Weekly update 50/22

Monday afternoon, December 12, a truck came to load that had been given destination Breaza. The stuff that Henk Muller brought could also be taken along right away. For the rest we had a lot of food and cake and also beautiful clothes. A sponsor from Alkmaar Bep Runhaar, had been busy collecting clothes and food, it all went along.

Here is the link to photos.

The second truck was supposed to arrive on Tuesday, due to the winter weather around Paris, it was delayed until Wednesday. However, in collaboration with a partner from our network, we were able to collect a nice batch of food, completely unexpectedly. It's great then that you can immediately appeal to the cooperation of transport company Van den Heerik and volunteers who want to get behind the wheel. Siem and Nico were still busy for quite a while.

Wednesday 13 December we were able to repack the food, sort clothes and arrange some collection jobs. Our neighbor Hekos had a pallet of sandwiches for us, and delicious spekkoek for the volunteers. The truck arrived at ten o'clock and the loading went smoothly, it turned out to be a very nice cargo that went to Botosani. The driver was with his partner, she is a nurse in a hospital in Iasi. A nice couple with a genuine interest in what we do, they helped with sorting clothes, for example. They all thought it was very special and expressed their appreciation for it. Monday 19 December the truck will be unloaded in Botosani.

Here is the link to photos.

My wife Jannie is a real animal lover and would like, for example, that pet food goes to Mrs Lydia's dog shelter in Reghin. Many dogs are taken care of here that used to roam the streets. It is always difficult for them to get by on dog food. We receive pallets of feed from Yarra in Harderwijk several times a year. On Friday we were able to pick up a few more, together with Jannie I did this job. A great opportunity for Jannie to meet her contact person Adriëtte.

In Romania, the distribution of Christmas packages from Broek op Langedijk is in full swing. Paul from Getz sent a photo album about it. Nice to see.

Here is the link to photos.

Marien Kroon sent a message about aid to the Ukraine with the help of the Gain foundation.

Here is the link to photos.

Igor sent pictures of food distribution. It's all extra difficult now because of the cold and the missiles hitting buildings and power plants. There won't even be a fight break over Christmas, unbelievable. How this will all end and how badly it will affect the people there is uncertain. We are doing what we can to help, as are many others.

There is a new soup kitchen in Cernovsky, which replaces the blown-up tent and now contains containers, which is quite an improvement. We continue to support this project, 2,000 people a day depend on it. Through us and with money from an American foundation, Cristi was able to send another nice batch of food. It also goes partly to Kherson. Pastor Igor is the main partner in this relief effort.

Link to photos by Igor.

Just like in previous years, Cristi will arrange a meal for the homeless in Botosani through a catering company. He still has some Christmas packages available for the people who live around the garbage collection points in the city.

Cristi sent a lot of pictures of the parcels being handed out. People were very happy with it, of course. Cristi has a lot of experience with the distribution of packages and he can maintain order. This time it does not work in a place where many gypsies live. They were so pushy and distraught that he had to close the door of his bus and leave. Later on, endless phone calls came in asking to come again!

Here the link to pictures of Cristi

The truck we loaded on Monday was unloaded on Thursday. Henk Muller came immediately to pick up. The goods are of high quality and very useful to help poor people. They also found the clothes that we could load very beautiful and usable. All bright spots for many people there.

Here the link to photos from Breaza.

John Fracker from ourlifemission.org is a contact of Imola and Csaba from Breaza, they also share the goods we bring.

The link to photos by John Fracker.

In Getz there are all kinds of December activities, including the delivery of Christmas packages.

Here is the link to photos.

Toth Attila from Peris has a setback, his special pig farm with wool pigs is still closed. Another case of African swine fever has been diagnosed in the area, the transport ban will remain in force for the time being. The thirty slaughter-ready pigs cannot therefore be soldThe store with second-hand items is also temporarily closed, he could not provide the correct certificates about the disinfection of the clothing. We are working hard to resolve this issue. The orphanage is full, the costs are high and the proceeds of these two activities are desperately needed for this.

Here is the link to photos.

Henk Muller now lives in his new place of residence, a great improvement, a better living space, but also more integrated into family life. While handing out boxes of bananas, he slipped on Friday and has an injury to his knee, so he is homebound for a while.

Here is the link to photos.

Virorel and Elena also continue their work providing meals to homeless people. Like to many children and other poor people Deaj and surroundings. It's good that these people are doing this, more help is needed there too.

Here is the link to photos.

At the children's soup kitchen in Tirgu Mures that I wrote about last week, we had a load of gravel dumped. In any case, the children are no longer standing in the mud with their pan. There were also pictures taken by Józsi of handing out newly knitted sweaters. They really go to the poorest.

Here is the link to photos.

Reghina was also able to distribute food again and organize a Christmas party for children. Donating a washing machine was also possible.

Here is the link to photos.

We will not be loading trucks for the next two weeks, but we will remain open for the collection of goods and will continue immediately in the new year. The need is so incredibly high we just can't sit still and wait. We are happy and grateful to be able to do this together with our sponsors and volunteers.

On Wednesday there are still some pick-up jobs and in the afternoon there is a cozy get-together with the "hard" core of our volunteers.