These are the people privileged to be able to visit Romania in 2019. Bee, our chairperson, on the left, Angie, Jill, Hazel, Heather, our treasurer, on the right and Jack, Heather’s 14yr old grandson, (who has been helping the Rainbow project for many years)
​This year we travelled to Bristol Airport on the Falcon Bus; Bee was a little apprehensive, but it was an interesting though uneventful journey.  However, we arrived at the airport in plenty of time to have something to eat and do all the check in and security procedures without panic or pressure​

Having arrived at Bucharest from Bristol airport we were met by Dragos our driver and were driven to Vulcan to the Aurora Christian Association complex where we would be staying for part of our visit.  This was a journey of almost 2 and a half hours and because Romania is two hours ahead of us, we arrived at 1am on Wednesday 1st May

On our first day in Vulcan Irene, the English volunteer who works for the Aurora Christian Association in Vulcan, took us for a walk around the village. This picture shows that although the grass is quite green the trees are still somewhat bare whereas last year at the same time they were in bloom.  It was definitely cooler on this year’s visit.  The next picture shows the old school building, still derelict as last year and still with the stork’s nest on the chimney.  Irene told us that the storks return to the same nest each year.   This year Irene showed us the Orthodox church graveyard and you can see the beautifully tended graves with many floral tributes and memorial stonework she said that the Romanians have a great deal of respect for the graveyards and cemeteries across the country.

On the first Thursday of our visit we travelled from Vulcan to Dej where we would be staying for a few days to visit the Children’s Home in Ilisua.   Because of our driver’s other commitments, we didn’t start the journey until after lunch, so we stopped on the way for a meal at Tirgu Mures.  Edi, our contact for the Children’s Home in Ilisua and his wife Lili met us at the Leisure Complex where we stayed this year as well as last year and we had time for a quick catch up and a cup of tea before settling in to our rooms. 

The journey between Vulcan and Dej had taken about 7 and a half hours.  The village of Ilisua where the children’s home is situated is about a twenty-minute drive from Dej and we would be visiting the following day.​

The Children’s Home at Ilisua
As some of you will already know the children's home was originally set up as a Preventorium to prevent children from contracting Tuberculosis. The reasons that children are there now are varied but generally they are not orphans.  The children are usually aged from 4-16 although last year there was one little girl who was only 2 and some 3-year-olds – more of the little girl later

Last year we were raising money to help to replace a broken boiler at the home. The old boiler had been bought in 2005 for £10,000. After our return in 2018 and with your help we managed to raise £2,500 to go towards the replacement which cost in the region of £5,000 and here it is

Last year we told you all about the little two-year-old girl who was at the home with her brother and sister. She really touched our hearts as she had looked so lost and tiny by comparison to the other children.  This year we were pleased to see that she had settled in well and had become a giggly mischievous 3-year-old.  This year we met another 3-year-old called Samuel who had not been at the home very long.  He had a similar look about him that Nadia had last year.

This is a picture of Edi with his wife Lili and a young man from their church talking to some of the children at Ilisua Children’s Home.  Edi had arranged for a group of youngsters to visit the home and spend time playing and talking with the children.  They do this periodically and, on that day, helped us distribute the pizzas which we had taken for the children

And here they are enjoying their Pizza picnic in the fine weather

Here one of the staff is trying to help Nadia and Samuel with their pizzas

As well as pizzas we had taken hula hoops, skipping ropes and various size and shaped balls.  They were all good at skipping but not so good with the hula hoops.

Here is another of the youngsters from the church playing bat and ball with Nadia’s older sister Gabrielle

As this was Angie’s first visit Edi took her and some of the rest of us on a walk around the grounds and some of the buildings.  This first picture shows the range of buildings which includes, from left to right, the dining room, kitchen, laundry and boiler room, the one with the big chimney.

We went into the girls’ dormitory and were delighted that there seemed to be more bedside cabinets than before. 
As the number of children resident there has gone down so they have more room for these cabinets. Although we didn’t look inside any of the cupboards there was evidence that they held such things as homework. 
The children have no possessions of their own everything including clothes and toys are shared. It was also pleasing to be able to recognise some of the woollen blankets on the beds as ones that we had sent from Plymouth.
​You can also see in this picture the two sizes of bed for the older and younger children. 

​We also saw for the first time this year, a small room off the girls’ dormitory corridor which appeared to be set up as a playroom.  There didn’t seem to be many toys and after speaking to Edi we have decided to try and send over one or two boxes of toys for this room.

We returned the following day, Saturday, after the children had finished their lunch.  They were still in the dining room and we gave them all ice creams which went down very well and then also apples which they took outside. Both these food items, as well as the pizza and banana from the previous day are treats for the children. Unfortunately, the apples were a bit big for the younger ones so some of them were discarded.
On the second day we also took bubbles which as before went down very well with the little ones.

As we said before they were all very good at skipping, both boys and girls.

Playing “Horses”
An alternative use for skipping ropes??.......

On the way back to Vulcan we were able to break the journey by visiting a disused Salt mine, Salina Turda, which is now a tourist attraction. 
The first picture shows the view from the waiting area for the lift down which you can see in the middle of the picture.  This goes down 13 floors, the second picture shows the view looking up to the lift from the very bottom level which is another 8 floors down.  You can also just see where there are people looking down at us.
The last picture is of the boating lake which is situated on the very bottom level and is part of the facilities available. 
We arrived back at Vulcan after travelling for most of the day and having again stopped at Tirgu Mures for lunch.  We had time for a light tea and a chat with Irene about what we would be doing with the children’s groups at Vulcan.

The Aurora Christian Association complex in Vulcan was set up by Malcolm and Christine Ford in 1989 to give what help they could to families and the poor of the Romanian village of Vulcan. They also set up Rora Christian fellowship which is near Newton Abbot.

The day after our journey back to Vulcan we went to visit the young kindergarten group, children aged from 2.5 years to 4 years.  We had prepared to tell the story of David and Goliath to the children and here they are getting ready to listen, well most of them anyway.

After we told the story we sang them a little song and they tried joining in.

After all the fun and laughter, it was time for some serious colouring.  The children are taught from an early age to be very precise with their colouring and to keep within the lines.  You can see the concentration on their faces.

On one of the other days we visited the older kindergarten group who, because of the lack of space at the Aurora Christian Association premises, meet in the Vulcan Baptist church.  These are 4-6 year olds and we followed the same format, telling them the story, singing the song and giving them pictures to colour in. 
At this age, their colouring is more precise and detailed although some of the colour combinations were a bit bizarre. Green nose, blue teeth and bright pink feet.

Over a few days we were privileged to be able to work with some of the children in their craft groups.  Although last year the emphasis was on learning English this year the groups are being run more for mentoring and enjoying crafts together. The first group was for girls aged 11-12yrs and we showed them how to make paper flowers from cut up serviettes and also “Moolah” bags. 

For those who don’t know Moolah is slang for money, which we had to explain to the children but they could also be used for anything precious.
At the bottom of this first picture you can see Valentina in the process of decorating her bag while others are sorting beads and fixing the base of the bag.  The second picture shows Valentina very pleased with her completed draw string bag.  When the craft projects were finished, we gathered together and two of our party gave testimony of how they had experienced God in their lives. Then there was a time of prayer before the girls departed and we were pleased that some of the girls were comfortable praying out loud.

The older girls craft group for the 13 to 15 year ages was in the afternoon of the same day and there were only four on this particular day. Consequently, we had time for them to do the same two activities that we’d done in the morning but also to make ribbon crosses from plastic canvas which could be used as bookmarks.  This group also ended with prayer and testimonies from the rest of our party.  

On one of the other days we met with a group of 7-10-year-old children and with this group we told the story of David & Goliath and sang the David song.  When we arrived, we found them playing picture bingo and were pleased to see that this was a game which we had brought last year and it was still in use.

This picture gives a good overview of the gypsy village at the foothills of the mountains.  The two dwellings in the foreground are one room homes typical of the village.  These two have reasonable grounds with them but most, like those further back in the picture, are built closer together and each may have only a back yard. 
​As the gypsies become more regularly employed, some are extending their homes where land is available.  They are paid a very minimal wage, approximately £12 per day.

Last year we showed you pictures of a new room being built at Mihaela’s home in the gypsy village.  This year we were able to see the completed room where three of her sons now sleep.  Since last year’s visit she has given birth to another son, Iacob, who was born 2 months prematurely but is now a thriving 4-month-old baby.

By comparison here is Sophia who is also 4 months old but went full term, a bigger stronger looking baby.  The blanket she is lying on was made by one of the ladies from the Friday craft group in Plymouth.  Sophia’s mum is called Mona and she lost her mother 2 months previously.  We also visited Mona’s sister Adalina who is pictured here with her 11month old son Darius with a similarly made blanket.  Since their mother’s death Adalina has also taken on looking after their twin 10 year old siblings.

projects for 2019/2020

During the last year we heard about a family living in Tauhan who were struggling with their accommodation and if you are a regular supporter of the Rainbow Project Plymouth you will have already heard about Meralina and her family of which more news later. 

First though within the same village of Tauhan lives another family with 7 children ranging in age from 18 to 3 years old.  This is a picture of the outside of their home.  As you can see, the building is made of odds and ends of wood, corrugated iron and other materials along with a tiled roof. 
​This building must have been standing for over 30 years as the mother Marianna has been living here since she was adopted at 2 years old.

The building comprises two rooms.  However, only one of them is usable at the moment as the ceiling and floor of the second room are both in very poor condition. One picture shows the ceiling of the room which has collapsed over approximately 50% of the area.  The other picture shows the floorboards which are very uneven and, in some places, broken.  Bare earth can be seen through the holes It is unclear what has caused the deterioration of the room.  But the next picture shows…

… the state of the roof and the sagging in the middle which could well be the cause of the collapsed ceiling.  The second picture shows Marianna with 6 of her children and the last picture shows their water supply, a hosepipe and an outside sink.  They do have electricity within the property, but this is not working properly at the moment due to the collapse of the ceiling.

In this same village lives Meralina with her 16-year-old son and two grandchildren, Mario who is 7 and Andrea who is 3. 
This is the family that we learned about after our return from Romania last year. 
Meralina’s husband committed suicide about 18 months ago.  He had managed to lay foundations for a new three roomed home but without a source of income Meralina is unable to finish the building. 
She currently lives with the children in two old touring caravans which have breeze blocks on the roof to keep them from blowing away. 
​On the same property they have a shack built from old bits of wood, doors and corrugated iron held together with bits of plastic sheeting.

The inside of the caravans was piled with bedding and it is understood that the family sleep here during the colder months as there is a stove although often, they cannot afford to buy wood. 
These pictures show the inside of the shack, there is an entrance area which is used as a living room, the second room is where they sleep during the summer months and there is a long bench covered in bedding. 
​There is also a wood burning cooking stove in this room.

These pictures show the position and size of the foundation for their new home.  It is planned to build, a living room and two bedrooms. 
There are also plans in place for an electricity pylon to be sited close by to give them power.  At present Meralina brings water from the nearby river for all their washing needs.
​A neighbour is kind enough to let them have drinking water.  It is hoped that water will be plumbed into their new home.

The plight of these two families touched our hearts on our visit this year. Through your generosity at our Spring Fayre at Bee’s house, we have already sent some funds for the building of Meralina’s home. 
We have decided to continue to focus our fundraising on these two families and as a result the income from Bee’s two day Summer Fayre (2019), and the previous weekend’s Burraton Choir concert, will all be channeled towards helping Meralina and Marianna. 
​These two events raised over £2,000 but there is still some way to go.

romania trip 2020

Unfortunately due to the Coronavirus, we were unable to make our usual trip in May 2020.
​We hope to return to Romania again in 2021