Reaching Romania: 5 Pots of Pasta and 11 Loaves of Bread

Afternoon,
There was no slow start today and we continued to sort the shoeboxes. Then it was all hands on deck to prepare for a pastor who was coming to collect supplies from 300km up North. He had started the journey at 5am and Norman called him to find out he was 60km away at 9am! So that meant we had to head to the store to locate what he was looking for among the container contents. This didn't take long and we soon gathered a pile. At the same time it made sense to take supplies to the local kindergarden and hospital. A few of the ladies jumped in the van to deliver toys there and then...spontaneity!

Mum handing out toys

Then we arrived back from our 20 minute trip to meet the pastor arriving! So we loaded the trailer and car. This pastor runs an orphanage and a church. He is so grateful for whatever he can get and is trusted to capably distribute the clothes given to him. He's also got an organ to go up with him...but that was for another day.

Norman pondering tying the ropes

Plan in action!

Then it was a 5 minute lunch and all systems go for a feeding programme at Seleus. This was the same village I was able to hold one at in summertime so I was excited at the opportunity to go back.

The feeding programme is essentially where they feed the people the only meal they'll have that day and try to prevent death by starvation over the winter months.

Queuing

Collecting the children from the hill

Prayer

X their hand to keep track of who has eaten

The reason so many children came for food is because they are not in school. Education is free but you must attend wearing clean clothes and be clean. This is not something that is easily achieved when you live on a hillside with no running water, no sewage disposal, no rubbish disposal, one bedroom houses, animals everywhere and only one (maybe two) sets of clothes to your name. The discrimination the children experience in schools is also an unfortunate reality. However, it is in their interests to send the children to school. They receive education but also a meal and more entitlements on their benefit cards.

It breaks your heart to see the dirty faces, torn clothes, bare feet, matted hair, skin conditions, lice-infested children running towards the van to get food. For most it may be the first meal in a couple of days. They live in a reality that isn't anything like what I've known. I may miss an odd meal here or there but have never gone 24 hours or more without food. I have no idea what it is like to not have enough food to feed a family or to have to tell my extended family that we have to do without because it's more important the children get something.

Then we walked around Seleus and I was able to revisit some of those I met in summer. This is the inside of one of the houses which may sleep up to ten people!

And here is Virgil (the blind man-from drinking cleaning solutions) who I met in summer. He had been padlocked in his house so that his daughter could go and collect wood. We found him in there and his daughter appeared to unlock him, firewood in hands. She explained it was so that he wouldn't wander and get hurt. Some things just pull on your heart strings...