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Romanian Orphanages Group Visit |
 The children of a day-care centre serve lunch to their visitors |
 Brother Csaba with children from the day-care centre at Felsösófalva |
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(for a wider sample of photographs from the trip see the Picture Gallery)
A party of supporters (including a number from Trinity Methodist Church) visited some of the children's homes supported by our charity, Children of Romania (Congleton). The group flew from Manchester to Budapest, arriving at their destination in time for a meal and some sightseeing, before returning to their hotel for the night. The next day the party travelled in two minibuses (loaned by the Franciscan Foundation) and a car driven by Kato, the interpreter for the visit. They drove across the Hungarian border to Sacueni where the former manor house of a Romanian Count has been given to the Foundation and is being renovated for the children. The roof and the facade of the building have now been completed. Inside, rotten timbers have been replaced, some new doors and window frames have been fitted and some floors have been screeded. A visit to the cellars and old kitchens gave some people a fright when several bats flew out of their hiding places! Afterwards the group visited a school in Sacueni where lunch was served and the children sang for the visitors. During the next few days, several of the children's homes run by the Franciscan Foundation, were visited. At Sovata, Brother Csaba was waiting to welcome the group and people had a chance to look round the apartments where the children lived with their house parents. At Felsosofalva, Margit, the teacher and her pupils were eagerly awaiting the arrival of their visitors. Members of the group gave gifts of stationery etc. to the children and they in turn sang songs and gave craft items they had made to their guests. It was good to see that the kitchen / bathroom project is finally complete and is a great asset to the children who attend Margit's after school club (or day care centre, as it is generally called now). At Torocko, our supporters stayed in guest houses in the village but ate their meals in Congleton House with the children. Iringo, the housemother, made everyone very welcome and the children enjoyed having new people to play with and show around their village. For background information on the village of Torocko, which is known in Romanian as Rimetea, see http://www.rounite.com/2009/04/24/rimetea/ One of the people on the trip was a young man who has offered to make a video about the work of the charity. Whilst in Torocko, he went with Douglas and Kato to visit a family living in very poor circumstances. With the family's permission, he took some film of their shack with mud walls and the fire outside where they cooked their food. He also took lots of film of the children he met during the week. During the trip the weather was very good and there were several opportunities to relax and enjoy the surroundings. Our supporters also had the chance to see for themselves the extreme poverty in which many of the children had been living. However, they thoroughly enjoyed seeing the children in the Franciscan homes, happy and well cared for and welcoming the chance to make a better future for themselves. Hilary and Douglas Parker, Children of Romania (Congleton)
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| More information about Children of Romania (Congleton) and the Franciscan Foundation which they support. |