Light for Children

CRES stands for Chebsey, Ranton, Ellenhall and Seighford parishes.


Second Visit To Romania by CRES

Note from Helen
Just to let you know that we had a very good week with the team from Seighford. As planned, we painted and repaired various things in Gianina's room, surprising her with a new fridge and twin tub at the end of the two days! She was delighted and completely lost for words.

On Saturday, we invited 15 children to join the children from the Sunday School at the Baptist Church for several hours, during which Sue taught them all to sing "Happy Day" in English and we shared lunch together. The newly formed choir sang in church on Sunday and were really great!

Saturday evening, we went over to Botosani to take the "Lizuca" girls and Daniel out for a meal. On Monday we went to the mountains, as Andrew and the team had only ever seen Dorohoi and Botosani. At other times, we visited various young people and families, so that the team could get a greater understanding of some of the things we do.

First Visit To Romania by CRES

Seven people from the churches of Chebsey, Ranton, Ellenhall & Seighford (CRES) spent four days in the town of Dorohoi in northern Romania. The whole trip lasted six days, two of which were spent travelling. The photos below show CRES team members at various stages of there visit.

The CRES team had been very touched by the Light for Children story and all particularly remembered the TV pictures from the early 1990s when during Ceausescu's oppresive regime many children were placed in massive state orphanages. There were babies in cots in bare rooms, and the first visitors from the west were horrified to find them banging their heads against the cot sides. They wanted to visit Dorohoi to see for themselves the work of Light for Children and how the situation in Romania is changing.

In particular the team were keen to visit the apartment which CRES Churches are financially supporting and to discover how it was helping the children and young people. The men spent 2 days redecorating the apartment and were then able to meet the young people as they came to visit. The apartment will be a place for them to find peace and quiet to do homework, and place of safety and refuge where they can meet with Helen and Costel.

The team took out some toiletries to a number of young people during their stay and are seen here preparing the bags. The team were also able to join in a Saturday club and visit a homework club.

On Friday the four women in our party went to visit a single mother with two small children. She lives in one room of a large very run down house where there is no running water or bathroom facilities and is heated by a very old wood-burning stove. The temperature in Dorohoi in winter reaches -20 C.

She came with her two children to church on Sunday morning as she has recently become a Christian through the love and prayers of Helen, Costel and other Christian charity workers.