Report from and trip to Romania in December 2022

Back from a five-day trip to Romania together with Gerrit Beetsma and Nico Groot, I am now behind the computer to describe all the events during such a trip as briefly and concisely as possible. A difficult task.

The flight to Cluj Napoca left Eindhoven airport early in the morning on Monday 5 December. Csaba was already waiting for us in Cluj and we were at the farm in Marghita at about 4 pm. It was a bit cold and rainy weather and the days are short so we spent a lot of time indoors. Enjoyed a delicious meal together with Attila, there was plenty to tell.

Tuesday morning we met Csaba, an employee of the farm from the very beginning. During the greeting, he told us the sad news that his wife passed away suddenly in November at the age of 56. Comfort and encourage him, what else can you do? His colleagues and Attila support him as much as possible. Csaba will retire in January at the age of 65. In the spring he would like to come back to work half days, he thinks it is better for him to continue working in a familiar environment. Something I can understand well.

The war in Ukraine has also left deep scars in Romanian agriculture. The costs of the cultivation of arable and horticultural products have risen sharply, mainly due to sharply increased prices of diesel oil, wage costs and fertilizer. The cultivation of wheat has been successful, a real record harvest in kilos. While it was the general expectation during the summer that the price would rise further, there is now a lot of uncertainty about this. Especially because crops of other products suffered a lot from the exceptionally hot summer and then a lot of wetness again, there are plenty of concerns. Farmers receive compensation from the government for damage caused by this extreme weather. Unfortunately, the payment of the damage is still pending, many farmers are in serious financial problems as a result.

Attila has not been discouraged and has mainly focused on the tillage of the land in order to get a good seedbed for the following crops. Just like with the fertilization and the sowing of wheat and rapeseed, this has been successful, hundreds of hectares have been sown and are in good shape.

The farm has become an important hub for our relief efforts. This continues to grow, products from the farm are used more and more for this, great that this is possible.

We had a great time with good conversations in a pleasant atmosphere.

Here is the link to photos.

Wednesday one was a travel day from Marghita to Breaza we arrived in the afternoon just before it started to get dark. Always good to be there, a comfortable house, lots of commotion and good company. It took no effort to make it a pleasant evening.

Thursday we went with some packages and food to the houses that we were able to build e.o. refurbishing near Urmenis. First to the renovated house, we were positively surprised at how it looked. From a worthless hut to a well-insulated warm house with electricity where you can live well. The “foster daughter” was at school, she is doing well. There are still plenty of problems to solve, especially with the blind man. For example, eye surgery, legalizing the papers and the cost of their living. Step by step it goes in the right direction. Glad we were able to help make this happen.

Here is the link to photo's

Then we picked Elena up at the town hall to visit the shepherd and his family together in their new home.

They had been busy installing water pipes there, the night before there was quite a consternation because this pipe had burst in the "village street". The cottage is great, the location good. The neighbor is a cousin and a very friendly helpful man. All important conditions, especially because the mother is mentally retarded and cannot oversee it all. The father can save himself a little better, he said that he couldn't eat from emotion when he could move into the house. It was also good to hear that the daughter went to kindergarten, during the time they stayed in the caravan this was impossible.

Elena the social worker is on top of guiding these people well. The shepherd had not yet been to the town hall and to the notary to give the house an address. Important, of course, for the connection to the electricity and water network, for example. He said he was out of money and time. He got a good beating from Elena. To find a solution, we took it with us on the way to our next destination. First to the town hall and then to the notary with the necessary small amount of course. The house is now in his name, he has the land in a kind of leasehold construction with the municipality as owner.

Here is the link to photos.

The next destination was the children's soup kitchen in the gypsy neighborhood of Valece Rece in Tirgu Mures. We have shared images of this before, as well as stories about it. The photos speak for themselves but if you stand between them it really comes in. Especially when you start thinking about their home situation, the fact that they don't go to school and about their future prospects, for your peace of mind it's better not to do that.

Among the food distributed were different things that we brought there, for example the bread and part of the meat.

In the neighborhood they also receive Christmas packages from our foundation. Jozi suggested we take a few to these families. You couldn't get there by car because of the steep slope and slippery mud. The tam tam worked quickly and they came to pick up the packages in no time. Nico, Gerrit and I got the idea to climb the muddy slope on foot. Soon we came across a resident who spoke a little English, who invited us to come and see his living quarters. Maybe we shouldn't have done it better, it's hard to erase these images from your head. Slipping again on a dirty path uphill. In the last cage, without even the most basic things, that was it. Incredibly filthy, totally an unworthy place to stay, certainly not for a family with four children. It was not the first time for me that I visited this kind of housing, but this one was one of the worst ever. And that on the edge of the city between apartment buildings.

Back at Jozi's we agreed that he will have gravel deposited in front of the distribution point so that they no longer walk in the mud when they come to have the pan filled. In addition to pans, I also saw an old coffee pot passing by, not as normal plates. The neighbor also eats every day and more people from the neighborhood receive a meal at home.

Children now also get a shower and then clean clothes. The bathing facilities are very small and cramped. Jozi is going to make a plan how to improve this, we are going to help him with this.

All in all, an intense event, I hope that we can mean more here in the future and contribute to the improvement of this impossible situation.

Here is the link to photos.

Then switch back to what we think is normal. At a modern BP gas station 100 meters away, we first cleaned our shoes as well as possible.

On the way to Breaza we brought a package to the employees of the construction company who built the houses. These hard workers live in Peris and all three have built their own house step by step. We had coffee at one of them, while Csaba was discussing all sorts of technical matters with the builder. His wife told about how she grew up without being able to speak, only after an operation in her mouth at the age of fourteen she could learn to speak. She cannot read and write. Together they have a daughter. It's nice to see that there are also success stories and that poverty doesn't have to be your fate all your life.

During a delicious meal in Breaza we had enough to talk about this beautiful and intense journey.

The plane left very early on Friday, so after a very short “night's rest” we started the journey home. We could eat at home at noon.