A belated Happy New Year

A belated Happy New Year to all our friends and supporters, and welcome to our second newsletter for Hands of Hope Romania!

Before going any further can we just say a huge THANK YOU for the extremely generous donations and gifts that we received for the Romanian people, following our November newsletter. Your generosity allowed us to make Christmas a very special time for so many more people in Jibou.

The run up to Christmas was a busy time for us. Sarah, who is the project co-ordinator for HoH, had designated time and funds to redecorate the homes of two families. Rodica’s home, which consists of one room where she and her two teenage daughters live, was the first to be decorated. In Romania the only paint available is a substance called ’var’, a lime-wash resembling whitewash, to which a colour can be added. It is a tricky substance to use and we had to enlist the help of a local man to help us. Rodica is delighted with both the colour and the finished result! The second home was decorated during December – once a resident mouse had been persuaded to move out!

We have been developing the team of people to help us with administering the work of HoH: there is Mrs Simeoni, our cook; Lacry, a local girl who helps with the distribution of the food parcels, and Nadia, a Romanian national, and valued team member who assists us one day a week. In addition, we also work closely with Mona, a social worker who is an important link with the council, and we have a good relationship with the Mayor of Jibou.

This year we wanted to do something new at Christmas, so we approached the Mayor for help; he kindly allowed us to use the Town Hall to host a Party for the children of the families we work with and some of the gypsy children. Thanks to the generosity of Lancashire Police who gave us a donation to fund the party, we were able to provide Romanian party food and gifts for over forty children. It had been a real team effort to get the party off the ground and well worth all the time and hard work. During the afternoon we played English games such as Pass the Parcel, sang songs and told a story. This was simple fun and enjoyed immensely by the children, many of whom would have been given nothing for Christmas other than what they received at the party.

December was a busy month; it started with St Nicholas Day on the 6th. As many of you will know, several countries in Europe celebrate this day, when Father Christmas visits to deliver presents to the children. Traditionally children receive sweets in their shoes, which they put out in the evening having carefully cleaned and polished them. We made up packages to deliver to all the children whom we have contact with, plus some extra to deliver to the gypsy children who beg on the streets. Each child received a bar of chocolate, a bag of popped rice, Christmas sweets, and an apple. We delivered the packages to all the families the evening before which was a great privilege because of the children’s reactions; there was one family where, totally unprompted, the children got down on their knees and said a prayer of thanks.

We want to buy a vehicle in Romania; it’s no fun delivering parcels and hot food in the snow! It would also be a great asset in helping us to take people to medical appointments as well as transporting food, purchased in bulk, for the food parcels. We have already begun a car fund and have collected £1000. We are aiming to raise approximately £8000 to buy the vehicle and cover the costs of taxes and insurance. We will keep you updated over its progress!

Before we finish, everyone working in Romania and in England on the Hands of Hope team would like to express our heartfelt gratitude and thanks for your continuing provision and prayers. Your support is encouraging, and is enabling us to have a real impact on the lives of the people in Jibou.

God Bless you all,

Karen and Sarah