Mangalia visit

Goat herders seen along the fields.

Where was I up to now…

Oh yes, the visit to Babadag. So not only have the couple stayed to help the community by either taking groups from western countries to paint fences, paint kindergarten rooms, donate presents to the poorest children in Christmas, fixing the local playground as well as themselves going into the poorer homes to help families… they also have the rented building where the local kids and teens can play games, table tennis etc, they have couches for them the hang out with a coffee and about eight computers in a basement area where they can either go on the internet or do their homework (some of the kids wouldn’t have access to a computer otherwise). They also teach musical lessons and English to kids who are interested.

Unfortunately no matter how much good you do people still try to get you down. Although the couple aren’t enforcing anything on the kids, they are Christians and believe it or not the people making helping the children most difficult is the Orthodox Church in the Village, which is the most common Christian faith here though is very restrictive, for example some separate men from the woman via seating, women wear head-scarfs and are considered as going to hell if they wear makeup, earrings, nail-polish etc. Basically, by their standards I really don’t stand a chance. But of course this young couple (and I, if I’m going to add my opinion in here) believe that everyone should be accepted  and treated equally… which has meant the Church has openly told the children to stay away from the youth centre and not to take the music lessons or accept their help, which is of course really sad as they are a few of a very small number of people truly giving up their time and lives and asking nothing in return.

When chatting away about the problems in the community, the frequent problem we seemed to get to every time was unemployment. Without jobs there is no money, people go hungry, and then they may get bored, lazy or perhaps break the law to make a living. When we suggested that it might perhaps be a good thing if we could get someone to invest in a factory or industry which would train and employ the local Romanians it was agreed that this was an idea… but one already tried and failed. It appears that the majority of the industry left in the town, the supermarket and a few shops, is owned by one wealthy man, who is “tight” with the Mayor/leaders. When someone tried to start a new business to employ the locals this man (mafia mentioned, though I couldn’t say for sure whether this was a joke or not) made sure nothing came of it. Corruption it seems always lies hand-in-hand with extreme poverty.

Money is of course always hard to come by. They mentioned that only recently they’d had heating installed and the basement where the computers where was very cold (and it was a sunny day outside) I can only imagine it in the -25’C temperatures they get. Interestingly enough the older computers they had just replaced were sitting in a corner and when I commented “well, at least you’ll be able to sell them for a bit of a profit” he shook his head and commented they were giving them away to families and children from the outer village or country that didn’t have them. So often over here I’ve met people who have so little to work with and yet give what they have away with such joy. It’s amazing.

So time for a terrible cliché foreigner moment… Those who are not amused by toilet humour I’d recommend skipping to the next paragraph, but I think this gives a rather hilarious snap-shot into my life and travels. It begins with me having drunk far too many coffee’s that morning, and combining the fact that I hadn’t not gone to the toilet since breakfast, and the long drive to the village, I REALLY needed to go. As I took a look into the two youth centre toilets I had time to peek into before bursting, where I noticed they were both the Turkish style (a porcelain oval bowl below ground-level) I figured what-the-hey and have used the Asian version before so no biggie. Unfortunately I’m really getting desperate to go by this stage and have extreme trouble with my skinny jeans as I’m trying to squat… basically, being the complete amateur I am, although I managed to hold my jeans out of the way of the torrent which ensued, I’d misjudged the porcelain bowl for the conniving object it is and managed to get back-sprayed in my FACE. Hahaha. Only a little bit before adjusting… but none-the-less unpleasant. Thankfully I like to think of all unpleasant occurrences as funny, so I had a wee giggle, washed my face and moved on.

Our time was almost up (we were already late and so missed visiting other philanthropists that day) so we headed out of town to a lovely rest-stop restaurant in the forest. On the way we stopped to see a field which had been bought by a past church and was now passed to the couple, they still hope to build a playground, sports field and community centre there… but of course it’s all money and much needs to be planned before any of this could happen. It’s in a beautiful location too, with a view of forested hills, though still in the middle of a poorer suburb.

My meal of polenta mamaliga and meat stew.

The couple have three young children and as the restaurant had a small zoo attached (random) in-between chatting and the meal we looked at the animals. The kids loved animals which must be a family trait because as we chatted I found out that Mimi’s father and brothers run a bear rehabilitation project (bears being found wild in Romania)… the family actually got started when they were given three young abandoned cubs and ended up taking care of them. Seriously? You can’t make this kind of stuff up.

For lunch I had a local specialty of polenta mamaliga (which is like finely chopped sweet-corn, egg and cheese which looks a lot like cous cous) and a really flavourful meat stew… delicious! The meals here are HUGE.

That night we ended up staying up really late (thus my catching up on the blog today) at a University Students International night, where mostly medical students studying in Constanta (which is the second largest city in Romania) celebrated the end of the year. It was a rather interesting clash of cultures… we and those who’d invited us turned up on time, at 7pm, the Romanians (who are known to run things without a schedule) turned up about 45min to an hour late, and the large number of African students turned up after this. I mean, I’m still recovering from being trained in the military, and I get antsy if I’m a minute late to a meeting… but this was bordering on unbelievable. Turned out to be a great night though, lots of fun, entertainment and laughs, and I ended up sitting next to a Scottish couple who were missionaries and had moved there whole family (three teenage sons) to Romania to work with the youth in a small village, where they ended up staying 6 years (to date).

Although they insisted that it was very hard work and slow progress, they are making a difference. The husband compared the fact that when they arrived there was just “deadness” in peoples eyes, but now they drive down the street and see smiles and can barely stop waving as everyone that passes by greets them.

The richer side of Mangalia, the Marina's.

When asked what the hardest part is they mentioned how no matter how genuine you and your motives are, the people (especially in a small town) gossip and suspicious. Many refuse their help because of rumours they sell children to their western friends, or steal the children’s organs, or other ridiculous stories. People here more than most find it difficult to trust, after all it was never shown to them before… and the country has lived in “survival mode” for so long.

The other thing which really encouraged me was when the award for “Best Leader of 2012” went to a very tall, athletic African woman. Although this might be seen as a normal occurrence in another country, I remember thinking to myself how opposite the African and Romanian cultures are… and that the woman who received the award must truly  be a spectacular leader to fight against so many of the stereotypes, prejudices and societal restraints she would face here.

The night really was a good one, and we all got hugs all round on our way out from the dinner, such an awesome bunch of people. Clearly the leaders and hope of tomorrow. I must admit though, after all the travelling, and the flu I’ve managed to catch, I was exhausted and dropped after posting yesterdays blog.

Entering the poorer areas.

This morning began with the leadership training I’d talked about earlier, where there were worries Leanne might not be able to take some of the sessions because of her gender. Thankfully if went fantastically and she was really well received, although it was a smaller number than hoped, all those there were of great quality, which gave the training a team- feel to it all.

The afternoon brought a trip to Mangalia, which was a city/town I visited on my first trip, we were shown around by Faradin who works in the very poor gypsy and Turkish communities in Romania. Originally a Muslim himself (Turkish) he became a Christian as a young man and against his whole family began working in the community and trying to help the poor. Slowly over time his whole family converted and now work with him in many of the projects he does, currently his work among the “unreachable” communities, whether providing children with clothes, food, visiting the sick, giving music lessons, fixing or helping clean poor families houses, has been recognised by the local authorities, who are now giving him financial support to reach more people.

He took us to one of the worst neighbourhoods and if you’d seen the conditions the people lived in there, you would be as much in awe with this man as I am. I have very few photos of the place because I felt so bad I could barely meet peoples eyes, let alone get out a western camera to take a photo of the place they called home, and I would just be using on a blog. Urgh.

We drove through dirt streets which reminded me of what I’d seen in Haiti, houses (or more accurately shacks) of wooden planks, corrugated iron, and bits-and-pieces struck together for shelter… the conditions are barely acceptable in summer, but when you try to imagine that families live here without heating in winter!?! It’s crazy.

The first house we visited actually belonged to Faradins brother and his large extended family, they were at the training session in the morning and are the loveliest people… I wouldn’t have imagined they lived… here.

The conditions were basic, same patchwork buildings, no doors, concrete floors covered with rugs, a large family. But smiles and beautiful children. Gosh it’s hard to write this, I worry they might read it one day and think I look down on them, which is the opposite of how I feel… I think the fact that they live in the environment they do and yet have dreams to help others and have kept a positive attitude speaks wonders.

One young woman holding what must have been a baby under a year old spoke of how her husband (Faradins nephew) had left a few months ago to work in Germany, because there were just no jobs in Romania. This is quite common from what we’ve heard, and must be very hard on the family, especially on such a young couple with a small child.

The next house we visited was on the edge of the suburb, and backed onto a large field littered with what appeared as endless rubblish… there were a few women wandering through collecting things in bags.

After stopping the car out the back of a run-down building Faradin proceeded to get five pairs of plain black new shoes out of his trunk before we headed toward the house, afterward I remember thinking I couldn’t remember what he had done with them, and I realise he must have subtly given them to someone in the house.

Some kids playing in the fields scattered with rubbish.

One of the old ladies which greeted us remembered us from our last visit and was extremely welcoming. We were led into a similar house, though this time we found out that they have no electricity to the house (as most of the area don’t) and only one stove to both cook on and heat water for bathing, there was an out-house outside and all for a large extended family. The father of five we spoke to must be quite well off, as he spoke of having two horses, a few goats, ducks and chickens, which for this area is a lot.

We heard of how his 9 year old son recently fell while playing and broke his leg badly, and had to have an operation, thankfully the government pay for children (though I’m not sure of the standard provided) but the boy is now in hospital for a month, and it is so difficult for his family to visit him. I think they said once a week, but don’t quote me on this, it’s been a long day.

Regardless it’s sad, both because his family wouldn’t have been able to afford care if not for the government, and that now this boy, who lives in a country where it’s already hard for a strong young man to get a job, is disadvantaged more than he already was.  

After staying and chatting a little we moved on… the drive out of the slums was shocking. More in the contrast out the window than anything. There literally was no smooth transition in housing conditions, an extremely wealthy suburb of houses shared a “fence” with the poorer area. It was like a dream… if you’d have blinked at the right second you would have felt as if you’d changed worlds.

The dirty rags children were wearing changed into clean pressed shirts on overweight middle-aged men, the stray dogs lining the streets were changed into expensive cars. It was eerie.

Right, well it’s that time again… BED TIME. These days exhaust me (it’s more a mental thing I think), so I’ll have to squish the rest of Saturday into the next blog. Things should be a little slower tomorrow, so it’s achievable :)

I feel like I’m leaving you on a downer, which I didn’t really mean to do. It’s difficult to try and cheer up an audience when I’m trying to keep myself in one piece too.

How about this… YES, it is terrible to see and hear about but the good news is that if these people, who live in the tough conditions and have been persecuted and have so little, can give what little they have away, and use their time to change lives for the better… YOU CAN TOO. Just think of what you could really do if you put your mind to it, or you found that gift or skill which you could use to help others in some way.

After all, the man who invented that portable water purifier doesn’t get a lot of glory… but he’s helped thousands of people living in poverty all over the world. Just a thought ;)

Trains, trips and potatoes...

Okay, so the first day in Romania went really well.

View of the suburbs from the house we are staying in (Constanta)

We’ve finally mastered the transportation fiasco without being ripped off which I think is a rather great success. After an early 0530 wake-up Leanne and I flew from London Luton Airport to Bucharest Baneasa Airport on a Wizzair flight… which has to be the worst airline I’ve experienced, I don’t think I’ve arrived on-time for a flight yet, though the aircraft always lands in one piece, so I suppose I shouldn’t complain.haha.

Anticipating the late arrival we booked a later train to Constanta, which is in the south of Romania and is known for being a rather large Port on the Black sea. We bussed with the locals and had enough time to catch a comfortable lunch before jumping on the train. Constanta is actually a holiday town for Romanians, which I found hard to believe last time I visited as the Black sea was frozen over and it was bitterly cold… this time however I understood. All traces of winter have gone, replaced with green foliage and blue skies. I tell you I felt a little stupid in my snow boots carrying around my ski jacket. We met up with an English couple on the train who were holidaying in the city, it turned out to be a good thing for them too as the man we were meeting offered to give them a ride himself to the hotel (which they were hoping to bus on, though had missed the last one) which was very difficult to find and took him out of his way. I think it was good for them to see the friendly side of Romania too, and for all their offering to pay him, he asked only that they come back and visit Constanta again.

We met up with a couple who are doing amazing work in Constanta, they are involved in or work with organisations who provide shelter for street kids, help teens/homeless with drug addictions and the elderly who have no-one to care for them. They took us to their favourite restaurant which is perched just on the beach and is said to be a really nice place to relax in summer.

The Power Station we were told about...

After all of the travelling and helping out of tourists, it was about 9pm when we were dropped at the house of a family Leanne and I would stay with while here. The Romanian woman actually had previously worked for Next Level (the Voluntary Service Org. I am doing the trip with) for three years herself, first as a translator and then as a Short Term Missions co-ordinator. Although this might seem like a normal job in such an organisation it caused quite a stir in Romania, not because she was quite young at the time and was fortunate to work with an English company (jobs are hard to come by here)… but because she was a woman. When she talked about her role she mentioned that it was very hard to work with the leaders for quite a long time, because although they really wanted the work and help provided by Next Level, they were not used to having to work with woman, especially when it required her giving them direction. Romania is becoming more modern with its views, but still the majority are very “traditional” which includes the role of women… a female leader here is not just uncommon, it is thought to be an impossibility in most roles.

Still, she said by the third year, although she still felt uncomfortable in a few situations, they had learnt to tolerate her and would work together with her. Which is progress, and I suppose what has to be the first step, I’m proud of her for having stuck in the role so long, through what must have been a few very challenging years. No doubt we in the western world wouldn’t have understood what she was facing when she was given time frames to organise things with these leaders.

The canals heading to the Port... snap-shots taken from the car.

The next day brought a trip to Babadag, a town an hour and a half from where we stayed, to meet a young couple who were battling through difficulties while trying to help the community there. The trip was fascinating as we had Triane (the Pastor of the International University-based Church in Constanta) taking us on the journey and introducing us, which meant we got a commentated ride and learnt a lot as we gazed out the window.
 

The first interesting passing comment I heard came as we exited the city and passed a large run-down water works (which to me looked a lot like a nuclear plant). The comment went somewhere along the lines of “that’s where we got given hot water in Nicolae Ceaușescu’s time” when asked what exactly he meant by “given water” he commented that only the street blocks (filled with high-rises full of people) who were good received the hot water, if you had upset the leaders or government, your block would go without, even through the bitterly cold winters, until they were again happy with you. This blew my mind a little, I  mean I’ve spoken with other people here who have told me of the communist days, where they would never know when they would receive power or heating for their homes in the country, and how near the end of communism it became less and less frequent… but hearing that it was distributed depending on how the dictator (or corrupt leaders) felt, is a slightly different and less human concept than them just running out of finance.

The drive turned out to be beautiful, we passed massive green plains where you would sporadically see goat herders tending to flocks, I saw one small and rather dirty river where there were motorcycles and cars scattered beside it, with about 10 guys each fishing casually in the middle of nowhere… I can’t imagine they were catching much, and I sure wouldn’t be thinking about eating anything from the water I saw. Perhaps it was just to relax… unemployment is very high and still rising, they might have been escaping the pressure they were getting on their hunt.

I was continually surprised by the old ladies, layered in woollen jumpers and vests, always with a head-scarf, hoeing vegetable plots, a man using a scythe on the corner of this massive field… things seem to be done on a different time here.

The beautiful tree-lined drive through the country

As we entered the town of Babadag we were warned that although it is a beautiful place (as we passed through rolling hills and lush forest on the outskirts) the town is very poor and has a large gypsy community, followed by the quote- “two bag of potatoes, one wife.”

So we prepared ourselves yet again to hear of a place of great need. We were greeted by the young and very welcoming couple in the building they are currently renting and using as a youth centre and church. Paul and Mimi were both University educated and came from well off families but had a heart for helping others, they both met while studying Social Work in University and after marrying moved to Babadag to work for an Organisation who were running a centre which provided food, shelter and clothing for about 15 orphans, they both took care of the kids and Paul (who is an English teacher) taught them among other students, they loved the children and their time there but unfortunately the project fell through for some reason and the building shifted to being used for the elderly, the kids were distributed into foster homes or out into the world.
 

It was here Leanne and I received a bit of a shock, up until now we had been told that Romania had dissolved all of its orphanages (which if you youtube used to be in absolutely horrific condition) to get into the European Union, where they had instead opted for a Foster-care system, which although was still not ideal (those taking the children in were usually just doing it for the money and were not taking care of the kids but frequently abusing them instead) but at least the children were in a home where they stood some chance of having a future.

Not true. Today we were told that they still do exist, Pauls hand waving in a general direction… “nearby but very bad conditions, the children and beaten and not taken care of” but what can they do? At the moment they barely have enough to keep the centre they have running, which is a place for the young people to come, with table tennis, fooseball, a row of computers for those who don’t have any to do their homework… Paul teaches them guitar, piano and English to help them in the future… trying to encourage a generation who believe that jobs are now so hard to come by, that they shouldn’t bother to try in school.  The town is apparently 75% unemployed at the moment, mostly because after gaining ties with the EU the factories nearby all shut down to instead trade, with no alternative jobs the working generation either left the country or went to the city, leaving either the elderly or unemployed to inspire the younger generation.
 

The couple recently took 10 teens to Brashov to open their eyes, most had never left the village, let alone been on a train or seen the mountains… they hoped the trip would open their eyes and encourage them to keep studying and work toward higher education.

One of the many horse and carts seen, behind him a modern Windmill-farm.

Sadly, there’s not much hope for some. They mentioned recently they lost a 12 year old girl from their youth centre, she is now “married” and living with a guy who they think must be about 25 years old… apparently this happens over here a lot, if a girl can be arranged (or sold) in marriage to someone who can provide for her, it’s seen as a good option. The girl is now no longer in school.

Apparently these “marriages” are really only seen as a convenience, we were told divorce is quite common and some girls will have three children to different men each time. What a way to live.

Speaking of leaving school early, the gypsy community (which is the discriminated race in Romania and throughout Europe) are extremely poor, when Paul spoke about the gypsy children he said most only attend until the end of Primary school, and this is because it is paid by the government. The families do not send their girls to high school because they literally are afraid they will be “stolen”, as most girls have arranged marriages from about the age of 5, if a man or a man’s family see’s a girl he wants they literally will kidnap her away. This has meant a lot of girls are left with only a primary education to support themselves later in life.

OK, sorry team… I began writing this in the afternoon (after a day of travelling and meetings) but ended up going to an international dinner thing hosted by some University Students, and although it was good fun, it’s now after midnight and I’m toasted. I was scribbling notes down about today as I went though, so fear not, I’ll continue the story tomorrow :)

Much to say in so little time!

Talk to you soon…

The end of the Internship & last trip to Romania

Well, it’s been an intense week.

I’m not sure where the time has gone really… Even with the one month extension to my internship my time is up here, and it’s all very bitter sweet. I spent last weekend doing a backpackers tour of Ireland, which was something I HAD to do in the UK before my visa will no longer let me travel within the UK. I'll post photos of this weekend through the blog, which may be irrelevant to the subject, but will give you something to look at. Totally worth seeing Ireland by the way, it is such an awesome place. The rest of the week was tying up loose ends from work and having exit interviews.

Thankfully I still have one last trip to Romania with the Organisation, due to some earlier shuffling around. To explain I’ll give you who are reading a quick explanation of what the internship entailed… it was voluntary work and unpaid, which means I paid a lump sum before arriving which would cover my food and rent (in a boarding kind of situation: staying with a family) and two trips with the Organisation. Although this might sound a little unfair to think that someone dedicating their time and working for free needs to pay to do this, you have to be realistic about the “Do-good” sector in the world… people are donating their money to the causes involved, and this money goes to the projects and the running of operations… most of the people working for these kind of organisations are either personally funded by supporters of their cause, or have a separate job/business supporting them.

I think that’s how you can tell a good organisation and a good cause… when people dedicate their lives and finances for nothing in return, you KNOW they believe in the cause.

This probably has a lot to do with why I was so inspired by the people I met and the work environment. I’ve NEVER seen such a friendly, family-like work environment as I saw in the Next Level International Head Office… it’s a relief to see happy, nice people working together and supporting each other, although highlights how most other workplaces fall short in the “normal” gossiping, high-school-like environment you sadly see in most offices.

So, when I had to choose which trips to go on during my internship, I really wanted to go on three, so I ended up paying my way on the last trip to Romania and Moldova. Absolutely no regrets about that decision.

I remember looking in my diary when I was trying to decide what to do, and seeing that two of the events I have on my Bucket List (going to Las Fallas- in Spain and St. Patricks Day in Dublin, Ireland) fell into the same time the Moldova trip was on. When I made my decision I did so on both what I thought would be a once in a lifetime experience, and the direction I wanted my life to go in. Turns out it was a pretty easy decision… there was no way I was going to let myself pass up the Moldova trip, no matter the cost. –Turns out this was a good take on it because the Moldova visa was really expensive and consisted of a lot of flaming hoops to jump through, Snausage-in-mouth.

Still, the things I experienced and saw were life changing, and how can you put a value on something like that.

I chose to opt for the trip which fell outside of my internship, and the Next Level staff were really easy-going… So here I am, yet again, in the small shoebox of a room in the Easy Hotel, by Luton Airport . The T.V has a sign by it informing you that the remote may be purchased from reception for 24hrs, 4 days or 1 week. I find myself wondering who on EARTH would want this room (my previous one without a window) which literally fits one bed hard-up against the wall and a toilet-and-shower room about the size of the “beam me up Scotty” tube. I think I’d prefer to be placed in a mental institution, where at least you’d get a working TV :) OK, so maybe I’m being a little harsh, I have Leanne sharing the room with me too (saving money) which is better for the company. I’m lucky she came back from her weekend away too, because I had to be reminded this morning that we were catching the train to London TODAY, somehow I lost a day and would have completely missed train and flight to Romania if she hadn’t reminded me.Haha. Good times.

What are friends for if not reminding you in a rather shocked tone whether you realise “you are unpacked and [that] we leave on a train in an hour!?!”

I’m sorry, I ramble. This trip is just in Romania, and Leanne and I will be going first of all to Constanta which is in the South of Romania and where I have previously visited. This will mostly be meeting up with Leaders and Churches there to talk about leadership training and a Conference of sorts coming up. This may be slightly interesting because (due to a late and unforeseeable pull-out by a male speaker) Leanne is going to be taking a few sessions for this event, and Romania is still very much in the early stages of transitioning into male/female equality. There were serious concerns when she was first suggested as being the other person Instructing, not because she doesn’t have enough experience in leadership, she was the Missions Pastor in a very large church in Australia and has a lot of experience… merely because she is female and this may not be accepted among many of those attending. So this will be discussed and meetings will be had to see what will happen. It’s only the beginning too, because Leanne is the new Romania Country Leader for Next Level… I feel this only the beginning of the challenges she will encounter in this position.

After this it’s back to Bucharest and meeting up with an American couple who have moved to Romania with a passion for stopping human trafficking, they are awesome people and I can’t wait to catch up with them again (went out for dinner with them last trip). We’ll also talk with the leader of Teen Challenge, which is a program in Romania to get teenagers/children off drugs. Unfortunately drugs are also a really big problem in Romania, particularly among the street kids and homeless, if you search the internet there’s a lot of information about the glue sniffing, inhalants etc. and the charities who are trying to help in this area. We will then spend the rest of our time focusing on Human Trafficking.

So, we leave early tomorrow morning and it will be pretty full on, but I’ll try to post as the days close to keep you in the loop with how things are going. No doubt there will be adventures or something will go wrong, all of the trips to Romania so far have included some element of surprise or unexpected challenges. I’m looking forward to it.

Too bad this may be my last trip for a while… though who knows? ;)