Diary 3 Tuesday June 1st
2010
Another very
satisfying day. We were lucky we had a late start and met Nelu and Cristina from Fundatia Increderea. With them we went to visit 5 needy pensioners
taking a food parcel – all of these pensioners were new to us, but came to FI
as a result of the distribution they organised after the last aid consignment.
They said how many of the pensioners had wept on being told they need not pay
and could have the aid for nothing. Cristina explained they allowed each
pensioner to select 10 items of clothing and one or two items of bedding as
well as 5 toiletries. As a result they now have
contacts with some very needy pensioners.
Our first visit was to an elderly diabetic woman who
was bed-ridden. She is cared for by her son-in-law and has been since his wife
(the old woman’s daughter) died 4 years ago. The old woman was amazingly
cheerful and bright, she can hardly see or cannot walk
– clearly appreciated our visit and asked if we could possibly help with
incontinence pads.
Our next visit was to a woman living illegally in a
one room apartment with a communal toilet and no electricity. Her pension is
only £25 a month. Her son has recently been released from prison having served
a long sentence for man slaughter and she is trying to help him and showed us
the pancakes she had cooked for him. She had received some saucepans from
Mustard Seed which she proudly showed us. Like all the pensioners she showed
her ID card to Cristina and signed a document to confirm she received the food parcel
and would not sell it. It is hard to know how she will manage if her meagre
pension is cut by a further 15%.
The next pensioner seemed in a better condition,
bright and cheerful living in a one room apartment again with a communal toilet
but living there officially.
The fourth visit was to a much younger woman who was a
medical pensioner and has some problem with her back,
her pension is in the region of £50 a month. Her 20 year old daughter is
handicapped; but she receives no pension for the daughter as the doctor would
charge several hundred euros to provide the
paperwork. Her husband died 4 years ago – he needed an amputation for gangrene
in his legs but because they could not afford to pay or bribe the surgeon he
refused to operate and the man died. The woman dissolved into tears as we asked
her about her background. It was a very sad visit and really shocked us to
think the man died because of lack of money to bribe the surgeon.
Our final visit was to sweet old lady who lived with
her daughter who was also sufficiently elderly to receive an old age pension.
The old woman is diabetic and has other problems – almost all their pensions
are used on her medicine – she takes 34 tablets in the morning and 32 at night.
Although they only had their pensions last week they had used them all for
medicine and utilities and rent except for 10 lei which is sufficient to buy
bread every other day till the next pension – so our food parcel was very very welcome.
After that we had lunch and discussed the various
pensioners on the sponsorship programme and the priority needs. Nelu’s health is much better and we hope and pray the
treatment for his hepatitis continues to be effective.
As it was not late when we left them Phil and I went
shopping for the girls on the Nicu’s Girls project. I
was surprised at the cost of toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap and shampoo – more
expensive than at home where a week’s salary is less than a month’s salary
here! We contacted Mia and met her at the MacDrive,
where we all ate – it was clearly a real treat for her to eat out like that.
Then we took the shopping back to the apartment and the joy and delight at what
we had bought was really moving. Where else would you see young women with
tears of joy in their eyes on being given a tube of toothpaste and a tin of
tuna fish?