The First Week of School

The first week of school was pretty much as expected.........chaotic!  School officially began on Monday, Sept. 17 at 10a.  Some parents began showing up with their children around 8a and were sent back home.  When they arrived, at the appropriate time, parents took their children to their rooms; there they met with the teacher, who went over the plans for the year, and then were given their contracts to sign.  The parents must sign a contract that requires them to send their children to school.  If a student has excessive absences, they can be dismissed from the program - there are plenty of other parents who would like to have their children enrolled at Point of Hope.

By 11a the place was empty........all the parents had their meeting, grabbed their children and headed home.  Don't think I've ever been thru a first day of school that lasted only an hour :)


Day 2 was more of a typical school day.  Classes began at 7:50.  For the returning children, it was excitement!  They were getting to put on clean clothes, play with toys, watch educational shows, review what they learned last year, have a snack and enjoy a good lunch.  Pretty much the same as in the states, except playing with toys, watching educational shows, snacks and a good lunch.  For the majority of the children here, these things are luxuries.  Only a few of the children have at least one parent that earns wages.

As for the children new to the program, it was anything but excitement.  There were LOTS of tears!!  For most of these 3 year olds, they've never been away from their mothers, and today was a traumatic experience (at least in their little minds).  In one particular class, it was "all hands on deck".  At one point, there were 6 sets of hands helping.  Several of us had 2 kids on each knee, trying our best to comfort them.  When I went and got my camera, many were ready for "poza"  For a couple of the criers, it brought silence.  One little fella, Catalin, stopped crying, but couldn't muster a smile for  me (it will take him a week or two to get used to being at school).  As I put down the camera, I picked up my Flip video camera.  Of course, the kids wanted to see the picture NOW.  As I scanned around the room, I encouraged the kids to wave - a few did on the first sweep, more joined in as I scanned back around the room.  Watch the video and think back on when your children first started school - bring back any memories?

Around 9:15 the kids are given mic dejun (breakfast).  This consists of bread with jam, porc pate or salami, along with hot tea.  Hot tea is an important part of their diet.  Lemon was added in the latter part of the week.  This, in an effort to keep the kids healthy.  Just a note: we are looking for someone (invididuals or company) that would be willing to support this project financially - the cost is $500 a year to provide lemons to the kids.  The lemons help the children's immune system fight off sickness during the winter months.  If you or your organization would like to take on this project, please send your check to Another Child Foundation, 416 E. Dover, Princeton, IL 61356, and mark the memo line with "lemons for Point of Hope."

After breakfast, it was back to the classroom for more playtime, learning, and for the new students, more crying and attempts to comfort.

Lunch was interesting.  The youngest ones were in the lunchroom first.  They sat down to a bowl of soup and bread.  When they finished, they were then given a piece of snitel de pui si cartofi piure (chicken snitzel and mashed potatoes).  Most of them didn't know how to cut up the chicken, and used their fingers to eat.  We began showing them how to cut their meat and use a napkin to wipe their face.  One little boy cried all morning and came to lunch saying that we wasn't going to eat.  Of course he had to sit down to the table, but he still insisted that he wasn't going to eat.  When the class was ready to leave, his plate was clean (guess he couldn't let the others clean their plates without him).

The older (returning) kids came in after the younger ones.  They sat down to the table and waited for prayer.  After one of the boys said the Lord's Prayer, they began to eat.  Everyone enjoyed their lunch!!!!

After lunch, it was time to change clothes and get ready to head home.  Some parents arrive around this time to help their children change, then take them home.  The others are given their clothes bag and are expected to change themselves.  Help is given when needed, but the children pretty much take care of business.  The clothes they take off are put back into their blue bag and then hung up in the correct locker.  The children that ride the van are then taken into the cafeteria foyer area where they wait for Mr. Gelu.  When the van arrives, they are lined up and walked around the building to the van.  There they are loaded according to their drop off location - last ones are put to the far side of the van.  It was fun to watch them being loaded, some unloaded, then put back on in the right spot.

Day one is over....................hope day 2 goes a little smoother:



And it did.  There were a few less tears and more playing.  It was also the first day of English classes for the two older groups.  They had been learning left/right last year, so I incorporated that as a review.  We learned how to say left/right, as well as hand and foot.  Of course, you can't learn left and right without doing the Hokey Pokey.  Thank you Dennis for playing your guitar for us!!!  Afterwards, we learn to say " bună dimineața" (that's good morning) in Engleza.  Not only were they learning to speak it verbally, but they also learned how to say it in sign language.  The kids really like the sign language!









 The rest of the week saw continued improvement in the children's acceptance of school and routine.  Our first full week is done and I know all the teachers are ready for a weekend to decompress before tackling the next 37 :)

Teachers and staff at Point of Hope

 Next week...........after school program begins!!!


Note:  I wrote this post last week and tried to load it on Friday afternoon.  Unfortunately, my computer decided to start having "seizures" :(

Sponsoring a Child

After I made my first trip to Romania in October 2010, I knew that I wanted to keep in touch with the work that was going on.  The question was, how?  The answer: sponsor a child.  What, exactly, does that mean?  You select a child, or children, from the sponsorship book, then send your check to Another Child Foundation with the name of the child in the memo section.  Ok, so what’s the cost?  That is up to you.  It cost about $600 a year per child to cover all the expenses related to their education – food, teachers salary, rent, utilities and supplies.  That averages to $50 per month.  So where do I come up with an extra $50?  In the Kingsland/Marble Falls area that we lived in, that would be: 2 trips to Tamale King for dinner, 2 trips to the movies, half month cost for satellite TV, the cost of an outfit on sale at Bealls, a soft drink a day at Speedy Stop, or a tank of gas.  Now I’m not asking you to stop patronizing such establishments or to give up your entertainment, but could you cut back/eliminate some “extra” activities to promote the education of a child?  The answer is yes.  The question is, will you?  Yes, it takes a sacrifice, but some sacrifices have tremendous rewards.

When we decided to sponsor a child through Buckner Romania, we looked through a selection of pictures and read the brief bios, then selected Gabi (actually it was Dennis who selected her).  It began as a picture on the refrigerator – a visual reminder to send our money, but also a reminder to pray for her.  She was just a picture.  Then we made the mission trip in July 2011 and met Gabi.  That was all it took.  She was no longer just a picture, but flesh wrapped around a body; we could put a voice and personality with that photograph.  Our attitude towards her changed, because she was now our child.  Sending money became a privilege and blessing.  But it didn’t stop there.  You see, we now live in Romania and get to see our child every week.  The relationship has grown from sponsor to surrogate parents.  We know that when we walk into the gate at the group home, she will be there to greet us with a HUGE hug.  There’s not a time when we are with her that she doesn’t tell us that she loves us.  Dennis has become the father she never had, and oh how she loves him!  When he was working on the construction in the basement, she was right there.  He taught her how to pop a line (of which she is very proud of herself), cut and break sheetrock, measure lengths, hammer in nails, and hold up lumber for him.  I think she would scoop poop if it meant hanging with him.  Yes, she calls me “mama”, but I don’t hold a candle to the relationship between Dennis and her, and I’m ok with that.  I understand that girls need the love of their fathers, and I am honored that it’s Dennis who can provide that love.

So you can’t move to Romania like we did, that’s ok.  You can still meet your sponsored child with a mission trip.  Trips are now in the making for 2013.  Check out the dates and come on over.  I promise that your life will be changed, and so will your child's!

www.anotherchild.org

Meeting Four Families

Today, Taylor, 2 Peter, Annie (the interim director at Point of Hope), and myself visited with four families who have children attending our school.  The purpose of the visits was to videotape an interview with the mom’s about their daily activities, and how Point of Hope has impacted their children.

The first family we visited was the Vrabie’s.  There are 10 children, ranging in age from 1-14 – 6 boys and 4 girls.  This is a very loving family who have no income now.  The father was working at a factory for 6 months and was never paid for his work.  He quit there and went to work for a larger company, but was “fired” after 4 months, again with no payment for any of his efforts.  He was “fired” because the company couldn’t pay him.  On March 13^th, he found another job.  But before he could begin, he had a stroke on the 14^th that left him partially paralyzed.  Along with the stroke, he had some other medical issues that put him in the hospital for many days.  After a few weeks, he was released to recuperate at home.  He continues his physical therapy and is progressing, but he’ll never be able to work again.  This put a tremendous financial strain on the family.  The mother shared with us that there are many days when there is no bread for them to eat.  She looks forward to school starting because at least some of her children will get food to eat.

Michael, Adelina and Alex

Seven of the children

The 2nd oldest daughter with the youngest

Annie (interim director) standing in one room

One of 3 sofas for sleeping, plus a crib

Pantry area (most of the things on the shelf are empty)

Kitchen

I was amazed at the strength of this woman as she sat next to her husband.  She talked with great pride of him, and her love beamed through her smile.  Several times her hand would pat his leg and caress his hair, showing him how important he was to her.  But as she shared with us, her strength grows dim on many days.  The youngest child (1 ½ yrs old) is very much a daddy’s boy, but doesn’t understand why daddy can’t hold him or play with him.  Tears welled in her eyes as she shared this with us.   But despite all the problems that they are facing, she is positive in her attitude and knows that God will take care of them.

So what has Point of Hope meant to her and her children?  Four of her children who are in the public school, placed in the top 3 of their classes (grade) last year!!!  I’m not talking about in the gypsy school, but in the Romanian school.  She is VERY proud of their education and sees hope for their future!

After saying our goodbyes, we walked across the street to another apartment building to visit our next 2 families.  This building is where most of the children who attend Point of Hope live.  There is no running water in the building – a pump is located just outside, where the children will gather water in buckets to take inside for cooking.  I have seen many children and adults bathing outside at the water pump.  Inside, the concrete blocks and brick are crumbling; the steps are treacherous.  The railing on the stairwell would definitely not pass safety standards in the US.  The hallways are very dark and narrow (about 4’).  Most apartments have their doors open for air flow; a few just have sheets hanging for doors.  Children were running everywhere.  One mom was sitting in her doorway peeling potatoes.  You could feel the heat from a stove burning.  Outside, a young boy was using a pick ax to chop pieces of lumber he’s found.  As we prepared to enter the 1^st home, many of the neighbors came out to see who we were and why we were there.

steps in the apartment building

this boy was using a pick ax to cut up wood

The 2^nd family we visited had 7 children – 2 who are married, one who is autistic, 2 in school, 2 in preschool and 1 at home (home – a 8’x12’ room with one window, padded front door, 2 sofas, a very small table, one wardrobe and a small heating element). The father is working out of town and comes home for a couple of days each month.  The greatest difficulty for this mom is being alone – she misses her husband tremendously, but at least he’s working.  It is also difficult because of her autistic son – he must have constant supervision, which means mom.  I asked if she had any help so that she could leave for a while, and she said that her 18 yr old daughter would come stay with him.

this is their heating element and cook stove

What does Point of Hope mean to her?  Her children are learning – able to recite poems, count, share, and demonstrate manners.  It is also a place where she, and the other women, can go for special activities just for them.  She was excited about the week with the mission team, and is looking forward to the next gathering.

The 3^rd family was just across the hallway.  The home was exactly the same size and shape, although this home had more furnishings.  The father doesn’t work, and the mother will sometimes go to the factor looking for metal.  There are 2 children, both who attend Point of Hope.  When asked what the most difficult aspect of their living conditions, it was the lack of bani (money).  She, too, expressed the need for working factories so that the people could have jobs.

This mom was very proud of what her children have learned at PoH – numbers, colors, writing, manners, poems, etc.  Her greatest pride is that they both say prayers before they eat and at bedtime!

 Our 4^th family lived in another apartment building down the street from the school.  It, too, is a dilapidated building – the hallways are dark, and the smell of raw sewage was everywhere.  This family lives in a 2 room apartment.  The furnishings are minimal, but the house is “clean”.  There are 4 children in this family – 1 in school, 2 in preschool and a 2 yr old.  The father is working out of town, but money is little.  They’ve had their electricity turned off because they couldn’t pay the bill.  This makes it difficult to feed the children since their only source of cooking is a 2 burner hot plate – there is no heating element.  Another difficulty that this mom has is the bathroom wall (this was the 1^st apartment with a bathroom).  The wall has a gaping hole in the bottom (which mom covered with some plastic to keep the little one from crawling through), and has separated from the ceiling.  You can actually push the concrete wall in and out.  She is afraid that the wall will fall on one of the children.  The apartment owners will not fix it, and the city doesn’t have money to move them.

the large grey pipe along the wall is for sewage

this is their living room/kitchen

this is the bathroom wall that has separated at the ceiling

where the mom has covered the hole in the bottom of the bathroom wall

I noticed that the front door held several craft projects that the children have done during Vacation Bible School with the mission teams.  Mom is proud of what her children have learned, and thankful that Point of Hope provides lunches.  She hopes that her children will continue to be successful in school and will have the opportunity for good jobs.

These are the factories that the people go into looking for metal to sell.  The people have been looting what they can find since the fall of communism and the collapse of their economy.  There's not much left of either the buildings or metal.  The integritry of the building is so that walls are starting to fall, and that puts all the people inside at risk of death.

A Walk Through the Village

Today we walked through the village behind the Point of Hope.  Taylor, 2 Peter (so named because there is a 1 Peter who is on the Board of Directors for Buckner Romania), and myself went out into the village where the children who attend PoH live.  Taylor was on assignment to do a video of the community and the people, so that foreigners can see the conditions that the Roma (gypsy) people live in.  Not that we as a foundation are trying to exploit the people, but to make others aware of the importance in educating these children.  If there is to be a break in the cycle of poverty, it must begin with the youngest generation now.

So what did we see?  To put it into one word – slums.  Many of the “houses” were nothing more than shanties.  There were a couple of nice looking houses, but most were barely hanging together.  Roofs sagged, had holes in them, and many were open at the eaves.

As we walked down the first street, there was an older man walking behind us talking.  Since Taylor and I aren’t fluent in Romanian, we had no idea what he was saying.  He passed as we stopped to look around the village.  Peter told us then that the man was complaining about the Americans coming over and taking their money.  Little did he know that we are trying to raise money for the school, so that he and his community may one day benefit from the children’s education (and the American money).  Oh well, disgruntled neighbor….move on down the road.  A few houses down, we met a couple sitting inside their fence.  As we said hello to them, they struck up a conversation.  They were very interested in why we were taking pictures.  When 2 Peter told them what we were doing, they were very excited and invited us into their home.  Wow!  Wasn’t expecting that.  We excepted their invitation and they were most gracious.  Their home was a small 2 room house with no kitchen or bathroom.  The front room was used mainly as a living area, but was also a bedroom at night.  The second room was a bedroom.  Their “kitchen” area was a small pass-thru between the two rooms.  There was a 2 burner hot plate and a couple of pots.  The bathroom was an outhouse across the road.  Water was brought in for cooking.  The inside was filled with pictures of their children and grandchildren, along with artificial flowers and lots of knick-knacks (probably all the valuables they owned).  The woman told us that her husband had worked in the factory for 25 years, but he was too young to get retirement.  As we talked, their grandson came into the house.  We was a very nice young man who will be in the 7^th grade, and is a mentor student of Peter’s.

couple who invited us into their home

Taylor (l) and Peter (r)

     

     

Met a few of their neighbors, who like the man walking behind us, didn’t want us in their area.  They didn’t have any children who attended our school, therefore, we had no business filming them.  Ok, so we left.  From there, we went behind the houses and up a hill to get a full view of the village.  I felt much like a mountain goat, as we headed up the steep hill and made our own trail.  I reached one point where climbing wasn’t going to happen, so I told the guys that I would wait for them there.  I sat down on the hillside and took in the view.  How sad that people are living like this, yet no one tries to get out of the situation.  Why?  Are they content to live in poverty, do they not want to live better, or have they just given up hope of any life other than the one they’re living?  I think most of them would like to work, however, there are no factories left to employ them.  If any of them do work, it’s usually at the abandoned factories – stripping the metal from the walls and floors to sell.  After filming the village from above, we walked across the creek to the other side of the village.  Again, we were met with disgruntled looks from many, but met an older lady walking with her infant granddaughter in her arms.  She, too, asked about the cameras, and Peter told her about our project.  She said she was a Christian and had remembered me at the gypsy church last summer.  We visited for quite a while with her as children began to “drop” by.  Our course they were very interested in having their picture taken, so I obliged.  This brought several parents out, wanting to know why we were taking pictures of the kids.  The woman explained to them that we were working with the school, and that seemed to ease their mind.   

As we returned to the Point of Hope, we met with some of the people sitting outside the fence.  One man told us of working all day in the factory and only got 20 lei for his efforts.  He also shared with us that the week before, a wall had fallen on one man and killed him – he had 4 children he was trying to support.  One young man showed us his shoes, which had the toes out, and was wanting new ones from the school.  We told him that new shoes should be arriving in October.  This young man was quite intrigued with Taylor’s toe shoes, even wanting to trade with him.  As we laughed together, more young men joined in our “conversation”.  It became apparent to the people that we were friends, and are very concerned about their situation.  Hopefully, we made a contact that will increase our ability to “go out among the people”.

     

This even took place on Tuesday, September 4

Gypsy village in Tarnaveni