Weekbericht 29/24 Engels

Late last night, after a significant delay due to the global computer failure that disrupted air traffic, among other things, Nico and I returned home from a visit to some of our contacts in Romania.

On Monday, July 15, we left early in the morning and flew to Budapest via Eindhoven. Then by bus and train to Debrecen from where we were picked up. The heat was a bit of a shock and unfortunately it doesn't take any getting used to.

Fortunately, the guest house on the farm has recently had air conditioning. The heat has been there for weeks and has a kind of paralyzing effect on people, not to mention animals. Nevertheless, the crops on the farm are growing great, due to the strange weather with a lot of rain and a lot of heat, the growth of the crops is much faster than normal. The potatoes that are normally harvested in September/October are already ready for harvest. Due to explosive growth, there is a surplus of products of excellent quality. Due to the heat and decreased purchasing power, demand is lower than normal.

The good side of this story is that there is a lot to give away. Children's homes, homes for the elderly, poor people in villages, which we reach via Csaba and Imola, among others, can distribute generously.

We had a great time at the farm with Attila and his team, not to mention Csaba from Breaza.

Here is the link to photos.

On Wednesday July 17 in the afternoon we left for Cluj Napoca, after spending the night there we went to Bichiș the next day to see the house where Kata lives. Construction started a long time ago, but now she lives there. It has become a very beautiful house, she is very happy with it. Few people live in the village anymore, but she feels completely at home and in her place. It's great that we helped make this possible. We are still waiting for the TV connection, she used to fall asleep while watching! This will also be sorted out soon.

Here is the link to photos.

The second visit was to Viorel and Elena in Deaj. There they were busy baking bread and cooking food for the people in Haranglab. It was really warm in the kitchen and bakery, but they did their work undisturbed. They are happy with our support that makes it possible to help people.

Viorel would like to improve the standard of living in the gypsy community of Haranglab. Especially with the focus on the children, the basic things, food, clothing, better upbringing and education. The latter is especially important, they are not going now and if they go they are not welcome. He has the idea to buy an abandoned house in Haranglab and from there this improvement project starts. We visited the house, located in a beautiful and good location. Perhaps it will have a sequel.

Here is the link to photos.

We reached Breaza in the evening, Imola had prepared a delicious meal and there was plenty to tell. We lacked nothing, we didn't get a good night's sleep, it just stayed too hot in the house.

On Friday, July 19, we first unloaded the truck that we had loaded on July 10. So there is a nice stock to distribute again and it was nice to experience how the loading and now the unloading went.

Here is the link to photos of the unloading.

Then we went to Marin in Band together with Imola and Csaba. When they got there, they were busy cooking food for the meal program. Unfortunately, Marin's wife was admitted to hospital again for a few days, problems with diabetes and another defect, annoying of course. We visited the neighborhood and the houses that were built there with financial support from the Netherlands. In the meantime, all kinds of stories were discussed. It was quite quiet, many of the residents had left for the Borsec area where there are many mushrooms to sell. They work on this all day and sleep under a tarpaulin in the forest. Traders buy the harvest from them, probably making the most money from it. After the mushrooms, it is the turn of berries. It is difficult to understand what happens in such a neighborhood. You would think that you would get a better life in a better place as soon as possible. Not everyone thinks this way, we spoke to someone who has lived there all his life and asked him this. He shrugged his shoulders and said: this is where I was born, this is my home.

Here is the link to photos.

We also visited a family in the village of Petrilaca de Mures, where a family with four children lives who is helped by a friend of Csaba. This coaches and helps him with improvements in and around his house, the man receives building materials from us and mainly does the work himself. An important condition is that the children have to go to school and that drinking is prohibited. This can be achieved with small steps, it cannot be compared with Haranglab, for example. This house is located in a beautiful spot in a very quiet village.Not far away are spacious villas of wealthy Germans that serve as holiday homes.

Here is the link to photos.

In the afternoon, 11 older ladies gathered in Breaza, these are participants in the elderly program. Imola took them to a kind of elderly dance program in a village near Reghin. We logically declined the invitation to participate in this. Afterwards it turned out that everyone enjoyed this event, there were more than 100 participants and it was led by an inspiring man in this field.

Here is the link to photos.

Of course, many stories were discussed. Imola told about the man with only one leg who has TB and lives in a poor apartment in Reghin (see weekly report 10/24). He has been admitted to a clinic and will not stay there for much longer. After that he wants to live in his apartment again, but he rejects alternatives. Why??

The community nurses of Diaconia are truly special people, the circumstances under which they do their work are sometimes unbelievable. Near Bistrita, they also started their work as community nurses in surrounding villages. Imola became involved as a social worker, she helps with arranging benefits and things like that. For example, they treat a severely neglected man there who lives in very poor conditions and had not been washed or given clean clothes for years. Let your imagination run wild as to what this must be like!

Saturday, July 20, turned out to be a long travel day, but we returned home safely from a beautiful, useful and inspiring trip.

Reghina from Ticau sent a whole series of photos of the distribution of products from the farm.

Here is the link to photos.

Henk Muller travels a bit and shares his experiences with us.

Here is the link to photos.

Viorel and Elena also sent their contribution again.

Here is the link to photos.

Photos of Marin came in from Band about the activities there.

Here is the link to photos.

Joszi from Tirgu Mures also continues his work.

Here is the link to photos.

Next Wednesday we can load another truck. It is good that we all do this work together.