Updates–2023

Link to the Day Centre 2023 gallery here

October 2023 – A new school year has begun again with the children participating enthusiastically in getting homework help, being taught and in educational activities. They are happy with their donated backpacks full of school supplies. It's also a busy time at the farm with harvesting corn, and with the last cutting of alfalfa and hay for the animals' winter food.
Summer finished up with almost all the boys coming daily to help clean and prepare the Centre for another school year, and to fish in the pond. The parents often phoned Marius to say that the boys could hardly wait for the next day to go to the Centre to be with him. I am so thankful we can provide this healthy loving environment.
Some weeks ago Oana and Marius were given 400 kg of yellow beans which they packed up with the children to give to their families. The parents canned and froze them, extremely thankful for this food for the winter.

July 2023 – Fifteen year old Carina who we helped get through public school, has now got her grade 9 at a vocational school in the city. We helped her with clothes and supplies at this school. This summer she is coming to the Centre every day to study and prepare for her practical. She is staying close to our staff and avoiding a group who would not be a good influence on her.
Like Carina, we helped seventeen year old Andrea finish public school. She has now finished her last year of vocational school. Our social workers helped her get a job at a thread factory and she is delighted to be able to earn money.
Nine year old Gabi is a boy who never misses a day at the Centre. He came one day with mismatched shoes, the only ones which weren't ripped, and was so happy to receive a new pair. He is extremely focused when he studies; in his soul he wants a life free of the poverty-provoked worry and the stress he's grown up with.
Sergiu who is twelve, has become a serious boy who now values his education, and concentrates on his homework. He is one of the boys who is very involved with the farm activities, and loves the animals so much that he wants to be a farmer. He has become trustworthy and if something needs to be done, he is there to do a good job.
Moise who is twelve as well, has the capacity to be a good influence on those around him. His only desire is to do well at school so that he can get a job to support his sick parents. Even with all his struggles at home, he's gone daily to school and comes daily to the Centre. He loves the farm activities, the farm itself is a place of peace for him.
To celebrate International Children's Day, the children made cakes, something they had never done before. The children were in teams and had so much fun with this new life experience!
The school year ended successfully for all the children. They go to the Day Centre all summer so they can be fed and get help with their summer homework, and their parents can be free to get agriculture jobs.

April 2023 – This winter was a very cold one and our children didn't have much heat or food at home, so they spent more hours every day at the Day Centre. It seemed very good for them to be away from the worry, severe lack and problems of the adults at home. At the Centre they concentrated on their homework, enjoyed activities like ping pong, and ate. We continue to buy boots and shoes for the children who need them.
In February, Oana heard about 4 families whose children come to the Centre, who had absolutely nothing to eat and no money. It was such a situation of extreme poverty, so they went to the barn, got a pig, had it butchered and divided it between the families. The families were extremely happy for the help in their critical situations. Unemployment and severe inflation have made life almost unbearable for some.
Farm activities which the children love, started again in March with the arrival of spring.
Getting ready for Easter was fun with egg painting, dandelion crown making and painting Easter theme pictures.
The last week of April the village school children had a field trip but our children couldn't go because they couldn't pay. So Oana and Marius planned a whole day at the farm for them and they were delighted!
Five boys have been working very hard cleaning around the Centre and were rewarded with a fishing day at the farm with Marius. The fish are small but the boys really enjoy being out there. These adolescents need a lot of guidance and teaching. Their relationship with Marius, who's a good father figure for them, is deepening.

January 2023 – January began with the children feeling good about their wonderful Christmas season. They sang in a fund-raising event with a popular folk singer which was fun because it meant going to a pretty place in the city! Then medical students visited the Centre and gave out Christmas boxes to the children. Our social workers do well at getting the community involved. The last day of school was the celebration at our Centre. Presents mean a lot to the children, they motivate them in learning and good behavior. And the parents appreciate them so much, the practical things in the packages are a help to the family.
Oana, our social worker was telling me more about Madalin, one of the boys in the newsletter, who feels so alienated at the special needs school where he goes once a week, how he feels so loved and at home at our Centre. He is trying so hard with our staff's help to learn to read. Izabela, who we buy the bus pass to the city high school for, is very grateful, is getting good marks and so happy to be able to go to high school.
Six year old Alexandra has gotten over her extreme timidity and hopelessness. She'd been influenced by her mother who told her to just not bother because they are poor and nothing can be done. With the support and strong, positive influence of our staff, Alexandra is now able to make decisions, and speak up at school and at the Centre. This change in her attitude and behaviour is affecting her schoolwork for the better
Emanuel is 7 and often talked about how hungry he was at home and that there's not enough food. So as well as the lunchtime hot meal he eats at the Centre, he eats before he goes home. Often the cook packs up food for him.