Our weekly update (45 / October 2020)

In the past week we have not loaded a truck with destination Romania. However, a good amount of goods was collected.

Tuesday we went to Brinkers in Enschede where we received 6 pallets of chocolate spread and then we were able to load 10 pallets of canned goods at Baltussen in Driel. Great stuff to use for the Christmas package deals in Romania.

On Wednesday we were able to pick up a batch of used furniture etc. at the second hand store Waypoint in Urk, and stuff came in from Schagen, Den Helder and Nieuwe Niedorp. In Wormer a nice lady had all kinds of neatly selected clothes and food ready, we were not allowed to leave before we had received “petrol money”. In Amsterdam we were able to load a batch of food and also three pallets of biscuits arrived through the Manna Foundation. So there is again a considerable amount of goods in the warehouse, including a lot of food.

Here the link to a few photos.

Next Wednesday we will load a truck with destination Minis. Pieter Nagel will distribute this there, Pieter has had a table cover service for the elderly and the needy for many years. These people "normally" receive a package from the Netherlands as an extra at Easter and Christmas. Pieter and his team are now going to put this together himself with the goods we bring. A truck load is too much for this, the rest goes to other rescuers and various care centres in the area. There is poverty enough and demand from people who have come under pressure.

Next week a truck will arrive at the farm in Marghita and will load about 22.000 kg of potatoes with destination Botosani. Cristi there is getting more and more demand for this nutritious product, he can distribute it quickly and well through his contacts. The potato harvest on the farm in Marghita is very good, prices are on the low side. The lower price formation is partly because more and more people have no work and therefore a lot of purchasing power has been lost. As I wrote before, the social safety net in Romania, certainly in our terms, is not much. No work is too little money and no money is no food, there are no food banks as we know them.

The link to a few pictures from the farm.

Cristi has been busy distributing the goods brought by us and sent pictures of them, the demand for help is increasing rapidly. Pastors from all over the region know where to find him and together with them he reaches many people in need. We are therefore curious about the effect of the potato transport that is planned.

Here the link to photos and an explanation.

It has become code red in Botosani last week, what this will mean exactly is not yet known, the schools have been closed since Friday. The Baptist church of which Cristi is an active member will close for 14 days. There have been services related to the death of members of this church and who have also been visited by someone who now appears to be infected, the consequences of this are not yet clear.

Toth Attila's poly greenhouses in Peris are empty after a good harvest and the windows are now in the buildings. He sent a message on Saturday with less good news, after a few days of headache and back pain, he has now also lost his taste and smell. In this time, the first thing that comes to your mind is corona.

Here the link to his message.

Reghina from Ticau came up with a surprising message, Orb's house is waterproof. Besides the wood, the roof panels also come from Romania. She has also been cooking and handing out again, a great support for the people in her area.

Here the link to photos with an explanation.

She does not immediately put on the shoes.

Imola from Breaza has forwarded photos of John Fracker. Csaba does not have to undergo an operation on his torn Achilles tendon, as it turned out. On Monday they will go to the clinic again for a treatment plan. He is in no pain and according to Csaba it is all okay, I hope he is
right.

The link to photos of John

We are in regular contact with our people on site about how we are going to organize the packages action this year. Without exception, they want to commit themselves 100% to make this campaign a success, despite the difficult circumstances. Even Elena from Urmenis is no exception, Nelu her husband and Paul her son are going to roll up their sleeves extra. We are pleased with this positive attitude and have great respect for it. The plans will be ready next week and there will be clarity about how we will do it this year.

In between, just a memory from 2012, we then still put the stuff in bags from the Vomar and were distributed as extra potatoes and onions in Getz. This resulted in beautiful pictures.

Here the link to the photos from that time.

The Covid-19 is quite bothering us in making plans for how we can organize our assistance. We are not going to close the door, especially now help to our target groups in Romania is important. We are tightening up the measures, we have to be careful in everyone's interest and now only work in small teams.

We do not expect volunteers who have not been asked to help with the work. There are people who want to exclude all risks and therefore did not come anymore, something that we understand and respect.

Fortunately, our volunteer who contracted the virus is recovering well, full recovery will take a while but things are going in the right direction. Another volunteer has been tested and expects the results on Monday.

Unfortunately not all good news in this post. The fact that thanks to all volunteers and sponsors we can continue to offer help under these circumstances and on this scale is of course very good news.