Dear Friends,
In the last two days I have travelled from Sibiu to Cluj via train and then Cluj to Oradea and Oradea to Baile Felix.
Tonight I thought I would take a stroll from my hotel down to the township of Baile Felix since it was a nice evening and I could do with some exercise. It turned into a very unexpected evening. I’m in Baile Felix because it’s the closest I could get to Lazareni and the Caleb Foundation. I had this impression that Baile Felix was going to be an upmarket tourist town and I believe it does attract a number of tourists, but in many ways it seems quite run down. Outside the small Carrefour supermarket sat a Roma woman selling fruit and nuts. I bought a punnet of strawberries from her, which disappointed her a little and she tried to get me to buy more but I didn’t find anything else I wanted. However, I was still complimented on my embroidered cotton shirt. Then on my way home while I was eating an icecream that I really didn’t need, I spotted a man looking for food out of rubbish bins. He had dreadlocks in his hair, a very torn jacket and trousers. I wanted to offer to buy him dinner or at the very least give him my (unopened) icecream, but he was walking very fast up the street to the next rubbish bin. I managed to catch him and offered him “cina” (dinner) and he declined. I tried to convince him but it was no use. Next thing I was approached by a little girl who indicated to me that she was hungry. She didn’t ask me for money but for food. I took her to the nearest place that seemed open and it sold meat on a spit. She said she didn’t want it for herself but to take back to her mother and family, so I agreed to buy it for her, wondering if I was being duped by a little opportunist (how can you really know?) I couldn’t help but give her my newly bought bracelet that doubled over twice on her little wrist and soon I was 80 lei lighter. The little girl took the rotisserie chicken back to her mother who soon wandered up the street to thank me and to tell me “God bless you.” She told me her name was Cristina also (a common name in Romania) and her baby (who looked healthy and happy) gabbled away to me and we both laughed as I took a photo of us all with Cristina’s permission.
Further down the street I bumped into the man who was eating out of the garbage. He had joined his dog and I stopped to chat to him and say hello. Between his pigeon English and my pigeon Romanian, we managed to understand one another and google translate helped with the rest.
This is Lilo - or at least that’s how I’m guessing I spell his name or even pronounce his name. I won’t have a go at his dog’s name but I understand that she is a girl, she has beautiful kind eyes and she really loves Lilo. Her tail thumps every time he speaks to her. She lives on the street with Lilo. He has no home and not even a blanket but he tells me it’s fine, he’s warm enough with his jacket and cuddling up to his dog at night. He tells me that the little girl I’ve just given my bracelet to as well as a family-sized Rotisserie chicken also lives on the street with her mother and the baby. Heartbreaking. I’m glad I gave to them today. I told Lilo with the help of google translate that it was good to meet him and I will see him again. He praised me for my pronunciation which he seemed to understand and I was struck by his joy and kindness despite his situation. I really do hope I see them all again next time I’m in town, but when I checked my messages this evening, I discovered from Alina (who saw my post on Facebook) that Cristina is from Lazareni - the village supported by the Caleb Foundation! So I’m looking forward to hearing more about her story when I meet with Alina tomorrow morning.
In June/July I won’t have the funds to give to people like this if my apartment has not sold. Instead, I will be making my exorbitant mortgage repayments if I’m lucky enough to get a home loan (as many of you know I’ve had a deposit on an apartment build for 4 years due to be completed this month but interest rates have gone so high that it’s now unaffordable for me and I have it on the market to sell as soon as possible)!
So I thought that I would allocate a bank account I don’t use to receiving donations to any of the charities that I visit or for general giving to people in need like Lilo and Cristina and her children.
If you are in New Zealand, you can make regular or one-off donations to this New Zealand bank account here: K Paterson, 38-9016-0189582-00
Alternatively, if you are not in New Zealand, you can give regularly or a one-off donation via my Givealittle Page - they take a commission but it’s the best way for me to receive payments from anyone outside of New Zealand: https://givealittle.co.nz/cause/krissy-raising-money-for-romania