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1997
1998
1999
Easter 1999 Aid Trip
Educational Holiday
Christmas Visit
2000
Easter 2000 Aid Trip
ARC Apartment
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1998 Aid Trip Report
The Team
There were 14 members of the team for this aid trip, 9 from Northern
Ireland and 5 from Liverpool.
The team members from Northern Ireland were Mervyn Dougherty, Many
Kilpatrick, Dennis Butler, Emma Dougherty, Avril Finlay, Rosmary McKay,
Christopher Dougherty, and the youngest member my 11 year old daughter
Clare and myself. From Liverpool traveled the Meaney family, Chris,
Anne, Michael, Clare and 7 year old Tom.
It should be noted that all travelling and other expenses for the trip
are paid in full by each team member with no subsidy from ARC funds.
Sunday 5th April
The Northern Ireland teem met at 5.30am at Belfast International Airport
to fly to Amsterdam. From Amsterdam we flew to Budapest in Hungary where
we had a one and a half hour wait for the Meaney family who were on
a flight from London. We were met at the airport by our interpreter
Ioana Arion and two drivers for the minibuses on the five hour road
journey to Beius in Romania. After crossing two borders and three time
zones, we arrived in Beius at 11pm Romanian time absolutely exhausted.
The team went to their accommodation, four staying with Florica Arion
(Ioana s mother ), two staying with Ioana in her flat and the remainder
staying in a newly built motel. A tired traveled out team retired for
the night.
Monday 6th April
At 9.30am the team met at the local bank to obtain local currency. This
was an experience on it's own with the exchange rate being 13,500 lei
to the pound, the rate four years ago being 4,250 to the pound. After
exchanging money, and now feeling very rich, we make our way to the
orphanage. On the route we met several of the older children and there
was great excitement when the word was passed around that we had arrived.
On arrival at the orphanage the children were still having school lessons
so we took the opportunity to hold a meeting with the Director and Deputy
Director of the orphanage to agree our program for this trip. As usual,
the kindness of the Romanian people was shown in the refreshments provided
for us.
At 1pm we went to the rear of the orphanage to meet the children for
a memorable reunion Children came from all parts of this large Victorian
style orphanage to greet us. I spent all of this time watching the emotional
reactions of the first members of the team.
On this first meeting there was lots of competition among the children
to see who could get closest to you. For members of the team who had
visited before it was superb to see the children again and some seemed
to have grown so much. Many spent a lot of time asking me about their
sponsor families, how they were and if they had come or were coming.
It was great for me to be able to say to them. Your family have sent
you a present which you will get when the transport arrives. After a
few hours we went back to our accommodation to prepare for taking the
first group of children to the Pizza Restaurant, one of two places in
the town to eat. At 6pm we met the 70 children and treat them to chips,
pizza, coke and chocolate washed down with lots of companionship and
chat.Everyone had a great first evening, the children returning to the
orphanage at 9am to try to calm down for sleep. The team finished their
first full day by returning to the pizza to relax for a while.
Tuesday 7th April
At 9am the Team assembled and made their way to the offices of the Mayor
of Beius to hold a meeting with the Mayor and Ioana, who between them
manage the Romanian side of the ARC charity. The mayor was pleased to
see us again and, as usual, hospitality was laid on. The Mayor and Ioana
carry out the work for our charity on a totally voluntary basis and
following this meeting g we have left them with even more work to do.
During the meeting they told us of ongoing projects and projects completed
throughout the year.
1. The purchase of a Christmas present for all children and staff from
charity funds.
2. The refurbishment of a vary dull class group room to a lovely new
bright room.
3. The monthly supply of bread, cakes and fruit for the orphanage.
4. Preparations for the Aid Trip.
Following the meeting we made our way to a meeting with Adrian from
the Good Samaritan Project. Adrian gave us a briefing on the work carried
out by this project. ARC has a lot of input into this work.
1. We support some of the children who are housed through this project
by transferring the money of those sponsored through the charity. This
money is used to support food, housing repairs, etc. to help maintain
these children and keep them from living on the streets.
2. In December 1997 ARC purchased a flat for this project 4 boys for
a cost of L1,950. On this trip we visited the flat and agreed to fund
much needed improvements to the bathroom and kitchen. At present there
are two boys living in the flat who are very proud to have a roof over
their head. One of these boys used to sleep in the local park on a bench
seat.
3 We also provide the project with household items, clothes, footwear,
food. This year we provided a washing machine, refrigerator, new clothes,
and shoes. At the request of Adrian a vacuum cleaner, to enable a business
for the young people to be set up, and a computer for teaching purposes
was also provided. Items provided on aid trips are not simply handed
to these young people, they are taught that they have to work to be
rewarded.
Our next visit of the day was to the abandoned babies ward in the local
hospital. This is a very dark, grim, crowded ward full of babies who
have been abandoned by their mothers because they cannot afford to keep
them. It is hard to explain what these babies are like, small, underweight,
undernourished, wrapped in pieces of blankets with pieces of clothes
used for nappies, very sad looking cases, but beautiful in their own
way. Many members of the team found it hard to take this in and handle
the emotional side. During our time on the ward it was an emotional
relief to know that we had brought a lot of aid for these babies. We
remained on the ward for quite some time cuddling and playing and helping
to feed the babies. We then returned to the orphanage to spend some
time with the children. As the weather was very good during our trip
we were able to sit outside the back of the orphanage in the sunshine
on the same day in Northern Ireland it was snowing . We talked, walked
and played on the swings and seesaw and took photographs. The children
love getting their photo taken and every time they saw a camera they
kept asking "Frank, photo, photo". That evening the team were
invited to Florica 's house for a meal, again these people have very
little but their hospitality is generous. What they have is yours and
the really make you feel at home.
Wednesday 8th April
The four Directors Anne, Mervyn, Chris and Frank had a meeting while
Clare H, Clare M, and Christopher went to the local school for the day.
The remainder of the team were taken on a sightseeing trip to the bear
caves by Florica and Ioana. That afternoon we visited the General Hospital.
It was dark and dull with a Victorian style operating room which would
not be as well equipped as your local vet. The wards had no more than
a bed and a cupboard. There was no such thing as nice starched white
sheets. We visited the Maternity Section and were shocked to find the
delivery room only a delivery chair. In all my years in hospital work
I have never seen anything like this, a high chair with a sloped back,
stirrups and a raised step for the staff to stand on with a tin bucket
underneath. There was a two month old baby to whom we all gave a cuddle.
This baby was very light with a little wrinkled face and it had to be
tube fed. It was wrapped up in a grey blanket, bound with baler twine
and a label c containing its details attached. The whole hospital was
very poor. It was arranged with the Director of the hospital who showed
us around that we would return on Friday with the aid for the hospital.
We brought all kinds of medical dressings, antibiotics, nappies, baby
products, first aid dressings and general medical and surgical equipment.
That evening we returned to the orphanage and took another group of
70 children to the Pizza. We took over the Pizza restaurant and the
children had a very enjoyable and exciting time. The only time the children
are at the Pizza is when we take them as they could not afford it otherwise.
Thursday 9th April
Chris Meaney, who is in charge of transport, left to go to the border
loaded with an armful of papers. Romanian officials seem to spend most
of their time stamping papers! At the border Chris was to meet the 40
foot articulated lorry along with the tree land rovers with trailers,
all carrying a large amount of aid. The vehicles were driven from Britain
by a transport team of ten people, the journey taking 5 long days. Chris
was hoping that the usual lengthy delays awaiting border clearance suffered
on previous aid trips did not materialise this year. Meanwhile, with
Chris waiting at the border, the rest of the team met with the orphanage
staff and arrange to take a party of the children to the market. This
market comes to Beius every Thursday from across the Hungarian border
and is something of a special event in the town. Provided you have the
money it appears possible to buy most things in the market. Because
the children never have money to buy things they were very excited when
we bought them some small items and their reaction meant we also enjoyed
spending money in the market. We then returned to the orphanage to wait
for the transport arriving. After waiting for what seemed like days,
we got word that the transport had been delayed by border control and
would not arrive until the next day. At 8pm the team set out to the
new Italian restaurant for their tea. The food was good when it eventually
arrived.
Friday 10th April
In the morning we met at the orphanage to await the transport. Word
filtered through that the transport would arrive sometime after lunch
which means that we would be working until late evening to unload the
aid. As we had planned to take another group of 70 children to the Pizza
at 6pm it was decided that the male members of the team would stay to
unload while the female members accompany the children to the restaurant.
About 10 minutes before the transport was due we went to the front of
the orphanage and many children and staff followed. When the transport
was first spotted coming down the main street the children became very
excited, their loud cheers and the horns of the vehicles combined to
make it a memory to be cherished. The sight of the cortege of vehicles
caused most of the townspeople to stand and stare. The gates of the
orphanage opened and the vehicles entered to proceed to the rear for
unloading, the drivers doing a super job negotiating around the three
hundred excited children. It is hard to describe in words the excitement
generated in both children and staff when the convoy was first spotted.
It reminded us all just how important an event it is in their lives.
As you can guess we had plenty of volunteers of all ages to help unload
but to be properly organised we only used the services of the older
children. The unloading went on until late in the evening and we were
glad that all the aid was well labeled to enable us to send the different
kinds of aid to the proper stores without mix-ups. We were all very
tired, cold and hungry when we returned to our accommodation. Thanks
to Florica, Mervyn and I ate well that evening.
Saturday 11th April
The expanded team of 24 set off early in the morning with three landrovers
and two trailers for the two hour journey to Arad for a visit to the
Hospital For Sick Babies. Three hours later after a refreshment stop
we arrive at the hospital where the doctors and staff were so pleased
to see us. We were taken to the wards where we spent time with the babies,
cuddling and playing with them. The staff have so many babies to look
after that they do not have time to give the babies enough affectionate
attention. Even in our relatively short visit it was noticeable how
the babies responded to the attention they received. It is hard to describe
what these wards are like, on one a pale, thin, distant child rocks
endlessly from side to side in a cot. He looks around two years old.
Dr Lucerne informs us he is five and found abandoned in the sewers,
a sad sight. It was time to unload the trailers with the help of the
staff. We had brought baby medicines, antibiotics, surgical and medical
dressings, needles and syringes, creams, toiletries, food, sweets, clothes,
shoes, nappies and a years supply of gel for the ultrasound machine
which was brought on our last trip. The doctors told us that this ultrasound
machine is used a great deal and they thanks God for this machine. They
can now scan babies to diagnose ailments rather than carry out sometimes
needless or inconclusive investigative operations. After the ward visit
it was hospitality time again, Romanians never change. The hospital
is improving with every visit, it is now bright and clean and they do
look after the babies as well as they can for very little return. The
lead doctor earns L60 per month with nurses earning L45 per month. It
was time to return to Beius for our next important appointment. At 8pm
we are meeting the staff from the orphanage to take them out for the
evening to, you guessed it, the Pizza. We had a great evening talking
and spending time with the staff, this was the first time we had done
this and they could not get over that we were taking them out. This
was Mandy and Avril 's last evening as they were returning home the
next morning so they were feeling down in the dumps.
Sunday 12th April
This morning, after Mandy and Avril said their goodbyes to the children
and leave for home, the team take the aid to the Good Samaritan Project.
Adrian, the project leader, was so pleased with the quantity and quality
of the aid. We brought a washing machine, fridge, vacuum cleaner, new
shoes, computer and printer, food, bedding, tools, first aid kits and
stationery. Most of this aid will be used as incentives for young people
to work. Later we went to the orphanage to hand out presents sent to
individual children from their sponsors. Thank you to all those sponsors,
the children really were so pleased to receive your gifts. At 4.30pm
we had organised a party for the young children, 82 children from the
ages of 4 to 8 years old. These children are all available for sponsorship.
Like children everywhere a party generates tremendous excitement, this
being particularly so for these children as a party is a very rare event.
The children entertained us with all their heart and soul, they sang
and danced with smiles on their faces while dressed in the best clothes
they could find. We had brought 100 bananas for the first course which
every child enjoyed along with sweets, chocolate and soft drinks. The
party lasted for over two hours and ended with every child getting a
shoe box full of presents such as toothbrushes, colouring pencils etc.
Prior to ARC becoming involved with the orphanage Christmas presents
for the children consisted of being handed an apple and orange it is
not hard to imagine how please they were to receive the box of presents.
At the party was a beautiful 8 year old boy, a little pale looking,
who suffers from AIDS. He really appreciated all the love and attention
from the team during the trip. The staff told us that he was now sick
every day and it was hard to stop thinking about how much longer this
child would live. This is so sad.
Monday 13th April
We leave to drive one and a half hours to the village of Hodas, Salard.
The village and surrounding area was very poor compared to the outback
with dirt track roads, no telephones, no shops and no doctor. This is
a Hungarian village where the people live off the land and have a v
Very basic existence. The population is approximately 830 of which 790
attend the Hungarian Reformed Church in the village. The reason we were
here was to give aid to the Minister George (Hungarian ) and his wife
Sue who is English. Sue is a qualified nurse who holds a clinic for
treating all kinds of medical ailments free of charge. Sue holds the
clinic in premises beside a Manse and due to the extremely limited means
available to her it is very basic with next to nothing in it. The nearest
doctor is two villages away and he is only there two days a week. As
a result Sue seems to look after everything from a cut finger to the
birth of a baby. We had arranged to be there for 12 noon as Sue had
told us that everyone would be at church for a doubly special service
to celebrate Easter Monday and the Christening of a baby. There were
a total of 22 in our party, 12 members of the team and 10 from the transport.
All of us had been invited after church to eat with the family of the
baby in their home to celebrate the christening. In their small home
they had tables set, I still cannot figure out how we all fitted in,
and proceeded to serve up a five course meal with home made juice and
wine to drink. We started with meatballs followed by soup, rice &
raw meat wrapped in cabbage leaves, port and potatoes ending with cake.
To be honest the food was not our kind of food but it was so generous
of these people to provide it that we all did our best to eat what we
could. I asked Sue who paid for all of this and she told us that the
food was grown by the family and they had slaughtered a pig the day
before for us to have. It was nice to attend the church and be part
of the Christening. It was now time to unload the aid for Sue, all types
of medical and surgical dressings, needles and syringes, antibiotics,
painkillers, bandages, splints, blankets, clothes, shoes, baby clothes
and children's medicines. If only you could have seen Sue s face when
we opened up the back of the trailer which was full of aid, all for
her clinic. Sue said "My prayers have been answered" . We
had to be back at the orphanage for 7.30am as the Director and staff
wanted to hold a party for us. Again these people are so kind as a meal
was ready for us and they showered us with hospitality yet again.
Tuesday 14th April
After sorting out some some of the aid it was time to give out the
remainder of the shoe box presents to the children. Every child in the
orphanage was given an individual present. Thanks to some schools in
Lisburn and Liverpool who arranged this and provided over 300 shoe boxes,
they were fantastic. The handing out of presents took most of the day.
It was a joy to watch the reaction of the children when they opened
up their boxes. In the evening we met with the Mayor for a meal and
to talk over some future plans.
Wednesday 15th April
While some members of the team visited a place where 32 members
of an extended family share two dwellings Emma and myself started to
photograph all of the children who are not yet sponsored, 82 of the
young children and another 25 of the older children in the orphanage.
A farewell party was held in the orphanage from 4 to 9pm with a disco,
entertainment, eats and the highlight for both the children and staff
was when we gave each of them a radio hat kindly donated by Harp, N.Ireland.
Everyone thought the hats were great. It was nearly time to say goodbye,
the staff and children were in tears, the team was in tears. It was
really hard to say goodbye. The staff in the orphanage made their tearful
farewell speeches and thanked us for all the help and support provided.
We said our good-byes and set off to begin a long journey home. This
was a really successful trip and I can t wait to return again. Many
thanks to all the people who made this trip possible, supplying the
aid and giving financial support. Thanks also to the Sponsors who support
children every month. We now have just over 100 children waiting to
be sponsored. If any of your friends would like to sponsor a child,
and give them the feeling of being part of a family, please contact
me on 01846 663173. It costs 12 per month, that is less than L3 per
week, but it means so much than that to a child. If you would like to
help in any other ways we would be extremely grateful.
To finish the long report our thanks go to the hard working team Mervyn,
Chris, Anne, Mandy, Dennis, Emma, Clare H, Michael, Rosemary, Avril,
Christopher, Clare M, Tom and all of the transport team. A video, slides
and photographs of this trip are available for anyone or organisation
to borrow if they wish.
Please contact me if you require any of the above.
With grateful thanks
The Directors
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