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Winter 2009 newsletter
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News
Although the warehouse has closed we are still here. We are fundraising by different means and taking money raised out to Romania with us.Our focus is on the abandoned children, supporting our old folks home and support for the schools, especially our gypsy school as we all feel as a charity that the way forward for the future of these children is through education.
We are also supporting the local youth club which is open to anyone in the city.
Sponsorship
We are continuing the work with the abandoned children. Adriana and Cristina are doing an exceptionally good job with the children. Sadly children are still living in awful conditions in the poorer areas and, consequently, there is still an influx of abandoned children. Therefore, the work the girls do is vital. The hospital is extremely clean and the staff work hard but there is such a lack of financial assistance. We still need the support of sponsors to enable this vital work to continue.The children are developing well thanks to the support of the hospital staff, our girls, and mainly your sponsorship without which we could not provide the necessary care the children need. A great big thank you to all our sponsors, you are making a huge difference to the quality of life of these children.
If you know of anyone who would like to become a sponsor please contact the White Rose Initiative via our contact page as we need all the help we can get.
September trip
Our OAP's home is looking really nice and the medical room is functioning well. The highlight was our usual party with cakes, watermelon and coffee.Sadly we have lost ten of our old people since our last visit. That meant ten funerals to assist with financially. If anyone could contribute towards the costs, ten pounds will help. Our old folk have no family to rely on and we are the only help they have to ensure a dignified end. The chapel at the home is really nice and the local priest, Dan, comes and conducts the service where all their friends can attend.
The positives are we have ten new people who have settled in well. It is sad to see two really young women who are both widowed and who could not survive alone, but since moving into the home they help care for the older ones.
Once again we were in the right place at the right time. The laundry at the home was short of a washing machine and had no hot water as both a washing machine and the boiler had recently stopped working. We were able to provide a new washing machine and install and pay for a boiler. Since joining the EU, many Europeans have bought homes in Romania. As a result of this lots of shops and hypermarkets have opened which gives us access to goods we could not buy before.
The Youth Club is an amazing centre. The English books we had sent out are now arranged into a library on the former warehouse shelving.
We were treated to another dance show and were shown the wonderful costumes made by the dance teacher with the materials we sent. Nora the dance teacher was so thrilled with the sequins Caroline had bought from Dunelm Mill on a strict budget of £20 set by Eileen. It was worth every penny of the £40 she spent to see sequins on everything! If anyone would like to buy any trimmings for the dance costumes we can take them in our cases.
The computer room is really good now having been equipped with new tables and chairs. Some of the children came to show us their work and the certificates from the competitions they had won.
Our girls Cristina and Adriana are well established at the paediatric hospital and are now accepted by the staff as part of their team providing valuable work and care of the abandoned babies. During the September visit we had 5 children.
The conditions in the hospital have improved a great deal but there was a desperate need for a new floor covering as the lino had become badly damaged. The children were restricted to their cots and we replaced the lino. This has made a big difference to the children's daily routine. Casters have now been fitted to the cots to stop them damaging the floor in the future.
The director from Papa Radu School came to see us and gave us the following letter of thanks. No more needs to be said, your help is so appreciated:
Now, in the twelfth year of our collaboration, we feel more than ever, the need to say a heart-felt "Thank you", for your sincere preoccupation towards our pupils and our school, as well as towards the needs of the Romanian education system, which, at this point, is trying to make all necessary changes in order to be fully integrated into the European educational system.
We sincerely thank you for all your help, for all the furniture that is so necessary in the classrooms we work and learn every day.
We can only express our gratitude for the informatics laboratory which contributes every day to the accomplishment of our pupils' education, by broadening their horizon, thus, giving us the certainty of becoming European citizens, thanks to your help.
On behalf of the pupils and the teachers,
Daniela Musunoi
Director
"Radu Popa" Secondary School
The work the teachers do with the group of gypsy children at the 7th November School is unbelievable. It is amazing progress. The computer class is well run, giving the children a good foundation for the future.
It was the school holidays when we arrived and the school was closed but the teachers all came to greet us. St Benidicts School, Garforth, had given us school uniforms and wanted some photos, so we went to the village and asked for some children to come with us. Five children ran along with a little one behind. When Caroline asked if he was coming too, he said he couldn't as he only went to kindergarten. When we said he could come, he marched down with us, his arms swinging and with the biggest smile on his face. The boys asked Eileen if they could have some water as it was very hot. We all smiled when they emerged from the toilets beaming and wet as they had all washed, and one had soap in his hair.
The director told the boys to tell everyone that when they come to school they will have new trousers, new shirts and jumpers. Something so small can make such a difference.
Remember there is only one water tap in a field supplying over a hundred families and still every child comes to school clean - I doubt we could do that!
Although we can no longer send goods to the psychiatric hospital at Târnăveni, we will still visit. The visits mean a lot to the residents who, we were told, say that when they see the snow melting or the leaves changing colour it means that the English are coming soon. What a sad situation when we are the only visitors. The biscuits and cigarettes are so looked forward to. One resident, in seclusion at the time of our visit, dropped a piece of plastic cup on a string from his window for Eileen to put a cigarette in for him.
We do make a difference thanks to all of you. Appreciate what you have - it is far more than these forgotten people will ever have. Thank you for your continuing support.
Prostheses
Amazingly it is 3 years since we helped Olympia, one of the staff at the old folks home, who had recently had a mastectomy. We managed to take out some prosthetic breasts and, in her words, she felt like a new woman. She walked out wearing only a jumper instead of her usual coat covering up her disfigurement.Thanks to Mark of Yorkshire Aid Convoy and his contacts we have a supply of protheses and have been able to help more than 80 women ranging from 18-60. This is a translation of a letter from one of them:
I received treatment for breast cancer in 2004. I underwent chemotherapy before having an operation (total mastectomy.) The result was that I was left without a breast but the lymph nodes were removed without metastasis. I thank God that I survived. I have not received any further chemotherapy or radiotherapy, only treatment for 5 years with tamoxifen to protect my remaining breast.
However, I had a strange feeling that is hard to explain. A mixture of shame that I was mutilated, along with the shame that I could not wear normal clothes. I needed psychiatric counselling, but this is not available in our hospitals.
I needed to live with my faith in God. And God helped me. He brought me something to replace my breast and to make me look like I did before. When standing in line to see the doctor, a lady told me she had received a prosthesis from someone in Sighişoara. Of course I asked her how could I get one. This is how I learned about Mrs Mioara [Mimi] Korban.
I became human again. I could talk about the disease more easily and I could give moral support to others who had been in the same situation as me. It gives them the confidence that there is someone who can help them. It encourages them, gives them hope, and even gets a smile through the tears.
I am very happy and I want to thank with all my heart Mrs Korban and [the White Rose Initiative] for helping restore my mental state.
Mihaela Antal
Braşov,
19.06.2009
Fundraising
We need your help and support with fundraising. Any ideas are welcomed.Fundraising events are taking place on the following dates in 2010:
Saturday, 9th January - Pudsey House, The Market Place, Pudsey. LS28 7BE.
Wednesday, 3rd March - St Crux Hall, Pavement, York. YO1 9UP.
Saturday, 10th April - St Crux Hall
Saturday, 12th June - Pudsey House
Friday, 9th July - St Crux Hall
Saturday, 7th August - Pudsey House
Tuesday, 14th September - St Crux Hall
Tuesday, 5th October - St Crux Hall
Thursday, 11th November - St Crux Hall
Events at Pudsey House are from 9:00am until 12:00. Those at St Crux Hall are from 9:45am until 4:00pm. We need help with baking beforehand, and willing volunteers on the day.
We have not finished our work, we are just taking a different way forward. Thank you all once again for all your help, support and contributions.
June 2010 holiday
The next holiday will be 12-19 June 2010. Come and see the work and progress you have all made possible. Also, the city is really beautiful and we will also visit a natural salt lake at Sovata where you can swim and sunbathe. The scenery and people are really worth seeing. We will be guests at the end of school celebrations, a celebration not to be missed. All flights, transport, excursions, accommodation, food and drinks are included in the cost of £650.Contact details
The White Rose Initiative can be contacted via our contact page.The charity's website is available at www.whiteroseinitiative.co.uk.
· This page was last updated by W Gamble on 4 February 2010