ROMANIA UPDATE
The newsletter of Romania Care, registered charity no. 1012759

April 2002

Nursing and Respite Care - Project Update

On Monday 15th April, a contract was signed for the construction of the first floor and roof of the Nursing and Respite Care home in Ilisesti. After five months, with temperatures rarely going above zero, and snow covering the ground, building work will restart week commencing 22nd April.

We give thanks to God for the financial provision to enable this to take place.

An artist's impression of what the home will look like when complete.

To complete the shell, all we need now is the doors and windows at a cost of about £8000. Having completed the shell, we need to look at the site, and the services.

Could you as an individual or a group consider sponsoring :

Completion of the well for £100
Completion of the road for £550
Construction of a small bridge to give access to the site for £125
Construction of a metal fence around the 1.25ha site for £2500
Construction of the cesspit for £3500
Doors and windows for £8000

We are still awaiting costs for plumbing, heating and electrical work. Keep up to date with work by visiting our Web site : www.RomaniaCare.com

Tragedy in the Puscasu Family.

In February Razvan, the youngest child of Dr. Stefan and Gabbi Puscasu had a tragic accident while playing with his friends and died in the arms of his father. Dr.Stefan is our main partner in Romania and it is his charity (Bethesda) that runs the current Fintinele hospital, and will run the Nursing and Respite Care home when complete.

Both Dr. Stefan and his wife were devastated by the accident and the funeral was a very moving occasion. Hundreds of people followed the coffin on foot as it made its way to the cemetery though the center of the city. Police stopped traffic for the procession, which was attended by Television and Newspapers.

Dr. Stefan said that this whole event has changed his outlook on life. For a man who has helped so many other needy families, it must be so hard not to have been able to do anything for his own son. Please pray for Stefan and Gabbi at this time.

News from Paul Clark in Fintinele

"Since the last newsletter I have been very busy with preparations for the starting of the next level at the nursing and respite care home. Much of my work involving communicating with the trustees of the charity and the architects and engineers here. It can be quite stressful, as the people I work with closely speak very little English and I have to be sure that I have understood exactly what they have said before I tell the trustees.

I have been given some money from a couple of friends in England who sponsor two poor old ladies in the village next to mine. Every two weeks I visit them and supply them with food and anything else that they might require. Their house has no proper road leading to it and it was extremely difficult, as well as muddy, during the winter trying to get to them, even when there was no ice and snow on the ground.

Easter may have been and gone in England, but here in Romania it is not celebrated until the 5th of May. Here in Romania, Easter is celebrated with eggs but unfortunately not the chocolate sort! All the pupils in the Schools will be very busy this week decorating real eggs to give to their loved ones, a lot of effort goes into the egg painting but they are not as tasty as the Cadburys ones!!!

In January, the Romanian government introduced a new social benefit for the poor. This benefit is in principal very good, particularly for the Tigani (gypsies) as the benefit is based on how much you don't have, not how much you do have! The claimant must work 72 hours a month for the Mayor who then issues them the allowance.

This benefit has caused many problems in the village and a few people even beat the Mayor here because of not receiving their full allowance. The problem is that 20% of the allowance is paid from the Mayors funds, and the Mayor has no money, so as a result the claimant is only able to receive 80% of the benefit. The village is much cleaner and tidier now because of all the work done!"

Would you like to help out in Romania in the summer?

We are finalising plans for our summer teams in Romania & Moldova from 20th July until 17th August this year. There are still 1 or 2 places left!

We plan to run Holiday Clubs in 4 locations, Valea Marie & Ricipeni in Moldova; and Fintinele & Ilisesti in Romania. At the same time we expect to carry out some practical work during the Romania weeks.

We are looking for people to join our teams - would you consider coming for 1 or 2 weeks? You need have no special skills, just a deep desire to help others not so fortunate as yourself. You will be expected to pay your own costs, which will be in the region of £450 for one week and £50 for each additional week.

Further information can be obtained by phoning or writing to our office - details of which are shown above and below.

Unrest in Moldova

Last year a Communist government was returned to power in Moldova. They have tried to develop closer ties with Russia and distance themselves from Romania. They have tried to make the learning of Russian compulsory in school for example. This has met considerable opposition and most days 50,000 people are protesting on the streets of the capital Kisinev. Please continue to pray for the people of Moldova, where as well as this unrest, the economy has virtually collapsed.

News on giving

It is possible to give by cash, cheque, CAF voucher, CharityCard and Give As You Earn.

More details of all these ways of giving can be obtained from the office.

Romania Care
Registered Charity No 1012759
Office: 4 Bury Lane, Codicote, Herts, SG4 8XT
Phone/Fax: 01438 - 822007.
Email: info@RomaniaCare.com