back to work

Having been away in the UK for a few weeks Kenneth and I returned to the usual chaos. The problem of not having enough people to do the work is that when we're away everything just piles up. We returned on Thursday evening and in the early hours of Friday morning Kenneth had a phone call from a distraught Amy on holiday in turkey with granny. Apparently granny had fallen, hit her head and ended up in hospital. Both are now back home but shaken and Kate's mum is still in a lot of pain. In addition to everything else going on since our return we have a performing arts group with us at present much to the delight of many children whose lives have been brightened by the fun and games ... more later when I get a chance to write!

our wee rosie!

A "street family"

Dani and his girlfriend Eva come regularly to the day centre with Dani's wee daughter, Larisa to have showers,wash their clothes, have a bite to eat and some time out to relax and play cards or watch a film while Larisa plays.

Dani and Eva have both spent many years on the streets but in many ways they are just like any other young couple. They struggle to make ends meet and to bring up a young child, they have the occasionally health problem, they worry about the future and as you can see from the photos they also have fun sometimes. Dani asked me to take a photo of him being macho and holding Eva ... then not to be outdone, Eva grabbed Dani and lifted him up - I was well impressed as she is a tiny wee slip of a girl and doesn't look like she would have the strength.

For a while Dani had a proper job and a salary but it's very hard to hold down a regular job when you have no regular home and several of the young people have tried without success.
Even the few who manage to get off the streets find it extremely difficult to keep a 'proper' job and a regular programme. In the future if we are blessed enough to see any of these young people manage to leave the streets, this will be one of our biggest challenges - helping them to find and then keep a 'normal' job.

Another major challenge for people living on the streets is keeping their children in kindergarten or school. Wee Larisa should start Kindergarten in the Autumn but it will be so hard for her and for Dani and Eva to make the commitment. We promise any who want their children to attend kindergarten or school that they may bring them every day for showers and clothes washing and also that we will provide the materials necessary eg. school bag, pens, pencils, paints etc. but it is still far from easy when you live on the street, particularly for older children ... I mean, when your classmate asks where you live, what do you say?

Eye testing and break in!

Last week we were privileged to hold our first eye testing clinic at the day centre. We have had the pleasure of becoming friends with Dave and Beryl and their son Mark, who have been doing eye testing and health screening clinics for several years in several other areas of the country.

We warned them in advance that ours would hardly be the orderly affair they have in other places, with proper appointments and people waiting in nice organised queues ... but amazingly this didn't put them off - brave souls.

On the morning in question, last Thursday, Kenneth and I were phoned by Irina who had arrived ahead of us that the day centre had been broken into. Initially we were a little shocked and upset but when we realised that only a few items of clothing were missing and that nothing had been damaged. Irina couldn't understand our calmness until we explained that in the UK such an event would usually be accompanied by acts of wanton vandalism.

At 1100 intrepid eye testing team arrived to find the place swarming with Police - three round the back dusting for fingerprints and looking for other evidence and two taking statements (one in above photo). A rather novel start to the day we thought ... at least things are never boring.

The Police were great and very pleasant too - we were impressed by the speed at which they arrived and by their thoroughness. For us it was another first as we all had our fingerprints taken ... great fun for all concerned. I found the three page long statement in Romanian challenging and had to keep asking for help with the finer points of Romanian grammar! As the Police left we invited them to drop in for coffee if they're ever in the area.

Meanwhile, Dave and co. had set up their gear and were ready to start testing. A local pastor came to help out by doing the initial registering and taking blood pressures and a local girl also came to help with translation.

Many of the homeless people had their eyes tested, as did several people from poor families and some of our neighbours - Dave had said to invite them as a gesture of goodwill for all that they put up with from our "clients" ... what a great idea, and besides, most of them are quite poor too.

Some received glasses there and then and were delighted, others had them made up and we are in the process of giving them out, but others with more complicated problems have to wait until September when two Optometrists are coming out. In Romania, poor people don't ever visit an optician as there is no free provision for people on no or low incomes. One woman said she had simply accepted the fact that she hadn't been able to see clearly for years and never would again. How sad that something so easy to correct and something we in the west take for granted is out of the reach of so many people in the world. We were moved to see the gratitude of some of the people who were helped with a simple pair of glasses and are hoping to develop this aspect of our work as part of our future basic health care programme.

visit to other charities

I have been away for the past couple of days in a small city called Petrosani (pronounced Petroshan), a four hour drive away from Arad, up into the mountains. Petrosani is a sad place; once a thriving coal mining town, now most of the mines have closed and the unemployment rate is over 60% and expected to rise in the near future with more mine closures. Unlike British miners in a similar situation, the mine workers of Petrosani received no redundancy settlements and the social security payments they receive are not enough for them to survive on. The future looks bleak unless businesses can be enticed into the area or the tourist industry developed. As this is an area of incredible natural beauty, many believe that the latter may offer a solution to their problems and a hope for the future.

Although I am not very well at present (I have been diagnosed with one problem and am still waiting for test results for another) I am glad I made the effort to visit. I spent time at two charities working with the poor in Petrosani and had the opportunity to see what they do and how they do it, with a view to learning how we might be more effective. Both centres have been running for much longer than ours and have more staff, funding and resources but they encouraged me and assured me that they were once small and struggling too! I was privileged to meet some lovely people with a real heart for the poor and came away much encouraged.

Barbara and team

Every year Barbara Rose, a professor at Roberts Wesleyan College in New York State brings a team of students to Arad to get involved in the work of several charities. Barbara (pictured with Calman making a friendship bracelet) is an amazing woman and along with her friend, Anita does a wonderful job of leading her teams. We have some lovely friends in the States from various trips and consider their annual visit to be one of the year's highlights. If any of you past Roberts team members read this please get in touch ... we have had over two years of problems with email and had a computer crash, losing information and so have lost touch with some people.

We were privileged to have Barbara and team with us for a day and they did a whole host of activities with our street children and young people. Several designed their own t-shirts ... they loved it!

Some of the young people struggle with even the most basic of activities which we take for granted, but the team members were always ready to help. In some cases I think the team member did all the work with the young person 'supervising' the process!

Others, like Cipri pictured here managed to do most of the designing and drawing themselves and were so proud of their achievement. For young people who have either never attended school or managed one or two classes even colouring in difficult. Most of the street children and young people cannot read and write, some can do the absolute basics but with effort. For us and for the majority of our volunteers it seems incredible for children not to have been through school. It is hard for 'normal' people to understand what a handicap it is to go through life with no education.

Irina had a good time too ... as well as t-shirts to design the team had brought a couple of aprons ... Irina's design consisted of writing things about Kenneth and myself - she wrote "Ken - President of Vis de Copil, Kati - my colleague, sister and crazy". Honestly, you just can't get the staff!

New toys for the Secret Garden

Our recent truck arrival brought much needed clothing and tins of soup, but to the delight of the children it also brought some very nice durable toys. Larisa and Amalia come almost every day with their parents and they love playing with the new toys. When their parents come they are usually too preoccupied with taking showers, getting their clothes washed and having fun to take much notice of their children. We do what we can to entertain them and the new toys have helped a lot. The young couple on the street who have children are themselves still emotionally children which makes it hard for them to be good parents. We offer help and advice where we can and encourage the parents to bathe their children and check them for lice and other problems.

Wee Viorica, or Ica mica as I like to call her (pronounced eeka meeka) loves the new scooter and plays on it every day. she is a really bright child and we are keen for her to start school in the Autumn. Viorica lives on the streets with her dad. They used to live, together with her mum and brother with a charity outside Arad but a few months ago ended back on the streets along with several others who had stayed a number of years with the same charity. I often look at wee Ica and wonder what she makes of the turn her life has taken. One day in a decent home, attending kindergarten every day and the next living in a barrack behind the railway station.

an afternoon in the park

Last Sunday volunteers from the Milennium Project in Arad organised games and activites in the children's park. Volunteers in the project come from all over Europe and further afield - we have young folk coming to help us at the 'Secret Garden' from France, Holland, Germany, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Egypt and Jordan.

It's great to have such a multicultural group of volunteers and that in itself is educational for our children and young people. Our children and also our 'older children' (!) enjoyed fishing for prizes, making bracelets and getting their faces painted!

Birthday boys and the BBC!

Yesterday two of our boys celebrated their birthdays - Petre's was yesterday and Cipri's (pronounced Cheepree) is today. To our amazement the boys turned up at 1330, half an hour before our programme with street people begins with several carrier bags full of bread, salami, tomatoes, pickled cucumbers, cakes, biscuits, juice and non-alcoholic champagne! Petre and Cipri served everyone with champagne. Kenneth was in Timisoara with Johanna at the time - Johanna has Pneumonia but had an exam and didn't want to miss it. she couldn't manage buses and trains so Kenneth took her and then waited for her..

Meanwhile the party got under way, everyone enjoys dancing and singing ... and in the middle of it all Irina came and said "Katy ... those two English Gypsy guys are here again". Sure enough two Romanies from England who have been here several times on visits to Romania had turned up again. On previous visits they have visited out day centre and been out and about with us to visit some of the very poor Roma families with whom we work. They contributed financially to the re-building of Cornelia's house last year (see earlier blog for more details!)

Imagine my surprise (horror? shock?) when Gypsy Billy and his pal were followed by a cameraman and sound man who introduced themselves as being from the BBC. They asked permission to film in the centre and after receiving permission from our 'clients' proceeded to film them dancing and generally being entertaining! When they asked me to do a short interview Amy (she comes after school whenever she can) burst out laughing ... "you can't do an interview looking like that - you look a worse state than the street people mum! As well as the street folk we had four volunteers in from various European countries and then, in the middle of my interview a Danish couple who have a small charity and want to become partners in our work arrived ... followed by Kenneth and Johanna with baby Yasmina. I'm obviously destined never to impress anyone because every time visitors come they find me in the midst of chaos!

Apparently the programme will be shown in September as part of a series on BBC1 called "Inside out". I said when they do a series called "Upside down" to give us a call ...

Truck arrival

Yesterday a truck arrived from Scotland - about a quarter of its contents was for us, the rest having been delivered to another charity. We spent from 1400 until 2200 unloading the truck onto the driveway and into the courtyard of our house and then taking some straight to the day centre and the rest into the house wherever it would fit. Trucks can't get into the wee street in town where the "Secret Garden" is ... it's the only drawback to our lovely centre! Still, we can live with that! Photos and more info to follow!

Sofi and Silvia

Sofi and Silvia live with Helen Evans in our village Sanleani. Helen is from Fife in Scotland and has lived in Romania for the past 9 years, working with young people who grew up in the old 'orphanages'. For the past few years Helen has worked 'under' Vis de Copil and has had a variety of young people live with her, some so disturbed that they have made her life a misery at times. However, Sofi (his proper name is Sorin) who grew up in the most awful conditions somehow managed to remain a kind, caring young man who loves Helen as a mother. When he was very young, Sofi was sent to the residential school for slow learners in Ineu, an hour and a half north of Arad. The infamous 'orphanages' of Romania were never really orphanages, they were either residential schools for children with special needs or children's homes for those whose parents were unable to care for them. However often due to the difficulties of poor families inability to travel to visit their children and various other factors most of the children ended up to all practical purposes as 'orphans'.

Three years ago we were looking for a home for Silvia who had grown up in a different 'orphanage' (school for children with learning difficulties), then at 16 been re-integrated with her natural mother only to then be sent by her mother to the centre for young delinquents. Poor Silvia ... after a year at the centre the staff had only good to say of her and pleaded with her to find her a place after she turned 18. We tried several options without success, and then Helen sad she would give her a trial even though up to that point she had taken in only boys. The rest is a fairytale come true ... Sofi and Silvia fell in love and in October 2006 got married.

Both managed to find a job cleaning apartment blocks and then a better job in a textile factory - Silvia on a sewing machine and Sofi cleaning. They have their ups and downs but we are all proud of them for the amazing progress they have made.

Kenneth in Scotland ... Kathryn extra busy!

Kenneth has been away in Scotland for the past couple of weeks attending meetings, discussing the work and speaking at a couple of groups. He did also hope to get some days teaching work as we desperately need the money .. but by the time he was able to get away, exam time had come to Scotland and so the demand for supply teachers to cover for classes was lower. In the past he has managed to get a few days here and there, but this time, nothing at all.

However, it's still been good for him to be in Scotland spending time with family and friends, though as is always the case he is limited and can't see everyone he would like to. The photo shows him and Lauri (Vis de Copil Scotland) in a meeting (note the co-ordinated sitting position!) Actually the photo was taken the last time we were over together while we were making a Business Plan, but I don't have any photos of this trip!

Much has happened over these last couple of weeks including the addition of several new volunteers at the "Secret Garden". There is a project for young people in Arad called the "Millennium Project" which has volunteers from all over Europe and even as far afield as Turkey. I have been privileged to meet people from a wide range of countries including Germany, France, Holland, Georgia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and UK. Some of them want to come on a regular basis for the rest of their time in Arad. They are a lovely crowd of young people and I think it's a great initiative to bring together young folk from so many countries to work together on projects. As well as social and community projects they participate in environmental projects such as planting trees.

We also have two young Romanian volunteers coming to the centre although at the moment they are in the middle of exams. Finally we have two girls, one from Poland and the other from Spain based in Arad with another youth initiative who also want to be involved in our work. It's exciting for us and very encouraging that so many people want to help us and be involved in our work with the poor and needy. Of course this doesn't decrease our need for long term volunteers but it means we can do more activities in the day centre. If Irina and I are alone it takes all our time to supervise and maintain discipline while making sandwiches, soup, teas and coffees ... at the same time loading and unloading the washing machine, and answering everyone's questions. Having an extra volunteer or two (or more) is a great help and really benefits both us and our clients. On Wednesday 5 volunteers came and played games and helped young people with drawing and basic literacy and yesterday a German volunteer came to do musical activities with the homeless young people.

Life on the streets isn't easy

While some of the young people have showers, chat or play table football, this tired street boy sleeps. He has had a hard life and is only too aware of the mistakes he has made. It isn't his fault that he grew up on the streets but he has had a few chances in the past to get off the streets and is aware of the fact that he "messed up". He is a very sad young man who struggles daily to come to terms with his regrets. It's hard at times working with these young people, at times I feel like my heart will break - there is so much we would like to be able to do for them, to help them to have better lives. However, the reality is that there is often very little we can do other than give them some love and attention. Our hope is that the "Secret Garden" can become at least a place of refuge where for a few short hours people can escape the harsh reality of their lives and feel like "normal" people.

Easter food parcels

Easter came, finding us exhausted and too tired to want to do anything. All last week was spent making up food parcels for poor families. We used the rest of the dried and tinned goods from Blythswood Trust and also a donation of tinned soup from a local church and anything else we could think of to make up boxes for families. Between 0900 and 1400 on both Thursday and Friday we had a constant stream of families calling at the "Secret Garden" to see if we had anything for them for Easter. (From 1500 every day Monday to Friday the street people come for their showers, to wash clothes and to relax a little.)

In each box we put rice, pasta, dried beans or lentils, cooking oil and other groceries, plus shampoo, soap and toothpaste and last but not least sweets and a couple of toys for the children. almost 150 families received boxes and in some cases told us that without them they would have had no food at all over Easter. In previous years we have been able to buy eggs for families to dye as is the tradition here and coffee as well as other goodies but with the current financial situation we had to make do with what had been donated. We wished we could have done more but we have to accept that, at the end of the day there's only so much we can do.

notice of eviction

Yesterday I felt weighed down by the poverty and hopelessness of some people's lives. This derelict house is just round the corner from our "Secret Garden" and has three families still living in it. From what we have been told the house used to belong to the state and has now been sold to a private owner. The residents were given notice to move out but stayed put and today had to appear in court. they were told that they must move out by May 21.

There are several children living here and if they don't find another place they will join the other homeless families on the streets. Even if they find a place it will most likely be in one of the "squatter" communities who live in home made hut type homes on the edges of the city.

The housing situation in Arad as elsewhere in Romania is desperate. There are far more homeless families than homes available. The local authorities have already built some new houses and apartments but the needs are too great. Part of the problem is that a law was passed a few years ago which allowed people to reclaim formerly owned property. This meant that even people who have settled in Germany, Israel or the US, and in many cases received housing there from the respective states could re-claim their properties. Sadly, many re-claimed only to sell for a profit. While I have sympathy for anyone who had their home taken off them, I can't help feeling that if their lives are so much better now in their new countries and they have no intention of returning to Romania that just maybe they might have chosen not to make others homeless.

Food donations gratefully received!

We have been blessed with a couple of donations of food from Blythswood Trust Scotland. It has been wonderful to have basic groceries to give out to the street people and to the many poor families who visit our centre. We regularly help over 100 families with food, toiletries, cleaning products, when we have them and of course shower and clothes washing facilities. Every day the street children and other homeless people come and have showers, wash their clothes (we have rotas!) and eat whatever we manage to offer ... at the moment instant soup and sandwiches.

As Easter approaches we are trying to put together food parcels for families with what remains of the pasta, rice etc from Blythswood and whatever we receive from local people. Unfortunately the foundation has no funds at present (we receive no money specifically for running the centre other than Irina's salary) so we will not be able to buy fresh food for families to add to the parcels but most people are grateful for whatever they receive.

The present lack of funds means that we may have to curtail shower and clothes washing facilities for a while. it's good that Spring has come so the need is not quite so desperate, but nevertheless it will be a blow to many who have been enjoying the facilities.

Fire at the three lids

This area next to the railway lines is home to a small community of people living in huts built around the pipes which carry hot water around the city for the central heating. In Romania during Communist times people didn't have their own centrall heating systems but were connected to a city wide network. This system has advantages and disadvantages to the community in general but a major advantage to the homeless of Romania and other eastern European countries is that it provides them with free heating and even hot water in places where the old pipes leak a little. However, sometimes there are accidents and someone gets badly burned either from leaning against the pipes or by the hot water in places where there are leaks.

This particular community have had their huts all burned down several times during the last few years. A couple of days ago it happened again. As far as we can gather, the cause of the accident was a young child playing with a candle. As the huts are made from wood and other flammable materials the fire spread quickly, leaving the whole community without homes.


There are at present 7 families in this wee community, four with young children. we took some basic groceries, toiletries and what we could manage to put together, as well as socks and underwear but at present we are very low on clothing and have no blankets, sleeping bags or duvets left. Fortunately the weather is getting warmer and until next winter the need isn't so great.

There are several small communities like the "three lids" and their future prospects are not good. Many of them have moved to Arad from other counties and so their ID cards are based elsewhere which means that the Arad local authorities are not obliged to help them, the responsibility lies with their home county. Also, those working within the local authorities feel that they have more than enough homeless or almost homeless people of their own to try to help without having to stretch the already stretched services even further.

As a small charity working here in Arad with the poor and homeless we obviously would like to help families such as these and have requested a piece of land from the council on which to build 6 very small but adequate houses. As yet we don't have the land, neither do we have the funding, we don't even know how we would go about choosing which families receive a house but it is nevertheless a project close to our hearts.

a home of sorts

The poorest families in Arad live in all kinds of places. I've no idea why this concrete hut on the edge of a disused railway line was originally built but an enterprising family found it empty and moved in. Of course such families have no running water in their homes or access to sanitation but they are glad to have a place, any place that they can call home.

Their neighbours, further along the railway line, live in this hut built from a mixture of materials with their 6 children. In winter its a pretty dismal place but the parents say they are grateful to God for providing them with even this most basic of homes. It makes our western affluent lives seem sinful.