AID TRIP AT THE END OF APRIL
The Mustard Seed lorry has
just returned from a successful delivery to
The driver commented that to
witness the joy of the pensioners was moving, confirmed in a report by social
worker Nelu.
A pensioner opening her box
The driver David
(who has driven for Mustard Seed as a volunteer for over ten years) described
the new pensioners’ home as “fantastic”. He spoke enthusiastically about the
good standard of workmanship among the Romanian workers who have been finishing
off the heating, plumbing, electrics, etc.
He highlighted some
of the changes he has seen since his previous trip two years ago, but his
overall view was that though there was clear evidence of more development and
prosperity the poorest were even poorer. See full
report.
Outside of the pensioners home
due to open on May 30th
Inside the pensioners home
Rose & Phil should be in
NEWS ON THE YOUNG WOMEN IN THE
SPONSORED APARTMENT
As living costs in the city
have risen, the girls or young women have struggled financially to make ends
meet, even with the help from Mustard Seed. To make things worse as the
financial crisis has developed, the factories they work in have often cut their
hours, resulting in even less take-home pay.
In the summer,
three of the young women moved to Cefa and took over the boys hostel which is
next door to the new pensioners’ home. You may recall that after a number of
problems all the lads in the hostel left last summer. It was at this stage Alex
and Rody Stroie of Mustard Seed Romania offered three of the girls the chance
to move to Cefa. This has worked well – the house is spotless, the animals are
well cared for and the girls are content and happy. They all found work at the
nearby factory and the cost of living is much less than in the city.
The young women remaining in
Following on from the success
of the first three young women in Cefa, the remaining three have now moved
there. They moved at the beginning of this month and all seems to be going
well. They are living in part of the upper storey of the pensioners’ home and
it is possible that one or two of them will be employed to assist with
cleaning, cooking, etc in the pensioners’ home.
FLORI (who needs kidney
dialysis 3 times a week) has now moved to Cefa. She will be transported to the
city of
NEWS ON NELU
Our fund-raising efforts to
raise the £11,000 for urgently needed treatment for the Romanian social worker
Nelu have continued well. We are now over half way to our target, having raised
just over £6,000. But we have heard that recent tests on Nelu show there is
further damage to his liver, so it is becoming increasingly urgent to raise the
money. (Nelu contracted
this disease through poor standards of hygiene when he had dental treatment
several years ago) If anyone wants to help us with
this fund-raising, please get in touch with Rose Helie.
Nelu and wife Cristina with a
needy family they assist.
Below distributing to a needy
family in Cefa with Alex Stroie of Mustard Seed Romania
Email from Kathy Langston
“Thanks
for the boxes, great stuff and the big shoes are terrific! I just got the
boxes from Raul today, he kindly drove them to my place. So will start
giving the stuff away. Gratitude is the key for me!
God
bless and thanks for everything,
love
Kathy”
MUSTARD SEED’S PLANS
·
May 20th – June 5th Rose and
Phil to
·
Sunday June 14th
·
July 7th – 13th Visit of Alex
Stroie from Romania to Jersey – see full
details. Please contact Rose to ask for details of
his programme if you are uncertain when you can meet him.
·
Sunday July 12th
·
Saturday July
25th
·
Sunday September
13th time to be arranged – Songs of Praise at Reg’s Garden.
·
September / October aid trip to
·
Christmas shoebox appeal
·
Christmas aid trip – opportunity for supporters to
join distribution team December 8th – 16th if this trip is of interest to you please
contact Rose Helie on 482637 or by email.
Mother Teresa said “In this life
we cannot do great things.
We
can only do small things with great love”.