1999 Built Ropes Course in Straja, Hunedoara County;
2000 First Year of Viata (summer adventure education camp, 500 youth participants);
2000 Launched New Horizons Foundation (NHF);
2001 Second Year of Viata - 500+ youth (a good size of the participants were coming from orphanages);
2002 Started first IMPACT Club in Lupeni as a follow up to Viata summer camp (originally IMPACT was named Kaizen – Japanese for continuous improvement; due to different negative associations in 2005 the name was changed to IMPACT);
2003 2003 Third year of Viata Program; Civil Society Gala Award for Viata Program; Launched second and third IMPACT Clubs; Developed Strategy to Advance IMPACT and Service Learning Nationally;
2004 Forged relationships with Ministry Officials to grow IMPACT and involvement in various Youth Service Policy initiatives; Hosted the first National Service Learning and Social Capital conference and developed research agenda in partnership with Dr. Badescu – Babes Bolyai University, Cluj Napoca; Balkan Children Youth Foundation and NHF partnership – replication of IMPACT in 6 schools in Jiu Valley;
2005 USAID funding grant to International Orthodox Christian Charities, Romanian Orthodox Church and NHF- replicating IMPACT in 17 schools and 1 church; partnership with Ministry of Education and Research and 8 local School Inspectorates; IMPACT won best youth model from Youth National Authority – Hunedoara county; IMPACT manual copyrighted for youth workers; partnership with Art Fusion Association: inclusion of Theatre Forum as a method in raising awareness campaigns of IMPACT clubs;
2006 Global Fund partnership to help Jiu Valley youth; Romanian Orthodox Church endorsement of IMPACT – as a social capital development intervention based on the study of Dr. Achimescu; Major studies of IMPACT and Viata (Dr. Cathryn Thorup, Dr. Roland Hoksbergen, etc.), Gordon Social Work Internship;
2007 Northwestern College partnership: NHF launched the Romania Semester-Abroad Program; opened operational office in Bucharest; developed the trainer of trainers system for IMPACT; IMPACT selected top 22 models globally (Innovations in Civic Participation); Ministry of Education and Research support letter for IMPACT; Youth in Action Program (European Commision) funded 3 initiatives of IMPACT clubs: Live Green (national ecological project), Youth Leadership (developing leadership skills among youth – IMPACT and beneficiaries of Voluntary Centers in Romania), One Level Up (national project – on youth policies and social entrepreneurship); partnership with Art Fusion Association and National Council Against Discrimination: Are you a Spectator? Take ARTitude! – national raising awareness campaign on discrimination using participatory art tehniques (forum theater);
2008 NOKIA and International Youth Foundation partnership to launch 145 clubs over 3 years; opening operational office in Cluj Napoca; Youth in Action Program – developing the European Voluntary Service and International Training in Outdoor Training and Service Learning: Bosnia, Armenia, Estonia, Romania; partnership with Art Fusion Association and National Council Against Discrimination: Are you a Spectator? Take ARTitude!, 2nd edition; Developing partnership with Peace Corp to replicate IMPACT through their infrastructure; Viata Program still running strong with 500 participants on average per summer; setting the infrastructure for a national IMPACT clubs network; Socializing Award for Disadvantaged Youth – IMPACT recognized as a best practice model internationally (Foundation Heart of a Child, Galati); NESsT Award for the best business sustainability plan – opening the Cabana for tourism and trainings for other NGO`s; Launched IMPACT innovators award.
What would become New Horizons began in the late 90's out of a passion for adventure and experiential education, and how it can change lives. We, Dana and Brandi were instructors at Gordon College's LaVida Expeditions Program, and learned the "ropes" there. After visiting Dana's parents who run an orphanage near Bucharest, we began toying with the idea of launching an adventure program in Romania.
Crazy Idea-but the pieces began to fall into place. After about a year of research, a world class Ropes Course was built through a Gordon College service project, and with the help of Project Adventure (special thanks to Rich Klanjsceck and Elsja Zwart.) We ended up in one of the poorest places in Romania-the Jiu Coal Mining Valley, with an unemployment rate of over 50%.
Corrupt Partnership Proves Relevance of Value-based Strategy
We used to call him St George our dragon slayer. He was the head of the Salvamont Mountain Rescue organization, and our "partner" in developing the Viata adventure program. Little did we know for the first two years that the dragons (problems) he was slaying (solving), he created -all clever smokescreens to steal money. He and our accountant went so far as to fake an audit, falsify government papers, and even have friends impersonate Romanian IRS officials.
George had us so entangled in his web of deceit that we were ready to leave Romania and 4 years of work. With his position on the mayor's council as well and the protection that affords, there was little to do except give up, or hope for a miracle. The miracle came when we hit upon the counter strategy to secretly videotape him and trick him into confessing. We were successful (imagine the anxiety on that afternoon!), and went straight to the FBI and police. Two years later, George has exhausted his appeals and has been pronounced guilty, has to pay us back, and is losing his positions.
This story is mirrored in the stories of myriad other investors in both the financial and humanitarian arenas in Romania. Ironically, this difficult first-hand experience of corruption made us dig in our heels all the deeper-it deepened our conviction and strengthened our resolve to stay expand our impact. It is also why we do not blink at mentioning the need for values development.
Adding Service to Adventure
With the monkey of corruption off our back, we were freed to pursue ways to expand our impact. Romania's educational system is excellent in the sciences, but the nature and quality of social participation is appalling. Service Learning is an exciting experiential education pedagogy that is uniquely suited to address specific deficiencies in the Romanian educational system. These include deficiencies in entrepreneurial ability and interpersonal trust. Our IMPACT program is designed specifically to rebuild these (inter)personal competencies, and is linked to "the dream of changing the world" (Freire) and not merely adapting to it.
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