers that began to bring food, hot drinks and covers to the people who lived on
the street, at Pesaro’s train station, near the hospital. Then they thought that this was not enough, so they tried to create a real house where everybody could have a bed, hot food, a shower and friends. A shelter to refresh their mind and relax for ten days: “Casa Mariolina” is a very important place because the homeless can find again the will to find a job. Unfortunately these structures are always not big enough to host all the people that need help, and finding a job is not as easy as it should be and also it takes a lot of time; for example in “Casa Mariolina” there are only seven beds and a person can stay there only for ten days. However it gives the chance of a normal life to 180 homeless people a year.
pointed. Three years ago, he decided to leave his country because he wanted to change his lifestyle and moved by the aspiration to a wider economic and social success, and to escape from poverty and health problems, in fact, many people, especially pregnant women, were dying on the street. In fact, many people that emigrated to Italy and other European countries are returning in Senegal with a lot of money, beautiful houses and expensive cars. He departed by plane with his theater company and he arrived in Naples, where he met one person who helped him with the Italian language. Now Mor lives in Fano, Italy, in a flat with people who host him and he pays his part of the rent. While he was selling things on a parking lot, a woman told
him about Caritas and he met Matteo Donati, the director of this charitable community. Caritas helps people like Mor with housing and food.
Projects like this one give the homeless an opportunity to regain a decent life, but not for longer. There is still a lot to be done, so maybe the next time you pass a homeless person, don’t pretend they are invisible.
Citizen of the World
W
hat is an immigrant’s life like? Today we went to the ”Caritas” center in Pesaro, to write an article about a young person, who told us his story about his life from Africa to Italy as an immigrant. Mame Mor Diop is one of these people and we asked him some questions about his situation. He comes from Senegal, he is 20 years old now, but when he moved to Italy from his country, he was only 17. “I have a dream” said Martin Luther King, Mor says “I had a dream”. He uses the past tense because he had great expectations about Italy, such as having a good job and making a lot of money. Sadly, he has not achieved those goals and he is disap-
He loves Senegal very much and he wants to go back but he cannot because it is not possible right now. He hopes to return in the future. Thanks to Giorgia Mazzanti who translated the interview into English Written by: Stefano Morelli (ITA) Francesco D’Angelo (ITA) Isabella Corsini (ITA) Kutluhan Fatih Kaleli (TUR) Alexandra Badea (ROM) Toni Kolppanen (FIN) Richard Kuchta (SVK) Sylwia Wlazlo (POL)
Casa Paci: a Transition from Hell to Heaven? H
ave you ever thought about what a prisoner does after he has been released from jail? Where do they go? Do they get any help? Casa Paci are the only ones that take them in. They give them that new life. Comenius T.I.M.E visited Casa Paci (Paci House) in Pesaro on 18th February 2013 in order to meet two exprisoners who were searching for a new life. The owner of the house gave these people the opportunity to start again by expressing their thoughts and feelings .Everyone makes mistakes, but that’s what makes us human. Reinte gration of prisoners is a topic many people are unaware of. We must admit we belong to the majority of the population. It was an eye opening experience to visit a place like Casa Paci in Pesaro. It was situated in the lovely countryside, a typical Italian house with a big open fire. You would never imagine that it was a rehabilitation centre for exprisoners. Swibi comes from France. He met his wife in Italy and had a son with her. He decided to stay in Italy and work.
Everything was going OK, until his nightmare came true. When a group of his friends was arrested for drugs exchanging, even though he wasn’t directly involved in this crime, he was unlucky to be arrested with them. He spent a big part of his life in jail (2005-2013) in different Italian prisons, including the ‘prison from Hell’ called Fermor. However, his relationship with his family didn’t change. But he did lose the whole connection with the world. When he wanted to give up, suddenly an unexpected help came from Casa Paci. He found a lost hope. Thanks to people who work there, he’s again able to think of a better future. Swibi is again connected with his family and perhaps he might find new work. Having spent 8 years in prison, he understood one thing ‘I would never commit another crime again, as freedom is the most important thing a man can have.’ Our second ex-offender, Giovanni, 53 years old, left home when he was fourteen and fled to Milan. He didn’t mind any hard manual labour, because he
fact, he wanted guidance to improve his education but none was given. Giovanni was fortunate enough to get the consent from the judge to be relocated to Casa Paci to begin again. Currently he is looking for a job with the limited freedom he gets, however his expectations aren’t high, taking into account the current economic climate. At the end of the conversation, Giovanni agreed with Swibi’s statement that ‘freedom is the best thing to have in life, even if you don’t have much money.’
liked creating new things. He worked everyday, long hours, but one time, he struggled to make ends meet. He was desperate because he had no form of help or opportunity; this situation brought him to defeat.
Therefore, he became involved in a robbery just to pay his rent. When he was arrested, the police hurt him and he had to seek medical assistance at the hospital. But the doctors refused to compile a report
against the police officers. After that, he was taken to prison where he spent the next two years. There he had no kind of no form of educational guidance or counselling. Most of the time he ‘felt like an animal.’ In
Making a Difference F
or a normal bodied person getting around your home shouldn’t be a problem, but have you considered how difficult it is for a disabled person to even do daily activities? We visited AIAS (a centre for disabled persons). The new house (casa Leonardo) has been open for 2 months. They supply everything they could need with the help of donations and the town. It is more equipped for transporting persons around than the other building run by AIAS. The residents live there 24/7 and so have to be entertained with activities like basking, swimming, going to the cinema and many other things. When you enter the house
of A.I.A.S., the Italian association that helps spastic people, you are welcomed with euphoria by all the people who live there. The atmosphere is really homely and friendly and you can see the residences smiling. You would have been surprised to see how many volunteers there are and how much they are motivated on what they are doing. The educator is calm and he has created an atmosphere of harmony amongst each resident. The society is useful in helping this association financing new technologies which aim to help operators moving people with disabilities. Each of them has there own story and on the contrary to their past, they continue being happy and energetic toget-
From these stories, we can see that Casa Paci has made people understand their mistakes, and that prison isn’t the answer because somewhere there is help. It also shows that Casa Paci changes people and there should be more homes like this around the world. Everyone deserves a second chance, right? Written by: Georgia Milner (UK), Francesco Tancini, Sofia Balduini, Andrea Mazzoli, Andrea Righi (Italy), Larisa Amza (Romania), Anniina Linden (Finland), Juraj Lesko (Slovakia) and Omer Sercan Kockar (Turkey).
her. The volunteers are a big part of the house; they care and look after the residents. Giovanni volunteers once a week: Giovanni is making a difference “When my father was a teenager he used to go to AIAS and I remember that day, I was tired and I didn’t want to go there, he said to me that I had to go because residences of the house would be disappointed and upset. If you go there you will make a difference for them. Whenever I go there I remember what my father said to me.”
What do you usually do there? -In warm days I go walking around the city. If it’s a rainy day we talk, sing and watch TV. Do you like staying with them? -Yes, when I am with them I am happy and they are, too. When do you usually go there? -Only on Wednesdays. I usually go to play basketball with Jurgen, Vianella and Josefine from 17:30 to 19:00.
lively and friendly, they all seem to be good friends. The house assures the families of the residents that they are well treated and respected. Do you get any money for The residents have barriers this job? in the past about moving -No, it’s volunteering, so I around the community and don’t earn any money. socialising but now thanks to Casa Leonardo they live What do volunteers usual- their life to best it can be! ly do there? -They stay with the resi- Written by; Josephine Bennie, dents, go walking, play bas- Ioana Craciuneanu, Gloria Penketball and do massages, salfini, Marco Cecchini, Giovanni Imperio. Vitalja Cojocaru, watch music videos on You- Pauliina Virtanen, Dorota PrTube. The atmosphere is zespolewska. How did you find that place? -My friend invited me and I went with him.
“All you need is love”
A
IDS is disease caused by HI-virus which can affect anyone and can turn their life upside down. In February 2013 a group of eigh Comenius students from different countries visited Raffaella and Anna, two people who are suffering from the disease, at Casa Moscati in Pesaro, a place where sufferers of the disease come to, and are able to be taken care of and contain their disease. We came to discover their life stories and talk about their situation to share it with you. In 1970 the doctors discovered HIV. A priest, Don Gaudiano, in 1992 founded Casa Moscati,and then was also built another structure called Centro Arca which is a community where drug addicts and sick people can live. In the beginning they couldn’t contain the HI-virus so a lot of people went there to finish their life. With more awareness the disease can be treated in a more effective way nowadays. Casa Moscati has two buildings, one is especially for people with HIV and the other is for physical and mental problems. The aim is to give the suffering a normal life so they can be happy. The people who stay at Casa Moscati can sleep there, have breakfast, lunch, dinner and they can
stay there for free and as long as they wish. The people who stay can do activities such as go to the theatre,
”Love your life and value it.” watch television and go to sporting events. Now we are going to give you some information about this illness. In the past, before the ’80, people didn’t know anything about AIDS. In fact, those who were infected where considered very strange,nobody stood them. But , as the time pass the doctors discovered a way to keep this illness under control. Unfortunately, this kind of medicine has side effects(it can destroy your organs,even your bones and muscles). The AIDS(Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) over time, it gradually weekeans the immunity systems. Because of this, the infected ones could die even if they caught the flu. It’s very important to know that illness can be transmitted only by sperma, breast milk and blood. Many people think that it can be contracted by
saliva, sweat and tears, but this is a myth. So, for example, you can get ill if you have sexual contact without using condom but there’s no way you contact the disease by beings bitten by a mosquito. There are three factors to be affected: number of cells affected, how long it was and how much blood was transferred. Also, we can say that the virus is very weak, it dies in the atmosphere after 30 minutes. Nowadays, the AIDS it’s
no a big problem anymore: if you pay attention, take care of yourself, use medications you can have a normal life. The staff of Centro Arca consists of ten people. There are three to four persons in the clinic at once. The workers change during the day. With Anna and Raffaella we had the pleasure to meet Carlo, Andrea and Alessandra who all work with them. The first time Andrea was in touch with the insti-
tution when he started his civil service. He opposed war, so he didn’t go to the army. Through this, he got familiar with the institution and enjoyed his stay there. When it was his time to leave, the rest of the staff asked him to stay forever. Carlo has worked there from the start, a total of 17 years. Alessandra’s adventure in Casa Moscati started by her volunteering for the job. Now, the place is her occupation. While she takes care of the patients, she’s trying to find other people with psychological and physical problems at the same time. Anna is one of the ten residents who stays in Centro Arca. Her story begins in 1990 when she was 26. Back then she was a drug addict and a prostitute. She didn’t really know about AIDS and when she had sexual contact with her boyfriend she got the virus. Anna did the tests and when she found out she was sick, she lost her faith in life. She didn’t want to accept that she was sick and she didn’t talk to the doctors. Anna refused the medicine. That was the moment when Anna started to drink. She felt alone and she was afraid so decided to move in Bologna, where she stayed for eight years. Here it wasn’t the life she was looking for, she was unhappy so came back to the place she was born in, Sardinia. Here Anna met a boy and she
thought he loved her so they stayed together for almost two years. Her boyfriend was violent to her and that’s the reason why she was with him for so long. Anna was scared of him. But one day she decided that was the time to break up with him and to call a social worker. Because she wanted help she had to move to Pesaro, where the volunteer Andrea convinced her to take medicines. These medicines were very strong to her body so she lost her ability to walk. The second resident of the house that we met is Raffaella. She got the virus from her boyfriend, who was a drug addict. In 1987 she found out that she was sick. Like Anna, she asked for help from a social worker and she met Alessandra who was a volunteer at Centro Arca. Raffaella told us, that although her situation is serious she doesn’t give up and that life is the most beautiful thing. The message said by both Raffaella and Anna is simple but powerful: ”Love your life and value it.” Written by: Lugli Federico, Guendalina Ceccarelli, Martina Licheri (IT)Guy Owen (UK), Marina Marcu, Alina Becheanu (RO), Sandra Szewczyk (PL), Marleena Maliniemi (FI)
Pyhäjoen Kuulumiset
P
yhäjoki’s upper secondary school students have a special opportunity to write their own newspaper. It is called Pyhäjoen Kuulumiset. Most of Pyhäjoki’s high school students are working with the paper. Also other people, who don’t belong to Pyhäjoen lukio, can publish their own work in it. Students are desingning the outlet and editing the paper theirselves. Once-a-week issued Kuulumiset is free for all. Many companies are contacting the Kuulumiset for advertisement. Kuulumiset has entertained people for over 20 years and it’s popular in it’s area. It publishes also some special papers in the summer, Christmas and before the trade fair in autumn. The newspaper team contains desktop publishers and some journalists. They are all 16-19 year old students from Pyhäjoki’s upper secondary school. We got the opportunity to interview Kuulumiset’s own journalist Ella Eno, who has been working with the articles for the whole time through upper secondary school. Two years In the first
year you are able to choose a journalism course, which will give you the chance to regularly write articles. ”I like to write about local happenings but at the moment I’m looking forward to write about the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican”’ says Ella. The reason she wanted to start journalism was because she was interested and thought she might as well become one. ”Writing is an important skill”. The job itself conists of different risks and benefits. A journalist gets to meet new people and the work itself is very rewarding. On the other hand, some of the critic might let you down. ”Gladly, you don’t have to go through the critic alone. It can be shared with the rest of the team.” For Ella ,being a journalist for the whole time through upper secondary school doesn’t define what she wants to be in the future. ”I want to become a midwife!” Says Ella. The Kuulumiset is a big part of her life until the end of school. She will have it, for example, as a summer job. The job is quite stressful if you happen to get many different subjects to write
about. Also, it takes quite a lot of free time. Thankfully she has technology to help her keep everything in order. And an iPad is good for having the opportunity to do some short-notice interviews. The environment in Pyhäjoen lukio is very supporting for someone who likes to pursue his/her skills on journalism and/or desktop publishing. And the equipment for doing so are at hand. Pyhäjoen kuulumiset is a perfect job for one who wants to improve their invidual iniative and, also, group work. Written by: Johanna Juuso, Toni Kolppanen, Sofia Pakkanen, Anni Mattila, Marleena Maliniemi(FI), Cristina Discultu, Ana-Maria Bucata Finnish Pyhäjoki senior school students complete the Comenius papers. This time the Polish and Romanian (RO), Malgorzata Miko- students also took part. lajczyk (PO)
Some facts about Kuulumiset -since 1987 -free newspaper for the readers - it’s issued once a week - also internet version lukio.pyhajoki.fi -people can write articles for Kuulumiset
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Video conference with the young attending the Lammi senior school.
Here interviewing and taking notes with iPads.
Ever Changing, Never Dying – Local Media Written by: Jemina Bäckman, Ioana Barbulescu, Johanna Hirvikoski, Eemeli Anttila, Reetta Kangas, Milena Lewandowska, Sami Brusin, Hinni Viirret
H
ave you ever thought about the importance of local media in your day-to-day life? Maybe not if you live in a capital city. Still, the majority of a country´s population is represented at a regional level, so the necessity for local newspapers and broadcasting companies, such as Raahen Seutu and YLE Oulu, cannot be denied. The local media focuses on events and happenings of small areas, revealing the specific details of the stories meaningful for the people living there. In addition to the information presented, local media represents an advertising opportunity for local companies and public figures. Furthermore, it plays an essential cultural role, increasing the sense of belonging to a certain community. Through
the local media, it gets A easier to express yourself and get your opinion published. Living by the second In order to become an employee of the local media, you have to be able to multitask. According to the editor Sanna Keskinen of Raahen Seutu, the most important skills of a journalist are being objective and flexible, while keeping in mind human rights and especially people´s freedom of speech. Workdays of journalist’s are as busy as one-armed paperhanger. Working within media also means adapting yourself to the changes that occur over time. Some of the employees of Raahen Seutu have been working there for 40 years. Thus, they have been constantly reshaping the way they work in order to keep up with modern requests. Will paper become outdated
traditional morning begins with coffee and the local newspaper. Will that stop existing in the era of fast internet updates and online editions? You might think that. However, latest studies have shown printed news to be more trustworthy and thus preferred to the virtual ones. Imagine
the following situation: you come home from school, open your laptop, log into Facebook and the first status update you read says that there´s raining cows
outside. Would you believe that or not? But what if you heard the exactly same story from the 5 o´clock news? That might be a little more reliable, mightn´t
it? This is the perfect example of the actual influence of local media in people´s daily lives.