Bizarre weather

How bizarre to be in Dorohoi in November and hear that on the Isle of Man roads are shut, airport & schools closed due to heavy snow and ice. Maximum was 9C here today, with fog and damp weather, so we are contending with mud rather than snow.
But we know cold weather is on the way and for many here it will not be just a point of staying in and turning the central heating up a notch. For those who can afford it maybe it just mean going outside for extra wood, but others will resort to burning anything they can find as they have been unable to afford firewood. They cannot even go into the forest and gather fallen branches without a licence.
Wednesday is a public holiday to celebrate the National day of Romania, the children will be off school and we plan to have games and Christmas craft activites for them in our resource room at Cobila.
I know the children will love using all the lovely craft materials which we were able to bring with us. Thanks to all who donated items and funds.

Back in Dorohoi

Had a smooth trip back, record journey across Romania today in the autumn sunshine. As you can see from the photos the pajero was as full as ever and we nearly picked up another passenger when we stopped to for a break on one of the Romanian mountain tops. A lovely welcome from the families in Hands of Hope houses and our friends here. The car is unloaded and Chris already plugging his computer in so he can catch up on work.

On the Road again

After a busy few weeks on the island we are on our way back to Romania. It ws lovely to spend time with family and friends and also raise awareness of the work of Hands of Hope.
The Pajero is now packed to the brim, top box loaded and bikes on the rack. Thank you to everyone who has helped with collecting and providing funds.
Must remember to take a picture before we unload!

Supplies & Supplications

Good news today, we have been able to purchase 1000's of vitamins for adults and children at a very good price. We will be taking them out to Romania in November and they will help over the winter months when fresh fruit and vegetables are unaffordable for many of the families we help. Thank you to everyone who has donated funds in recent months to make this possible.
By the way does anyone have an adult bike which they would be willing to donate. We know 2 families who could make good use of them and we can take them out on the back of the Pajero when we go back next month.

We are now on Facebook :-)

Hi everyone, another way to follow us, we are on Facebook. Just do a search for Hands of Hope and choose the correct one!
We are back in the Isle of Man catching up with friends and family as well as speaking at churches and meetings. Thankyou everyone who supports the work of the charity, it is a real encouragement.

From Marcioneta

From Marcioneta
I have only lived at Cobila since May, It was a bit of a scary ride in the back of the infamous Pajero, still they did not seem too upset about the mess they had to clear up!
I was a birthday present to Ruth and a welcome supplier of milk for the children in the Hands of Hope houses. I was sorry to leave my family and flock in Varfu, but soon settled in here and enjoyed the petting from the children and my daily treat of a slice or two of bread from Ruth.
It has been a strange summer, glorious at first with lots of activity here, a new house being built and everyone working together to farm the land. The storms and floods at the end of June were scary and I was very thankful that my barn is at the back and away from all the water. The chicks that many of the hens had at that time were not so fortunate. The families were devastated and frightened when they had to be evacuated but all worked together and helped get things dried out once the water had subsided.
The children seemed to enjoy having the bikes out on the field and spending time in the play room. Having extra activities certainly seemed to give their parents a welcome break and helped the 3 month long school holiday pass. Yesterday it was lovely to see them all with their school bags ready for school. Later Florentina & Ruth spent time sorting clothes and shoes to help kit them out with what they needed for school.
I do feel that I have been demoted rather since the arrival of THE COW which was named Speranţă (Hope). I know she can supply much more milk than me but don’t they realise how much she is going to eat! I hope she does not eat all the corn which I was glad to see being gathered from the fields on Monday. Though as the women walked past me I overheard them saying it was a much smaller harvest than last year due to the floods and long spell of wet weather.
This morning it is wet and a lot cooler, abnormally so for this time of year. When Vascilica came to feed and milk me this morning he gently told me they were sending me away today! I am off to see my family at Varfu for a couple of months and they seem hopeful that in March I will be having a kid and so able to give more milk for the children.
Oh No! that is going to mean another ride in the Pajero better cross my legs

A day in my life from Mitsubishi Pajero R310 Man

A day in my life from Mitsubishi Pajero R310 Man
Life here in Romania can be exhausting hot and dusty in the summer, freezing cold and icy in the winter with every other sort of weather thrown in between. In the summer I am choked with dust Driving in the winter sometimes my heater can only managed to keep the windscreen clear and on other internal windows, condensations turns to ice. I am thankful that the mud and snow tyres are kept on all year or I know that regular road tyres would not last on the flint tracks.
On Tuesday I was on the road before 8am. Driving out of town on the almost smooth road, it was quite pleasant a crisp bright morning and a refreshing 16C. But after 6k the road changed and we were on a stony country track, in places more like a river bed, 12.5 k over hill and dale heading towards the Ukrainian border. Ruth was driving, Chris Tomlin CD, struggled to stay playing with all the bumps. It was pleasant to have the windows open and crisp air drifting through the car, though Ruth had to put them back up quickly as soon as she saw another car coming towards us or we would have been choked by the dust as the other car went past.
We were going to collect a mum and 4 year old boy (see picture with Ruth), who are at present living (with husband and 3 year old daughter) in disused army barracks right on the border along with 15 other families who lost or had homes badly damaged in recent floods. They have such basic conditions and being so far from the main road less aid has reached them.
Gheorge needed to go to hospital in Botosani 53k away from where they live. Not an easy journey hitching and public transport with a fractious 4 year old. He was so happy to get in the car. We called at Cobila on the way as Ruth had to collect a man from the Hands of Hope houses who also needed to go to the city. He was very good at entertaining Gheorge on the journey.
First stop the children’s hospital, Gheorge was seen by the Dr and various papers stamped. We were then told to go to another office on the other side of town for more papers and then come back to the children’s hospital at 2pm. But this turned out to be the wrong place so we had to go back across town to another hospital. Gheorge was examined again. This time we were told that he would need more papers from his village mayor and family Dr to be stamped and brought back to city the next day. Thankfully Gheorge would not need to be seen again (until next year’s renewal), so his mum was able to get the bus the next day with the papers.
Ruth had Romanian worship music playing on the way home and I am thankful that little Gheorge soon fell asleep as he was exhausted and irritable after the long day. We dropped them off back at the camp stopping for a while to talk to the rest of the families living in the old barracks and promising to come back next week to spend some time balloon modelling for the children.
A peaceful drive back along the track to Dorohoi and my day was over.