Well-travelled hedgehog “Garmin”

Having clocked up almost as many miles between the Isle of Man and Dorohoi as Ruth and Chris, I decided it was my turn to write the “blog”. Garmin is my name and I first went to Romania in 2003. I was named after the “garmin” satnav which they used me to cover when they left the van.

They were supposed to give me to away in Romania but having been squashed and dropped in mud and snow I ended up back on the island and became a travelling companion for future road trips. I reckon by now I have done 17 return journeys with Ruth and Chris, going with them each time except the summer of 2009 when they FORGOT me! And as you can see on the photo I now have an angel to keep me company.

We got back to Dorohoi this morning and spent a few hours unloading the Pajero. As trips go this one was fairly uneventful, the usual 2 boat trip and 2000 miles of driving.

 St Mary Magdalen Parish Church Geddington

At least this time I had a good view, I thought we were full as we left the island, but I was even more squashed after we had collected other items on the way. Paper, crayons, baby clothes from Kathryn, Stew and Noah, T-shirts from Pat, children’s clothes from Nic, Gary, Eoghan & Liam, lovely knitted blankets from the fellowship group at Geddington Parish church and shoes, clothes, chocolates and toiletries from our friends at the Anker Hotel.

 

 

It was a bit of a shock when a stone hit the windscreen in Germany, leaving a crack which will need repairing at a later date. Also I was rather surprised to see flashing lights on the floor on the driver’s side of the car, but Ruth was sure it was due to Chris’s fast cornering up and down the mountains.

It is already turning cold here and there was only a dusting of snow over the Romanian mountains and so far it has only been as cold as -3C but I am pretty sure it was even colder in the car overnight.

Ruth says please continue to pray for Cosmin who is now in intensive care at Iasi hospital, following his oesophageal haemorrhage on Sunday. He has been visited each day by friends who live in Iasi and today our friend Helen went to see him (3 hours each way by bus). She was able to take medication which he needed urgently and which the hospital was unable to provide.

see link to a pray for Cosmin page set up by one of our Romanian friends Miki.

https://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=232619346800702

Packing

It has been wondeful to be back on the island for a few weeks. We have thoroughly enjoyed having time with our family and spent lots of time getting to know our adorable grandson James. We have also given a number of talks about our lives in Romania and collected many items which we will be taking back with us or which have been packed and are ready to be sent out later.

Our Pajero has been serviced, cleaned and has new set of mud and snow tyres. It is now just about full, though I do still have a pile of bags which I hope to squeeze in.

The forecast for our drive across europe is looking good, though minus 7C is forecast for our first week back in Romania.

Thank you to everyone for your prayers, contributions, support and encouragement.

Please continue to pray for Cosmin, he and his mother came home from hospital in Iasi yesterday (though it was a long journey as the train broke down so the normal 3 hour trip took 6 hours. He is very happy to be home and is in good spirits. He will return for his final chemotherapy session in a few weeks.

October 15th and it is snowing

It is a joy to hear from friends in the Isle of Man and UK when we are in Romania, and often a real boost to us. The same works when we are back on the island. Not a day goes past without some contact from Romania. This past week a number of friends have been able to visit Cosmin in hospital in Iasi and let us know how he is getting on. We also have messages from the community at Cobila and our friends in Dorohoi.

Our friend Pastor Liviu had also been to visit families we know and report back that they are all struggling to buy food and firewood, some families we know have had electricity supplies cut off because they cannot afford the bills.

Last week I said the temperatures were dropping in Romania and the first snow had fallen on the mountains. This morning I heard that it is snowing in our area and in Dorohoi tonight it is forecast to be -1C. I know many folks on the island are trying to economise and like us not turn on the central heating yet. In Romania the winters are longer and much colder, and many families we know struggle to afford fuel. It is hard enough for the families in the well-insulated Hands of Hope houses, but even harder for people who are still living in old mud brick houses or some of the recently built social houses which have no insulation. Last year in April when we drove back across the Romanian mountains the snow was still thick and in Dorohoi the first signs of spring were only just beginning to show.


Last year we were able to help some of the poorest families with loads of fire wood which cost £20-£30 for a months supply.

Cosmin October 2011

Yesterday a Romanian Friend was able to visit Cosmin and his mother in hospital in Iasi. He took Cosmin some fruit, food and gifts. we heard later in the day how this had been a real boost for them and that Cosmin loved the robot toy. Please continue to pray for Cosmin and his family as he undergoes the chemotherapy. This morning his mother will be donating blood, so that Cosmin can have the much needed transfusion before his next chemo session.

Cosmin with his mother and Francisc

Grandparents and.............

We are thoroughly enjoying having time at home with the family and getting to know our first grandson James who is now 2 weeks old. He is changing every day and developing a lovely character.

I was so pleased to be able to attend the Mosaic Women’s conference organised by Living Hope community Church www.livinghope.im . It was a superb time of teaching and fellowship and a good time to catch up with friends. 2012 conference is already fixed in my diary 9-10^th November.

We were able to have a stand at the conference showing the work of Hands of Hope and had some positive conversations. On Sunday Chris and I were leading the young people’s activity time. We were focusing on the work of Hands of Hope and around 60 (7-12 year old) children attended. They had some very interesting questions.

Last Friday we had a stand at the Charity Challenge event, a time for the year 12 students from the Isle of Man schools to come and see the work of local charities oversees and choose a charity to research and represent in this year’s challenge. We heard today that a group has chosen us and are looking forward working with them as they prepare their presentation.

We are in daily contact with contacts in Romania, it may only be a brief chat on Face Book or an email but it is great to keep in touch and know how people are getting on. The temperature in Dorohoi is already dropping and is on the whole colder than the island, first snowfalls were reported on the mountain roads at the weekend.

We have regular updates on the little boy Cosmin who lives in one of the Hands of Hope built homes at Cobila. He is making the 3 hour journey with his mother to Iasi for chemotherapy once a month. When he got there this week his red blood cell count was low, so tomorrow his mother will donate blood so that he can have a blood transfusion before he has the chemotherapy.

Over the next few weeks we are booked to speak at school assemblies and church groups; it is always a joy to talk about the work in Romania so please get in touch if you would like to see us before we go back.

Back on the Isle of Man

Packed & Ready to go

Some people go away and come home to a house which was just the same as they left it, (well as long as they did not leave teenage children minding the place!) Maybe a neighbour comes in to water the plants, even feed the cats but basically the house is the same. We are often blessed to come home to our house with more in it than when we left. I remember once when we came back to our house in Andreas, one of the first things I did was to go to the outhouse to put a load of washing in the machine. The only problem was the washing machine was completely buried under about 20 large black bin bags. This time it was our dining room table, bags of clothes, craft materials, toys & toiletries. They are now all sorted and will either go back to Romania with us in November or on the next shipment.

If anyone is having a clear out or wants to donate some items the following are particularly useful. Shampoo, soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, felt tips, coloured pencils, craft materials, jigsaw puzzles (under 300 pieces) children’s clothes, socks, tights and shoes. Many of these items are more expensive to buy in Romania and are unaffordable by the people we help.

Of course funds are always needed too and you can see on our web site www.handsofhope.org.im ways to donate by cheque or our PayPal account.

Family allowance is less than £9 per month per child. For some of the families we help, this is their only income!


Mirela, Vasille and 4 of their 5 children

2011 House Build

£15000 builds a home for a family

£500 pays for a year’s college/university fees.

£500 sinks a new well, fits a hand pump and concrete surround

Cosmin February 2011

£216 pays for part of one course of chemotherapy treatment for a Cosmin. Cosmin had a malignant tumour removed from his back in July and is now having chemotherapy. But the hospital has not got the budget available to purchase all the medications required.

£20 pays of a food parcel. Mămăligă which is made from cornmeal (polenta) is a staple food and for poorer families can often be the only food eaten. A food parcel helps to give a wider variety and more nutrition to the family’s diet and the parcel also contains cleaning products.

£10 pays to refill a gas bottle.

£4 pays for one child’s school bus fares for a week

25p buys an 800g loaf of bread.

Family allowance is less than £9 per month per child. For some of the families we help, this is their only income!

Hands of Hope

“Hands of Hope” is the name of the Manx charity that we are trustees of, but what does that actually mean?

Chris & I are the regular volunteer “Hands” in Romania but we are joined during each year by other folks who visit us and volunteer to use their hands here. There are also many people in the Isle of Man & UK who may never visit us personally but who are willing hands giving support by praying for us and the work, donating funds, clothes, medicines and building materials, helping to construct building panels, collecting and packing clothes including our friends and fellow trustees James and Selina Vickers. We are also blessed to be helped by others here in Romania,  people who work for other charities, friends from our church here and also the families who we help who then help us to help others in need.

The main focus of our work where our hands do most work in the village area of Cobila in the Sendricini Commune just outside Dorohoi in Botosani County. Here we help support 7 families on a regular basis. We and they alike work together as friends indeed as family and we aim to encourage a sense of community.

Speranţă

Part of this sense of community comes from the sharing of land and resources including the produce from a cow and three goats. Earlier in the year many of the community worked the fields by hand to ensure what we hope will be the best crop of maize to date. The cow and goats regularly give enough milk to supplement the diet of all the families.

The cost of the seed and ploughing etc. is supported by the charity; some of the animals have been generously donated by supporters in the Isle of Man. The goat Brianna was donated the Elvin family last year. The cow was donated to one of our families last year by a charity based a few miles away from us (Matthews House). In exchange for grazing on charity land some of her milk is donated to other families. The cow was named by her new owner and he decided to call her Speranţă (Hope), as he said she was a symbol of the Cobila community and the hope that people had when they were given a new home and a new start in life J

See  www.handsofhope.org.im for more information and details

The 3 Goats Brianna,Sophia and Valentina with some of the children from the Cobila community