Diario de Noticias (Portugal) on the Community Action Group in Torres Vedras
Diario de Noticias - 09/05/2016 - "Who says Roma cannot respect working hours?" (excerpts)
Torres Vedras invests in the integration of the Roma community through employment. The problem is when national and Community programmes end. Without basic education one cannot have access to a job in the public sector. [...]
Lindo Cambao, 37, is a facilitator for the Roma and public institutions. He is the driving force of the Community Action Group (CAG) of Torres Vedras, a town that along with six others joined the European programme ROMED 2. [...]
Lindo used to sell goods in markets, and has been collaborating with the Municipality of Torres Vedras since 2014 under the CEI + measure for unemployed and beneficiaries of social insertion income (RSI). Now as an employee, he earns 620 euros per month as well as meal allowances - a salary paid by the municipality.
Besides Lindo Cambao, there is also Carina (working in the cafeteria), Filomena (kindergarten), Mario and Danilo (green spaces). These four work have been working since January [2016] under the CIS + measure, receiving 530 euros per month net including meal allowance. Soon a fifth member [of the CAG] will join them as a gardener. They have a full-time working hours and there is no attendance problems. "[Carina] respects working hours like the others, we can all have unforeseen events in life, if she has to leave she talks to me, as usual," says Joana Lima, Carina's supervisor. [...]
The jobs were created as a result of the work of the Community Action Group (CAG). The group consists of Roma volunteers who identify community problems. And one of the proposals made was that the municipality employs Roma. Another request was the support the payment of the rent of the Evangelical Church local headquarters and, in turn, [the CAG] organised a collection of food for population in need [of Torres Vedras]. The next initiative is to present examples of Roma cuisine.
See the full article here
