Tuesday, May 22nd, 2012

  City Hall was first on the agenda this morning.  We had an appointment to meet with the Director of the Municipality's Social Department.  We discussed care for the elderly, health care and prescription costs for citizens in Sweden.  As Americans, we were surprised to discover that if we moved and became Swedish citizens, we would immediately be covered by their health care system.
  We toured the City Council room where local politicians vote on local policies.  The city of Borlänge faces the same issue with immigration as many American towns.  We had the opportunity to visit Tjärna Ängar, an integration community that is devoted to giving residents support with learning the language, laws, and social customs of Sweden in order to gain the best opportunity for success.  
  Lunch was served at Cozmoz, which is another social project in the community.  Its goal is to temporarily employ young people (as cooks, waiters, bussers, etc.) and provide them with the mentoring and coaching necessary for them to get a job in the free market.  This is a two-fold plan, as it also works to prevent crime within this age demographic.  
  Our afternoon activities wrapped up with a visit to a glass studio led by local artist, Roland Backlund.
  While the team rested, Blake was hard at work training with IK Brage, a second division in Sweden soccer team.  
  The three Borlänge Rotary clubs meet four times a year as a collective group for dinner and a lecture.  We were fortunate enough to be a part of this dinner event.