Dear Friends and Supporters,
Since our last newsletter lots has been happening! In
December 2010 Jean and Karen visited Jibou just after the shoebox gifts had
arrived. Jean and Karen spent a busy week helping to distribute some of the
gifts to children throughout Jibou and district. On a snowy Sunday evening they
gave out some of the gifts for babies under one year old to the Roma community
in Jibou, assisted by Solomon and Rodica. It was snowing heavily as they went
round house to house to give out the much needed items, which included baby
clothing, blankets and toiletries.
At other times various other gifts were given out to the
toddlers, and on a separate occasion Christmas packages for widows and widowers
were given out, including socks and blankets.
Hands of Hope Romania also provided shoebox gifts for
some non-Roma families and Jean and Karen visited some homes in Jibou with
Lacry, to give out gifts. Jean and Karen were also able to visit a family of
ten children in the village of Cecu on the way to Zalau to give out gifts.
Their eldest child, aged fifteen, had just been admitted to hospital with a
broken leg and we were able to assist the family with some of the costs.
During the visit, Jean, who is a qualified teacher, spent
some time working with Rodica at the local school assisting with her lessons
and working directly with the children to do various tasks including
preparations for displays. The children really enjoyed the creative input that
Jean was able to give!
Overall it was a successful trip and during the visit
Jean and Karen were able to liaise with Victor and Solomon to re-start food
packets for widows and widowers for twenty-two people in the Roma community.
These individuals now receive a substantial food-packet once a month. There are
also nine other families that Hands of Hope assist in Jibou.
At Easter 2011 Sarah visited Jibou. Sarah was able to
meet with the group of Roma widows who were all very pleased to be receiving
food packets again. It’s perhaps hard for us to appreciate in the UK how
difficult it is for that group of people to manage, but the packets do make a
vital difference.
Sarah was able to catch up with some of the families we
have assisted over the years within Jibou, including a young woman with a child
whose mother had recently passed away. We were able to assist with a
contribution to her utilities (gas) which, despite wages being at least ten
times less than the UK, are about the same cost as in the UK.
Sarah was able to visit the social work department in Zalau
with a friend Daniel, who showed her around the projects they run there
including a cantina/food kitchen for Roma people.
While in Jibou Sarah was able to take a group of
twenty-two Roma children on a picnic with Solomon to the river Somes near
Jibou. The children were able to enjoy salami, juice and sausages provided by
Hands of Hope, while playing a variety of games. To us here in the UK it sounds
like simple fun, but to the children it was a special treat that they would not
otherwise enjoy.
Hands of Hope have been supporting two young people in
higher education and it is congratulations to Julia for completing her Masters
degree in genetics and Bianca for completing her degree on European Studies.
They have both been studying at Babes Boylai university in Cluj. Well done to
both of them!
We also cannot forget our very own Sarah White who has
just obtained a First Class degree from Edge Hill University in Social Work
Studies. Well done Sarah!
For those of you who are energetic out there, it will be
the third Walk of Hope on Saturday the 3rd of September. The walk has expanded
since we began in 2009 and we are working together with other local charities
such as the Maisy Rose Project and Twinkle House to make the event bigger and
better than ever. There will be a family walk, of a couple of miles for
children run by the Maisy Rose Project, and two other walks of either 18 or 25
miles depending on your fitness level. See the website www.walkofhope.co.uk for further
details of how you can enter. There will also be stalls and activities on the
day at the finish that you can enjoy even if you don’t wish to do any walking.
Please get involved or promote the event where you can as it has become a major
source of income for Hands of Hope that supports our activities in Jibou.
Thank you once again for your support both financial and
otherwise: we cannot run Hands of Hope Romania without you, and even the
smallest donation can make a big difference for children and adults in Jibou
who are living in severe poverty, as a little can go a long way.
Thank you.
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