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Drivers Report : Easter 2001 Aid
Trip
Friday 6/4/01
We met at Lombard Shipping Company in Huyton at 0600 hrs to pick up
our vehicle that had been loaded the previous day. We are hoping to
get away early to get as far as we can today however, due to some minor
electrical faults we didn't leave Huyton until 0715hrs.
Well eventually we are under way and we are not sparing the horses.
Immediately our thoughts turn to the children and friends at the orphanage
in Beius whom we cant wait to see again, after an uneventful journey
down to Dover we arrive and start the paperwork at the Customs clearance
centre. One hour later we're all done and we're off to buy our ticket
for the ferry trip across to Zeebrugge. We make the ferry with minutes
to spare. We are convinced somebody up there is looking after us. We
land at Zeebrugge at 2130 hrs and go straight to sleep.
Saturday 7/4/01
We awoke at 0600 hrs and set off for Gent and Brussels. The sun is blinding
we hope it is going to remain like this for the rest of our journey.
We have now crossed from Belgium to Germany and are looking for a place
to park for the weekend, as we are not permitted to drive a HGV in Europe
on a Sunday. We have found an excellent truck stop near Wurzburg. We
are going to the local village for a walk and to sample the local brew
(very nice) then return to our vehicle for the night.
Sunday 8/4/01
Awoke about 0830 hrs showered, had breakfast, done some washing then
went for a 4 or 5 mile walk over the hills to pass the time and to get
a little exercise of course. After tea went for another stroll then
went to bed reasonably early, as we know that we have a long day head
of us tomorrow, as that is when the paperwork nightmare begins at the
Austrian/Hungarian border.
Monday 9/4/01
Set off at 0600 hrs sharp. We are now low flying in the direction of
the Austrian border and then on towards Vienna. Again our thoughts and
conversation return to the children of the orphanage and to all the
kind and generous people who have made our journey possible by supplying
us with a vehicle, supplying fuel and of course all the goods that we
are carrying. We know that just the sight of those overjoyed children
on our arrival will make our journey worthwhile.1500 hrs passing through
Vienna on the ring road. 16.00 hrs approaching the Austrian/Hungarian
border in the hope that things will go smoothly. Here we go! 1700 hrs
and nobody seems interested in speaking English, if only we could find
someone who could speak English and Hungarian. It is now 2300 hrs and
we are now £40, 1 bottle of whisky and a pen lighter, but we are
through the border that is all that matters. We park up for the night
and go to bed.
Tuesday 10/4/01
We are awake early but we can't leave until 0930 hrs due to tachograph
regulations. At 0930 hrs we set off for a long drive across Hungary
doing mostly no more than 40mph. Praying that we take the right roads,
as road signs are not the Hungarian strong point. 1230 hrs passing through
Budapest. We are now on the right road that will take us straight to
the Romanian border, where we know from previous experience our paperwork
nightmare will start all over again. Arrived at the Hungarian/Romanian
border at 1630 hrs. It is now 1820 and there is still at least 1 mile
of lorries in front of us in the queue. 2205 hrs just cleared the border
customs area now we are about to pay £7 to have our vehicle disinfected
as we come from that foot and mouth disease ridden place (The UK). We
drive through what looks like a car wash. The wheels just about get
wet. What a waste of time and money! We now drive a few hundred yards
to the internal customs clearance centre. 0100 hrs still at the border
trying to sort out paperwork. 0830 still here and we are sure that they
are making us wait because they can. Not much we can do about it except
sit and wait and think about our families back home and the task of
delivering the aid to the orphanage and hospitals. 1615 hrs, 24 hrs
after arriving at the border we are free to enter Romania thanks to
the power of 50DM some toothpaste and shower gel. Knowing that we are
now free to deliver our aid gives us a feeling of achievement that cannot
be paralleled. 1900hrs drove the 60 miles to our Hotel in Beius had
a shower then went to the orphanage, the word emotional doesn't come
near to explaining the scene. A truly magic moment that we will always
treasure. I only met them for a few days last year and they all remembered
my name. That really means a lot to me. After spending an hour or two
with the children we go to a restaurant near the orphanage for some
very necessary food.
Thursday 12/4/01
Awoke 0730 hrs had breakfast, boiled eggs, radish and dry bread. We
then took our vehicle to the orphanage for 1000 hrs to a rapturous welcome
from the children of the orphanage. 1300 hrs finally finished unloading
aid at the orphanage we now have a few hours to spare before we deliver
aid to the Beius General hospital. We stay at the orphanage and visit
many of the rooms and seeing the huge improvements made since our last
visit. All this is only possible due to the generosity of our supporters.
1600 hrs we deliver the aid to the General Hospital it looks like a
1940s UK Hospital, hence the desperate need for assistance. We finished
unloading at the hospital at about 1800 hrs then returned to the orphanage
to play with the children. 2000 hrs had pizza and chips for tea and
several beers we returned to the hotel at around midnight.
Friday 13/4/01
Arrived at the orphanage around 0900 hrs saw the children then visited
the Good Samaritan project which helps the street children with housing
and employment. We visited some of their apartments and they are tiny
by UK standards but they seem content just to have a roof over their
heads. We also visited a US based project run by Habitat. This organisation
builds affordable housing for some of the poorest people in the town.
It is now late afternoon and the temperature is dropping or maybe we
are just tired from long days, and nights.
Saturday 14/4/01
Went to the orphanage with the intention of meeting the rest of the
team and then going to a baby unit in Arad and another orphanage in
Tinca. It seemed that today fate was against us and we found that our
vehicle had lost power so we had to get it fixed. We took the vehicle
to a Volvo garage about 60 miles from the orphanage were they changed
the fuel filters. This definitely did the job as we are now on the way
back to the orphanage going like a bat out of hell. We really wanted
to go to the baby unit but repairing the vehicle had to take priority.1600
hrs returned to Beius had a shower at the hotel then went to the pizza
parlour for tea and to talk with the rest of the team about what we
had missed.2100 hrs still time to see the children before we go to bed.
On arrival at the orphanage there is always a hug and a warm welcome.
It's hard to believe that children in their situation can show such
affection.
Sunday 15/4/01
Arrived at the orphanage at about 0930hrs, to distribute the presents
that many of the children's sponsors had sent. The expressions on the
children's faces
really make the day for us. This is their Xmas. To see a child hug a
bottle of shampoo is really something!. The children savour every second,
as they know it is going to be another 12 months before they will experience
this again. Teddy bears, cars colouring books and pens and dolls. They
show all the same excitement and emotions that we would expect to see
back home with one difference, they really appreciate even the smallest
gift. After all the children had received at least one gift we walked
around their rooms where the children proudly show us their beds and
picture covered walls.
Monday 16/4/01
Stayed in the orphanage in the morning visiting the children's rooms
and their teachers. One class very proudly sang the Romanian national
anthem to the accompaniment of a small organ it really did sound good.
We start to get butterflies in our stomachs today as we are leaving
tomorrow and remember the feelings that we had last year when we were
leaving. There is a strange air within the orphanage today, as it seems
the children are feeling what we feel. We stay at the orphanage most
of the day. We take 2 young girls to a shop just outside the orphanage
to buy them an ice cream, this produced tears of joy. A real heart warming
moment.
Tuesday 17/4/01
Awoke around 0630 hrs had breakfast of boiled eggs, goats cheese and
dry bread. 0730hrs set off for the orphanage with gigantic lumps in
our throats and heavy hearts. We know what is to come in the next few
hours. 0930 after some very sad and tearful good-byes we left the orphanage
in the usual speechless glassy eyed state. Words fail us for at least
half an hour. The thought of children crying and pleading with us not
to leave does not make leaving very easy. Family ties being stronger
than the tears of a child forces us to depart. We have to accept that
we did what we came to do and now it's time to return to our families
in the knowledge that there is always next year. 1130 hrs arrived at
the Romanian/Hungarian border where we managed to jump the queue thanks
to our interpreter who accompanied us and whom without, we would be
lost. 1815 hrs having crossed Hungary in virtual silence we arrive at
the Hungarian/Austrian border and joined the2/3 mile queue of lorries.
We could be here all night. 1930 hrs vehicles moving very slowly forward.
Gypsies climbing up on our vehicle insisting on cleaning our windscreen.
We very politely tell them that we do not require their services. 2335
hrs at last cleared Hungarian and Austrian customs. Now for some sleep!.
Wednesday 18/4/01
Set off across Austria, it should take about 5/6 hrs to reach Germany.
0635 hrs passing through Vienna in a very early rush hour. 1600 passing
through Nuremburg . 1830 parked for the night at the same truck stop
near Wurzburg that we stopped at on the way out to Romania. A rather
uneventful day.
Thursday 19/4/01
0630 hrs heading across Germany for the Belgium border and hopefully
we should make it to the ferry tonight our thoughts and conversation
return constantly to the friends and children in Beius. We are not even
home yet and we are talking about the next trip.1145hrs approaching
the Belgium border and a very heavy snowstorm. 1645 hrs reached Zeebrugge
and we are now on the dock waiting for the 1930hrs ferry.0001 hrs just
arrived in Dover cleared customs and going to sleep for a few hours.
Friday 20/4/01
Set off from Dover at about 0300 hrs, cant wait to get home. O330 hrs
our vehicles radiator develops a bad leak. Luckily we are right next
to a motorway telephone. Someone up there is still looking after us.
1200hrs after having a new radiator fitted at a nearby Volvo agents
we set off again with foot to the floor we are quite lucky it seems;
until we reach the M11 then we hit our first traffic jam in 2 weeks.
We eventually reach Liverpool at about 2100 hrs and can't wait to get
home for a good shower and a good nights sleep. We know in our hearts
that it's not a case of if we are going again, but what date.
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