Light for Children

News from Romania for the AGM 30 January 2012
(Real names removed)

Thank you to everyone who is attending the AGM or has helped to support the work of Light for Children over the last twelve months. Without your continued support, none of this would be possible.

Since our last newsletter in December, we have been keeping busy and would like to take this opportunity to share our news with you …

Thank you to everyone who either sent Christmas gifts or a donation towards Christmas treats for the children and young people. The children who we support in families and the young adults who live independently were delighted to receive their gifts. Having your donations made it possible for us to buy fruit, chocolate, juice etc for all 130 children in the apartments in Dorohoi, as well as Christmas food for the families that we know.

The children who live in the apartments in Dorohoi are currently aged between 2 and 26, so their needs and desires are extremely varied. Another charity in Dorohoi receives thousands of shoebox gifts from Germany each year, so they let us have boxes for each of the children in care in Dorohoi. Because of the wide age range of the children, we opened the boxes and swapped things around to ensure that each child received something appropriate for his or her age group. The children themselves organised a Christmas concert and as a surprise, we invited the young people from three local churches to come along to sing for the children and talk to them about the true meaning of Christmas. It was a special time and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves.

Over the last twelve months, a lot of new children have come to live in the apartments, the majority coming from very poor families who can’t provide for the children. The children usually arrive with just the clothes they are wearing and regularly need to be treated for worms and head lice. Often, even when they are of school age they haven’t been to nursery school or school, so their development is limited. Although they are inevitably coming to live in better material conditions, it must be a very traumatic time as they leave their families and older siblings to come to live in the apartments.

We are regularly asked to provide medication and clothing for the new children when they first arrive and to help them as much as possible to settle in at nursery or school. Two little boys aged 4 and 6, have recently arrived with their sister, age 7. Alice speaks well and although she needs support, is able to attend mainstream school. The two boys, Joel and Bill, have very poor speech. They had never been to nursery school before coming to Dorohoi but are both now enrolled. They seem to have developed their own language and chat away to each other, but they aren’t speaking Romanian! We are paying for a speech therapist to help them and are trying to encourage them to become more involved in what is happening in the local community. On Christmas day, we took them with us to church to see the children’s nativity play and they had a great time. Over the last six months, they have definitely made a lot of progress and gained a lot of confidence. Their language skills are still poor but we are optimistic that they will continue to make steady progress and eventually be accepted into mainstream school.

In our newsletters, we have often mentioned a girl called Darlyn, who was one of the original children from Dersca. Daniela will be 23 on 31 January. Anyone who has been out to visit us in Dorohoi will definitely remember her as being the life and soul of the “Lizuca” girls. In 2010, Darlyn married David and in the summer of 2011, they announced that they were expecting their first baby on 20th March 2012. Alhough happy for them, we were also concerned for Darlyn as she is so fragile. Throughout her pregnancy Darlyn has kept well but on Thursday evening last week started to experience a lot of pain. So far off her due date, she presumed that there was a problem and was taken into the maternity hospital in Botosani. Right from the start, the plan was that the baby would be delivered by c- section as it is safer when the mother is HIV+. I keep in touch with David throughout the day on Friday, only to hear late afternoon, that their baby boy had arrived safely and naturally! When I answered the phone, David said, “Mrs Helen, I’m delighted to tell you that you’ve got a healthy grandson”!!

He weighed 2kg 200g and is able to breathe and feed without help. Darlyn is also doing well. Darlyn and baby are being kept in a room on their own and they aren’t allowed to have any visitors. David has only been able to see photographs of his baby on a mobile phone! We haven’t yet seen any photographs but have been assured by the proud parents that the baby is very handsome! So far, we are delighted that he has arrived safely and that Darlyn has coped with the birth.

Since the autumn, we have been involved in helping two young children from Dorohoi who have cancer. Brian is 6 and is fighting leukaemia. Carl is 10 and had a malignant tumour removed from his spine six months ago. Both children are in and out of hospital in Iasi (3 hours from Dorohoi). Both children have been dangerously ill from the side effects of chemotherapy and still have a lot more treatment ahead of them. We have been able to support them with medication, food, clothing and transport to and from hospital. There have been times when the hospital hasn’t had the chemotherapy drugs or other important medication that Carl has needed but we have been able to order it in Botosani and take it to him in hospital in Iasi. The doctors and nurses do their best but the conditions are very basic and there is no support available at all for the parents.

On a day to day basis, providing medication and access to medical care, dental care, the optician etc, continues to be our priority. We continue to cover the costs of all the prescriptions given to the children in the apartments in Dorohoi, which can be as many as 6 or 7 in one day. Some of the prescriptions can only be found in Botosani, so it can mean a lot of running around but at least we know that the children are getting the best possible chance.

Our winter in Dorohoi had been mild until a couple of weeks ago. We now have snow and temperatures of between -15 C and -20 C. The children in care have central heating but for the families that we support, a priority is obviously trying to keep them warm. Throughout the winter, we have provided firewood for Glenda and her boys. John uses a small gas fire and was delighted to receive a thick duvet and new bedding from friends in Seighford on the last lorry. All of the knitted blankets, hats and scarves, as well as the winter clothes that your have sent out to us have been invaluable, thank you.

Both of our students, Gary and Frank, are due to complete their university courses this summer. The young people are allowed to stay “in care” until they turn 26, if they are in full time education. Gary will be 26 in February, so the Child Protection authorities will not pay for his university accommodation and food for the final semester of his course. We will be able to support him until the summer, so that he can complete his course in social work.

In May 2011, we enjoyed a visit from a team from the CRES Parishes. This year, we look forward to welcoming Wendy and Dave at the beginning of April and then plan to travel back with them to spend two weeks at home in Chase Terrace at the end of April.

Thank you to all of the committee for their hard work throughout the year and to everyone who supports us in any way at all. We look forward to seeing you in April.

Helen and Costel
xx xx

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Newsletter December 2011 (real names have been removed)

It has once again been a privilege to work with the children and young people of Dorohoi and surrounding areas over the last twelve months. As in previous years, certain elements of our work have been carefully planned and budgeted for, whilst others have required flexibility and emergency funds to provide support in some quite unexpected situations.

There are currently over 130 children and young adults living in the state run apartments in Dorohoi. Throughout the year we have supported them by covering medical costs i.e. paying for medication, dental work, glasses, speech therapy and transport to hospital. Wherever possible, we have visited any of the children in hospital, taking food, clean clothes and things to occupy their time. All of the children and young people are in some form of education, whether it be nursery, school or university. Wherever necessary, we have covered the costs of their books and stationary, as well as any extra curriculum activities.

Each time there has been a special occasion, such as Christmas, Easter or International Children’s Day (1 June), we have ensured that the children and young people have had the opportunity to celebrate, providing gifts and organising special events. Throughout the year we have organised a number of activities, such as a Christian camp in the mountains, a holiday club, and various local day trips. We look forward to inviting the children to a special Christmas concert again this year, where together, we will be able to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.

On completing their education, these young people are required to leave the state care system and find their own way in the world. Each individual has his or her own story to tell. Over the last twelve months, several young people have been successful in finding work abroad. Others have been employed by a clothing company in Bucharest or at a restaurant linked to a petrol station in Botosani. Others find work on a day to day basis and manage to survive. Several girls have married and gone on to have their own families. We are fortunate in having the apartment which can be used to provide short term accommodation for these young people if necessary. We have supported each of them as much as possible on their chosen paths and have been delighted to see them gradually becoming independent.

Often the prospect of becoming independent and free from the rules and regulations of the system is appealing to the young people in the short term. However, the reality of having to survive in a poor community where unemployment is very high can be extremely challenging, particularly for those young people with special needs. For example, Hary gladly left the state care system to work with a local shepherd in October 2010. By mid December, he felt unable to stay on the farm and found himself on the streets of Dorohoi with no income, no shelter and no health insurance to cover the cost of the medication he needed for his epilepsy. We were able to find rented accommodation for Hary and provide him with all the basic things that he needed, including firewood for the winter. However, it quickly became clear that due to his special needs, he was unable to live alone. For several months he suffered at least one epileptic seizure a week, regularly spending a night in hospital. It took time but we were eventually able to help Hary to apply for a disability living allowance, which enabled him to obtain health insurance and be allocated a place in a centre for young people with special needs in Botosani. Although he initially had reservations about going back into an institution, since moving into the centre six months ago, Hary has only had one seizure and is now settling down and making new friends. We still keep in touch and have been able to support the centre with some of the materials that they need for their occupational therapy activities.

During 2011, we enjoyed having a number if visitors from the UK. Firstly, a team from the CRES Parishes came out in May. Amongst other things, they helped to repair and decorate Gianina’s rented accommodation, surprising her with a small fridge and twin tub washing machine to help look after her two young boys, now aged 4 and 7. This was a very worthwhile and much appreciated project. In July, our friends from Alba Aid in Scotland joined us, bringing aid, working with the children as part of the holiday club and donating funds to enable three young children from the state care system to have speech therapy and extra educational support. Again, we were very grateful for their help and encouragement.

We continue to work with a number of local families which either have a large number of children or a child with serious health issues. Over recent months, our lives have been both enriched and shaken by becoming involved in the lives of two other very special local children. Alan, aged 6, feinted on her first day at school in September and shortly afterwards was diagnosed with leukaemia. She has spent the last two months in hospital in Iasi, where we have visited her several times. Her doctor has recommended that she has a bone marrow transplant in Austria. Carl, aged 10, had a malignant tumour removed from his spine in the summer. He has since undergone five sessions of chemotherapy, the side effects of which have made him extremely ill. He and his family have needed a lot of support to get through what has been and continues to be a very traumatic time. Both these children and their families would very much appreciate your prayers.

Throughout the year we have once again been very fortunate to receive literally hundreds of boxes of clothing, blankets, toiletries etc from England. Thank you so much to everyone involved in making this possible. It really does enable us to help a large number of people. Recently, we were delighted to receive football kit and polo shirts from Chase Terrace Technology College, which we gave to the school in the village of Dersca. The boys were absolutely delighted!

Our sincere thanks to everyone involved in supporting
the work of Light for Children throughout 2011.

With love,
Helen and Costel.

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News from Romania 5 September 2011 (real names have been removed)

Before bringing you up-to-date with news from Romania, I would just like to thank you for all that you have been doing to fundraise and generally support the charity over the last few months. We are always very encouraged to hear that a fundraising event is taking place and then to hear of its success is fantastic. Our thanks also for the Christmas gifts that have started to come in and for all the hard work that goes into organising that. Our ongoing thanks for all the boxes that you send, the contents of which are such a great help.

Here in Dorohoi, all the children and young people are generally doing well. During the summer holidays, we have tried to help as many of the children from the apartments as possible to go on either a daytrip or a short break. At the beginning of July, as a charity we paid for 20 children and 2 adults to go to a Christian camp in the mountains. This was quite a considerable financial commitment, but they had a wonderful time and came back singing Christian songs and reciting Bible verses! We’ve also arranged several local daytrips and have been involved in running a holiday club twice a week for the apartment children at a local school.

During July, we had several visitors. Sheila Jackson, who helped us a lot with Edi when he had his transplant in Sheffield, came to stay with us for just under two weeks. Towards the end of July, Jan and Robert Baxter, representing “Alba Aid” from Scotland, came to spend 10 days with us. Jan and Robert have been once a year, for the last 6 years and so have built up friendships with some of the young people. They brought small gifts with them for the children, as well as a sewing machine and some bedding. They also had funds with them and made a donation of £340 to our registered charity in Romania, to be used specifically for speech therapy/ extra support for three young children with special needs who have recently come into the state run apartments.

Alex, our young man with epilepsy, moved into the home for young adults back in June and is now feeling settled. Praise God that since moving there, he has been taking his medication on time and hasn’t had any fits. I still see him once a month when I take his medication and I also went over to Botosani to celebrate his birthday with him in August, but it is great to know that he is in a safe place.

Harry and Alice have announced that they are expecting a baby in March!! Alice has been to Iasi for tests and so far, all is well. Her own medication has been changed to accommodate the pregnancy. Harry and Alice have been told that they will receive a council property in Botosani this autumn/winter. They will have an apartment in a new block of flats. At the moment, the utilities are still to be connected, but they are hopeful that things will be ready before the end of the year.

Until recently, Harry and Alice had been sharing rented accommodation with four of the other girls. The other girls have all recently moved on to different rented places. We keep in touch and they are all keeping well. Harry and Alice phoned me last week to say that they were in a difficult situation. They had paid their rent until the end of August and had been asked to leave, as they didn’t want to sign a contract for a further 6mths, hoping that their council property would soon be ready. To cut a long story short, we have moved them in to the room next door to Bill in Dorohoi, where Alex stayed previously. The room has been painted and although very basic, is acceptable as a short term, emergency measure. The rent is £30 a month, where as in Botosani, it would be £90 for a one roomed flat. The things that we receive in the boxes have been amazing for them. They arrived with just their clothes, so I was able to give them all these things from the apartment downstairs: bedding, towels, toiletries, dustpan and brush, kitchen utensils, mugs, plates, pans, washing up liquid etc, etc.

In June, a ten-year-old boy fell from a tree, breaking his leg. He needed surgery and spent the first two weeks in hospital. He then went home to his apartment in Dorohoi for 6 weeks before returning to the hospital in Botosani to have his plaster off on 24 August. The bone has healed well but he now needs to learn to walk again and is in hospital in Botosani, receiving physiotherapy. Throughout the summer, I have been visiting him to make sure he has everything that he needs and whilst he has been in hospital, I’ve been going over to Botosani 2 or 3 times a week with food, clean pyjamas, books etc. He is making progress but still has a long way to go.

Tim, a 7-year-old autistic boy who we support with medication, is making good progress. His parents really do try very hard to help him and are delighted with his progress. There are clearly still problems, but his behaviour, sleeping patterns and speech are all improving.

The new school year starts here on 12 September, so we are busy trying to help as many of the children as possible to get ready. In the boxes we received a lot of new school uniforms, as well as a lot of Chase Terrace sweatshirts and school pumps, so we really have been able to help a lot of children. More and more young children are coming into the apartments, so the needs continue!

Thank you again, Helen xx

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Newsletter for Jan 2011

Costel and I hope that you enjoy hearing our latest news and look forward to keeping in touch with you throughout 2011.

Teddy Bears

We are very grateful to St Giles Hospice Promotions Ltd, based at Catton Park in South Derbyshire, for having donated so many new teddy bears to us. Approximately 80 bears arrived safely in Dorohoi before Christmas and we understand that at least the same number have been packed and are already on their way to us.

We were delighted to be able offer the bears as Christmas gifts to the children in the Sunday School at our church in Dorohoi, as well as to all the children in Billy’s class. (not his real name)

Billy’s’s class is very special in that all the children attend school each day from 8am – 4pm and have two class teachers, who are husband and wife. The children are very well looked after at school and as their school day is unusually long, enjoy a variety of extra curriculum activities. Their class teacher is very musical and has taught the whole class to play the recorder. Although the children are only in Year 2, they are already very good and are regularly asked to perform in local concerts. Initially, Billy’s couldn’t participate but thanks to my Dad, Billy’s now has a small tambourine that he uses to accompany the recorders in a very rhythmic way. He has picked it up really well and is now very much part of the music group. He often invites me to see him play and so I have got to know his classmates quite well. When I heard that Father Christmas would be attending their Christmas concert, I knew that the teddy bears would find good homes amongst them!

Christmas concert for the children and young people from the apartments in Dorohoi

On 6 December, Romanian children traditionally clean their boots and leave them by the front door, awaiting the arrival of St Nicholas. Once again this year, we prepared a parcel of juice, cakes, biscuits, fruit and chocolate for each of the state run apartments in Dorohoi (130 children in total).

Soon afterwards, some of the young people from the apartments started to prepare for their annual Christmas concert and invited me to attend. I have always been able to support them and to give them gifts or treats of fruit and chocolate etc. However, this year I really felt that I should do something different. Although the young people always put on a great show of singing, dancing and drama, it really does have very little to do with the true meaning of Christmas.

After much thought, I decided to accept their invitation and did go along to watch their performance in a local school hall. They were a little surprised to see that I had come without gifts but were nevertheless delighted to hear that I had planned a surprise for them.

The following day, I invited the young people from our church to come along and put on a Christian Christmas concert for the children and young people in state care. They prepared a program of carols, Bible verses and a short message about the true meaning of Christmas. A Romanian friend helped me by making home made cakes for everyone and the young people from the church served them to the other children, along with juice, oranges, biscuits and chocolate.

A copy of the following Christmas prayer awaited each child on his or her seat:

My Christmas Prayer

Thank you Jesus for leaving your home in Heaven and coming here to Earth. As a small child you lived in a stables because nobody wanted to let you into a nice, clean place to give you a warm bed. You know what it means to be poor and to be refused. You suffered all that for me.
Thank you Jesus because you grew up poor. You understand me; you know my childish dreams, problems, hurts and worries.
When you were a young man you died for me on a cross and by your death, you healed me from all my sickness and all my mistakes; you took all my pain upon yourself.
By your death on the cross and with your holy blood, you paid for all my sins. By your resurrection from death you crushed the power of sin.
You stand with your arms open wide and you call me to come to you. You desire so much to take me in your loving arms and to forgive me for all my mistakes.

Dear Jesus, I want to say something to you:

“Yes, Jesus, please take me in your arms.
Please forgive me for all my mistakes
and let me have a new, eternal life.
I want to know you better
and to love you more and more
all the days of my life.

I desire with all my heart to be your child forever and ever.
Amen”

The children were so excited to be our guests and to be served with so many good things. They enjoyed the carols, clapping enthusiastically at the end of each song or Bible verse. Underneath the Christmas tree, we had prepared shoebox gifts for all the children. The gifts were donated to us by another charity and had been stored in our apartment for several weeks. I had asked for a list of names and stuck labels on all the boxes to make them more personal, which the children loved. Towards the end of the concert, the director of the apartments called each child out in turn to receive his or her gift. (By the way, Billy’s just happened to receive sleigh bells in his shoebox so he now has two percussion instruments!)

Not only did all the children and young people from the apartments have a great time but it was also something of a first for the young people from the church, who very rarely do anything “in the community”. By way of encouragement, I decided to give the young people from the church £50 to start a “mission fund”. They have since been to sing together in a village church in the next county. We truly believe that everyone benefited on this special occasion and are already wondering how we can arrange a similar event at Easter! Costel and I just hope that we won’t have to keep a donkey in our apartment for several weeks before the Easter concert!

Christmas gifts from England

Thank you to everyone who sent Christmas gifts from England for the children. The theme this year was hats, scarves and gloves! Once again, the children were delighted with their surprises and their parents were very grateful for your kind generosity.

A special thank you to Pippa Williams who once again sent Christmas cards to the children in state care as well as funds towards their Christmas treats.

Young people becoming more independent (Not real names)

In my Christmas newsletter I explained that a number of our young people have recently left state care and moved on to new things.

All of the “Lizuca” girls have now left state care. Julie, who wouldn’t have been able to manage without a carer, has returned to her parents’ home. All of the other girls have found rented accommodation in Botosani. In fact, Abi and Tom, who got married in 2010, are now sharing an apartment with four of the “Lizuca” girls: Fiona, Barbara, Sharon and Liz. They are also very supportive to each other and it is great for me to be able to keep in touch with so many of them under one roof!

Several young men left state care in the autumn to work for a clothing company in Bucharest. They are all happy and are being treated well. At Christmas, they had a few days off and when their boss realised that they didn’t actually have anywhere to go “home” to for Christmas, he paid for the boys to spend a few days in a hotel in Botosani. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves, as they were able to catch up with old friends locally.

In October, two young men went to work in a “Panasonic” factory in Czechoslovakia. Just before Christmas they were sent home, as there was to be no work for them for a month. Brian went to stay with his girlfriend’s family. Tim phoned us when he entered Romania to say that he would be coming to stay with us for Christmas – 5 weeks actually! Once again Costel and I thanked God for our second apartment and all those who raise funds to keep it running (the Seighford team and Yvonne Marklew and friends!). We welcomed Tim. Whilst abroad he had had his wallet stolen, so during his time in Dorohoi, we helped him to get a new birth certificate, identity card and passport. He even left us a “thank you” note and is storing a lot of his belongings in the apartment, so will no doubt be back again at some point!

Our two young Moms are keeping well. Lynda is doing a great job with her two young boys. Again, just before Christmas, we had to find rented accommodation for a 19-year-old boy who left state care in the autumn to work with a shepherd. Things didn’t work out and he was literally on the streets for a couple of days until he made contact with us. He has epilepsy, so desperately needed to get some order back in his life to be able to look after himself and take his medication. We have rented a room for him next door to Lynda and she is helping us to keep an eye on him. She even helps him to light his fire each evening, as this is something that he isn’t used to doing. Avril keeps us extremely busy but her children are also well. Naomi, born in August last year, is our youngest beneficiary! Bill has really taken to his baby sister and she is blossoming in every way!

Throughout the winter we have kept these young families well supplied with firewood. As a charity, we also cover their rent and bills, leaving them responsible to buy their own food with the child benefits that they receive.


This is really just a taste of what we have been doing. I could go on and on but realise that time will be limited at the meeting. Whilst I can’t thank everyone individually, I would like to thank you all once again for helping to make these things possible.

With our love,
Helen and Costel xx.

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Notes from Helen September 2010

Hi there,

An update just to let you know a little bit of information about the young people who have left the state care system over the last few months/ weeks: Real names have not been used.
Gail, one of the Lizuca girls, has returned to her birth Mother/ step Dad, in a village the other side of Botosani. I haven't heard from her directly, as she hasn't got a phone, but the nurses at the hospital have said that she has been coming to pick up medication and seems to be okay.
Gill, another Lizuca girl, got married on 16th July. They are very happy together and are renting a small apartment in Botosani. We are still in regular contact.
Three of lads have gone to work for a clothing company in Bucharest. The manager is from Botosani and went to the orphanages looking for boys to employ. I was a bit sceptical about it at first but the boys are happy. One of the boys went first and gave the company a good reference. The boys are living and eating in an apartment owned by the clothing company and are responsible for things such as moving/ loading/ unloading boxes of clothes and attaching labels/packaging. The boys could have continued with at least one more school year but chose to leave the system themselves. I can contact them by phone.
Two of the girls have left Dorohoi to live with their boyfriends in different towns close to Bucharest. Joan could have done one more year at school. Sandra failed her sixth form exams so was unable to continue to university. I've spoken to both girls since they left the beginning of September
Jack has also chosen to leave the system without completing his education. He hasn't got regular work but is surviving working "here and there" and is currently staying with a family in Dorohoi.
Bill failed his sixth form exams, so is unable to go to university. He has been asked to leave the apartments asap, so he is in the process of looking for work and is likely to move on this autumn. I have offered to help him find accommodation and possible pay for a further education course if he chooses to stay in Dorohoi but he is undecided. He's actually quite down so I would very much value your prayers for him please.
We have supported all these young people as much as possible, both emotionally and practically with things that they have needed. We have made it clear to them that our door would be open if they choose to return.

News from Romania - September 2009

Our greetings and thanks to everyone who is attending the AGM this evening. Here is just a taste of what has been happening in Dorohoi over the last few weeks:

At the end of August/ beginning of September we enjoyed Lynn and Maggie’s company for a week, taking the time to catch up with various families and young people in and around Dorohoi. Not having been to Romania for at least two years, I think that Lynn and Maggie could see quite distinct changes in both the people and the place.

For many of our children and young people, September is a particularly important month as it is the start of the new academic year following a three month summer holiday. Several of our youngest children have started nursery school and are thoroughly enjoying the company of other children as well as the routine and challenges that nursery offers. The vast majority of our young people have gone back to school, several starting sixth form courses.

Sam*, who is 8, has started school for the first time. Sam was electrocuted over twelve months ago and as a result of horrific burns lost the lower part of his right arm. He is now doing really well but to give him that extra boost, we are paying for him to stay at school for a full eight-hour day (most primary aged children stay for four hours). He is really enjoying himself so far.

Jim*, who is now 18, transferred from special school to mainstream sixth form last year. This September, he expressed an interest in transferring again to an art school in Botosani. Although he is a gifted artist and the school have agreed for him to attend painting classes twice a week, after his normal school day. We have paid the registration fee and provided the art materials that he needs. A local transport company have given him a free bus pass to be able to travel to and from Botosani as he needs to.

Phil* will start his second year at university this week and Brian* has also got a place at university to study social work. Over the last few years we have supported him to do a “certificate” in social work and also to gain work experience at an old peoples home as well as a canteen/ homework club for poor children. The students entering university need to pay student fees, he will be required to pay £400 a year for three years. Child protection will cover his accommodation and food. Over the last 5-6 years, Brian has been saving money in a bank account. He will pay some of his fees and we are delighted to be able to help him, particularly as he has tried so hard to help himself.

All of our young people who are now living independently are doing well. Having helped them such a lot in the early stages, we are now gradually redressing the balance so that they are taking more and more responsibility for themselves. Steve* is about to move to a different rented room so that he will have a fireplace for the winter months. Now that Gianina’s eldest son is at nursery, she has started to receive the dental treatment that she so urgently needs.

This is just a taste of the sort of things that we have been involved with this month. We are very grateful for your continued support, which enables us to help and encourage so many of the young people here.

Helen.

*Not their real name

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Newsletter Summer 2009

Before sharing all our news with you, we would like to take this opportunity to thank you very much for your continued support, without which, none of what we describe below would be possible.

Young people in care
We are delighted to be able to tell you that Florin has successfully completed his first year at university and is working at a Christian campsite in the mountains during the summer holidays. Giani, Petronela and Aurelia, our young people doing work experience, have each enjoyed their placements this year. Giani and Petronela have worked with disadvantaged children at a canteen/ homework club throughout the academic year. Aurelia continues to work in a local restaurant at weekends, where she has been asked to do extra hours to help at weddings and other celebrations.

Independent living
Several of our young people have now moved out of state care and are living independently in Dorohoi.

Raluca (21) got married at our local registry office in February and is expecting a baby in October. She is living with her husband in Dorohoi but comes to us regularly for help with food or medication. We have got lots of clothes and other items ready for her baby.

Ionut (22) left the state run apartments in April and is now renting a small room in a house in Dorohoi. He receives benefits which enable him to pay his rent and to buy some food. He keeps his money with us and comes to us three or four times a week to take what he needs for food. He also uses our apartment to wash his clothes. Although Ionut would find it difficult to hold down a full time job, we are very pleased that he is doing some voluntary work at a local charity shop, which gives him a real purpose each day.

Gianina (24) and her two boys Seby (5) and Narcis (2) have had a difficult year but are now settled in a rented room in Dorohoi. They receive food from a local canteen during the week, so I visit them each Friday with food for the weekend, nappies etc. Seby is looking forward to starting nursery school in September and Narcis is concentrating all his energy on potty training this summer!

Visitors from the UK
We have been fortunate this year to have had three different groups of visitors from the UK. In February, a team came over from Langworthy Community Church in Salford, to meet and encourage our young people and families. In May, a team from Seighford joined us for a few days. As well as meeting our young people, they worked very hard to paint the living room in the apartment where our young people come to us. In July, Jan and Bob Baxter, representing Alba Aid from north east Scotland, drove out to spend ten busy days with us. Thank you very much to each of these groups of people for their time, energy and encouragement. We are looking forward to the arrival of Lynn and Maggie at the end of August.

Boxes from England
Throughout the year, we have received many boxes of clothing, bedding, toiletries and other items from England. We are very grateful to everybody who has not only donated these items but also lovingly packed them and sent them to the warehouse in Surrey in time to be loaded onto a lorry. Our thanks, also, to the Romanian Aid Foundation for enabling us to have space on their lorries. We can’t describe to you just how much joy the contents of these boxes bring. Our young people and families are continually blessed to receive the good things that you send. Receiving so much from England also enables us to use the funds that we have to buy other vital things, such as food and medication.

Support and encouragement
As well as offering practical support, particularly medication and access to medical care, a lot of our time is taken up in providing emotional support and encouragement. This can mean visiting HIV+ young people in hospital, counselling teenagers or keeping up contact with young people who have returned to their natural families. We continue to celebrate birthdays together and to encourage our young people to think about their faith and whenever possible, to attend church. Two of our teenagers have expressed an interest in being baptised, which we are delighted about.

With our sincere thanks, Helen and Costel

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NEWSLETTER AUTUMN 2008

We would like to take this opportunity to thank everybody who has supported our work with children and young people in northeast Romania during 2008. Once again we have had a busy year and have been able to help many people as a result of your kind generosity. As well as supporting our core group of seventy young people, many of whom live in state care, we have also been able to help a number of other children who have recently been abandoned or who have particular special needs. In this newsletter, we will attempt to outline the different areas of our work to give you a flavour of what we have been doing this year.

Teenagers in care
Our core group of young people in state care are now nearly all aged between 17 and 22 years. As well as supporting them with medication and access to medical care, we have continued to provide the vast majority of their clothing and toiletries, as well as any books or special equipment that they have needed for school. Our eldest boy, has started at university this autumn and for several of the other young people, we have been able to arrange work experience in places such as a bakery, a restaurant and a canteen/ homework club for poor children. Above all, we have tried to be trustworthy friends at a time when so much is changing in their lives. This is perhaps the most demanding job of all, being surrogate parents to so many teenagers!

New children coming into the care system
In recent months, a number of young children have moved into the state run apartments in Dorohoi. These children have either been abandoned by their parents or removed from their homes by the Child Protection authorities. They have arrived with just the clothes that they have been wearing, often quite malnourished and disturbed by their experiences. We have been able to provide each of these children with a parcel of clothes and toys, as well as school equipment and medication, where it has been needed. Costel has also been able to cut all the boys hair, making them look smart for their new schools. Not only has this been a practical help to them but it has also been an encouragement for them to know that somebody cares about them in their new homes.

Mother and son
Mother (20) and her son (2) are both keeping well. We continue to rent a small house for them in Dorohoi and also pay their bills and provide their food and clothing. Mum is taking her responsibilities seriously and her young son is doing very well with his potty training and his speech is improving all the time. He enjoys playing with toy cars and animals but more than anything, enjoys “repairing” bits and pieces in his little house with his plastic JCB toolkit! He is a very happy boy and we are so pleased that he has been saved from being brought up in the state care system.

Apartment
Having received a specific donation, this autumn we have been able to replace the windows in the apartment that we use for our work with the young people. This has already made a tremendous difference and we are very grateful to those who made this possible. Having two apartments in the same block (one owned by the charity and one rented) continues to work really well for both the young people and ourselves. The teenagers come to us regularly either to use the computer, sewing machine, washing machine or bathroom, or just to talk or to do homework. It is a safe place for them and their belongings, which many of them store with us, knowing that nothing will be taken from them.

Hospital visits
I continue to visit any of our young people who are in hospital, whether it be the children’s hospital, psychiatric unit or contagious diseases hospital. They are always pleased to have a visitor and I try wherever possible to take them food, changes of clothing and anything else that they might need. One of our teenage boys, has recently had surgery on his ear in Iasi, a town approximately 150km from Dorohoi. In order for the operation to go ahead, his birth Mother had to give her permission for the surgery in front of a public notary. I was able to take the document to the hospital and stay with him as he recovered from his operation. He has never seen his Mother, but is very keen to meet her. He knew that I had been in touch with her and one of the first things he said when he came round from the anaesthetic was “I think my Mom will come to see me now”. He was still wearing an oxygen mask and had his eyes closed but he knew exactly what he was most looking forward to! It is a privilege to share such precious moments with our young people.

Thank you once again for your continued support,
Helen and Costel.