Dear Friends,
Following my visit to the Caleb Foundation on Thursday, I have spent the last two days in bed sleeping all day and all night. I felt exhausted just going down to breakfast in my hotel! I couldn’t tell you what the cause was but I feel a lot better today as I write this - whether it’s the sleep, taking a break from work, the Vitamin C I’ve been popping like lollies, the iron and Vitamin B tablets I’m now taking, or all of the above! Today I have the energy to plonk myself in the warm mineral pools that Baile Felix (where I’m staying - about 15km away from the village of Lazareni) is renown for. I’m aware of pacing myself at the moment, but I’m keen to tell you a little about my visit to the Caleb Foundation.
The drive from Baile Felix to Lazareni was utterly beautiful. This little village is set amongst rollie poly green paddocks and forest. When I arrived, I couldn’t resist popping in to see the children of one of the classrooms. Immediately, all the little girls (aged about 3 and 4) rushed over and cuddled me as if I was their favourite aunty they hadn’t seen in ages. These little pre-schoolers love cuddles and delight in seeing all of the teachers when they arrive. When I sat, on one side I had one little girl’s head on my shoulder, and on the other side another little girl’s hand entwined in mine. This always left a third little girl unable to attach herself to me, so they often fought over these coveted spaces and I had to sit one in front of me and give her a cuddle whenever I was able to free up a hand. Secretly, I was wanting cuddles with the boys because little boys always remind me of my big boy (! ) but honestly, a child’s openness and love is good for your soul, and it’s good to be able to bring them love and joy too. After dancing with the kids as part of their morning activities (again, lots of fighting over who would be in my dance group), I went next door to visit the rest of the children in the other classroom where they were doing….. more dancing!! The children formed a semi-circle around me and when I stopped doing the actions to the music to take a video (I was following one of the older girls from the village who was standing in for the teacher), the kids also stopped and stood still - so no videos were produced!
After playing with the kids, it was time to help with lunch. They had soup, bread and watermelon. The watermelon was a particular hit and I have been searching for one to buy from the supermarket ever since (not quite in season)!
The Roma people of Lazareni speak a dialect unique to their village. This means that they don’t understand Romanian. They arrive at kindergarten without the ability to communicate, but they leave kindergarten school-ready.
With a brief pause for our own lunch, the school-age children arrived for their after school club. At the after school club, they have lunch and are helped with their homework. This makes a huge difference in how well they do at school.
You may remember Cristina who I met in Baile Felix and Alina later informed me after seeing her picture on my facebook page that she was from the Lazareni village. Her little girl (just 7 years old) who approached me for food doesn’t go to the after school club, and I’m not sure how often she goes to school (if at all). Instead, she accompanies her mother to beg on the street. They have frequently tried to persuade her to attend the after school club, but she prefers to stay with her mother. Baile Felix is a long way from Lazareni if you don’t have a car, and so Cristina will sleep on the street in Baile Felix with her children in order to beg, even though she has a home to go to in Lazareni. The number of Lazareni villagers begging in Baile Felix like Cristina does has dropped significantly thanks to the help and support of the Caleb Foundation.
In addition to the kindergarten, after school club and lunches Fundatia Caleb provides, they have also trained the villagers in sewing and embroidery and helped them to sell their goods as part of a little enterprise where otherwise they would struggle to find work. They make aprons, dolls, hairclips, jewellery, and these can be purchased via their website.
Here is a photo of the gifts I purchased with some of the money you donated. These gifts will go to the 5 orphaned girls at the next charity I visit:
They have also helped them to build basic solid homes instead of the typical Roma huts and trained them in insulating their homes.
Thank you so much to those who donated to the Caleb Foundation. We raised $270 NZD for the Caleb Foundation, and with this money, we were able to purchase some adult diapers for the family who has an adult disabled person to care for. Usually they have to change his clothes numerous times when soiled because these diapers are so expensive. We also purchased a month’s supply of sanitary products for the teenage girls of the village.
I have been thinking a great deal about the Caleb Foundation’s projects of providing diapers and sanitary products and wondered about whether the workshop could sew some reusable sanitary towels and nappies for families to use? I thought that I might have some contacts that could provide them with a pattern and when I approached them about this, they told me that this would be an answer to prayer and something they have been wanting to do not only for the purpose of the villagers but also as a product that they could sell as part of their enterprise. I’m still looking for patterns for reusable nappies but one contact I have has put me in touch with “Days for Girls” who provide reusable sanitary towel patterns so that girls won’t stay home from school during their menstrual period due to not having the products they need. I’ll let you know how I get on with this.
The Caleb Foundation are doing such an incredible job, but wouldn’t be able to do any of it without their volunteers. If you live nearby in Oradea and can volunteer regularly or you live elsewhere and would be keen to join a short-term missions team - either way you can work on a project, help with the kids or teach practical lifeskills and trades to the adults. For more details please contact the Caleb Foundation via their website or chat to me as a starting point if you prefer. You can also direct one-off or regular donations here.
I had the opportunity to speak at length to two of the volunteers at the Caleb Foundation and both of them shared a story about how they felt God calling them to this important work. If it wasn’t already obvious, those unique and special experiences made it clear to me that God really cares about the people of Lazareni, and really supports the work of this charity.
Thank you for your prayers, your donations, and your support,
Kristina