17th November 2008 final message from Romania
This is the last message from Romania before we fly back to the UK tomorrow.
After loading all the remaining aid that was to be delivered to the Prahova area into the four vehicles on the morning of the 14th the road journey back over two mountains ranges from Sighisoara to Ploiesti went without any problems and we arrived in the city of Ploiesti in the late afternoon.
We made directly to the offices of the disabled association in the city centre and after going round the block several times we eventually managed to park the one van containing the aid for the association close by to unload.
A speach therapy class in operation with a number of the children and we stayed for a short while to observe what was going on. The children were being read to from a book and then the teacher had them repeating various words and sounds described in the story.
We then set off for Paulesti where we understood rooms had been booked at the only pension (hotel) in the area. However when we arrived, in the dark, we learned that there had been a mix up over dates and there was no room.
After several phone calls we were able to accomodate everyone in the team with a bed for a night and we all retired to await a busy schedule of deliveries the following day.
Friday saw us bright and early at the school in Gageni where all the educational supplies and sports equipment was unloaded. We then had a delightfull hour giving out the goodie bags to each of the children in their respective class rooms.
The big hits from the goodie bags were the T shirts, again, the Yo Yo's and skipping ropes.
Just before midday we began to distibute the Family Aid Boxes to the recipients arround the village.
Several years ago the houses in the whole of the village were re-numbered but many of the houses had not changed the sign on the gates with the new numbers which made life just a little difficult. In some of the areas the house numbers were not consecutive and finding some of the houses proved a little difficult.
One address was 'the house in the middle of the field'. We had been to this house before but 12 months ago but finding it again took time.
By the end of the day, as the light faded and the temperature dropped, we had delivered the boxes to several of the families. The next problem to resolve was find somewhere for us all to sleep that night.
Luck was on our side and we found a hotel close by that had accomodation for us.
Over the next couple of days we continued to deliver the Family Aid Boxes and obtaining new Family Information Sheets and photographs for next years project.
Work started at first light and went on until the light disapeared around 5pm. Until today, when it started raining, the weather had been good allowing us to complete more of the work each day.
By 4pm today, Monday, we had delivered all the aid to the Prahova area and had added several more poor families to our ever growing list.
Tomorrow morning with sad hearts in leaving our many friends and helpers we will head back to the airport at Otopeni for the flight home to the UK.
All the team are tired but they have all seen for themselves that together - and with your help - we are making a difference.
Roy Bowden reporting from the city of Ploiesti, Jud Prahova Romania - 2300hrs Monday 17th November 2008.
One of the many poor children on the hillside above the village of Danes Transyvania.
Check later in the week for further photographs of the families you have been helping....................
12th November 2008 message from Romania
This is just a short message written at an internet cafe in the citadel city of Sighisoara on the last evening in Transyvania before moving off to the Ploiesti area for our final part of our aid trip.
Our flight from Manchester to Bucharesti last Saturday went without any problems and we were on time to pick up the four rental vehicles to make the overland journey to Sighisoara. Having left the airport at 1530hrs we eventually arrived in the city at 2030hrs, in the cold and dark but grateful that we had all arrived safely.
The team was up early next morning and we drove to the school hall in the village of Danes. The wagon arrived intact as did some twenty or so pupils and teachers to help unload the wagon.
The children were very enthusiastic and we made terrific time with all 7 tons unloaded and placed into set piles on the floor of the hall in just over 1 hour.
We spend the next few hours sorting through the many boxes and items of aid seperating the aid for the Danes area and that for the Gageni area.
It had been a very long day the day before and by late afternoon we were all desperately tired so we called it a day, returned to the hotel for a shower and then out for the first proper meal of the day.
That night it turned very cold, -6, but Monday morning found a very cold but bright and cheerful day with all the team in good spirits.
Some of the goods for the school were carried to the main school building and then we loaded the aid boxes for the families on the hill behind the village centre.
The ground was dry and hard, far better than last November when we had knee deep mud, and so we were able to get one of the vans and the 4x4 right up to the families homes at the group of houses on the hillside above the main village.
In the sun it was warm although there was still some ice about, There seemed to be dozens of kids of all ages playing in the dirt,and refuse with some having fun running down the river embankment and jumping accross - some missing or playing with the many dogs, chickens, ducks and pigs that were running about.
We were able to deliver all the Family Aid boxes to the various familes who greeted us with warm smiles and recognition that we had fulfilled our promise of last November that we would bring them some help.
We have some wonderful photographsand stories to share with you later and some that will shock you.
The last few days have seen all the families on our list having their Family Aid Boxes delivered, the school has received the sports equipment, furniture and educational supplies. The local kindergarten has received furniture and toys and some of the specialised disabled equipment has been delivered to units in Sighisoara, Albesti and to the local Veritas charity.
The director and the authorities in the special unit in Sighisoara were in near panic mode due to the programme on TV last week when the Duches of York did some secret filming in the orphanges in Bucharesti. So much so that were have no pictures at all from this govenment run unit.
By 1800hrs tonight, Wednesday everything for this area has been delivered and tomorrow, bright and early we set off to the city of Ploiesti to start the next round of deliveries. This will be a drive of 5-6 hours over two mountain ranges with the possibility of snow en route.
I will try and report again on how we are going on if I can get internet access.
I know that many people back in the UK are wishing us well on this venture and I can tell you that the team appreciate all the support we have been given.
Roy Bowden - Co-ordinator Oak Tree Foundation reporting from the citadel city of Sighisoara, Transylvania, Romania - 1830hrs Wednesday 12th November 2008.
OAK TREE FOUNDATION UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2007
Report on Humanitarian Aid Trip May/June 2007
With the long awaited success in February of finally obtaining Charity status in Romania with our sister foundation Fundatia Picature in Ocean ( Drop in the Ocean Foundation) it was all hands to the pump, or I should say box, to get a wagon load of aid over to Romania as soon as possible. After many weeks of intensive administration and shifting boxes from here to there and back again, weighing, marking and placing on the transport inventory; on Wednesday 23rd May 2007 we finally loaded the wagon that was to take 6.5 thousand kilos of humanitarian aid to Romania. It was hard work but it was with great elation when the last walking frame was loaded, the back doors closed and we realised that we were on our way trusting that the inevitable delays at the borders would be short and that we would next see our wagon in Ploiesti.
Roy & Simon flew out to Hungary a couple of days after the wagon left to pick up two hire vans and drive into Romania. The rest of the team, Kath, Pat, Sylvia, Christine, Jim and Martin flew direct to Bucharesti arriving on the Monday to blistering heat and sunshine.
At 7am the following morning the wagon arrived and as the back doors opened so did the heavens. It was with relief that we looked on the rain, as trying to unload the wagon in the heat of the previous day would have been very hard. We pressed on and managed to unload the wagon in just 4 hours as we were watched by bewildered sheltering Romanians.
Things went so well that in the afternoon we transported all the aid for the disabled association to their centre in Ploiesti. You can imagine their thoughts as the pile of special chairs, walking frames, exercise equipment, sewing machines, paper, pencils, toys and clothing got bigger and bigger. The smiles from the parents, children and staff were worth all the effort.
The next three days we spend delivering the educational supplies to the school in Gageni. One favourite unloaded from the van was a pair of football posts donated by St Thomas’ School Heaton Chapel. The team then gave each child a gift of a bag containing, a new T shirt, hat, mug, toothpaste/brush, toy, pens, pencils and exercise books.
One nine year old boy looked puzzled by a large boxed tube of Colgate toothpaste. He carefully examined the box, then opened it and looked at the tube seeing that it had a screw cap. Once opened he slowly smelled it and clearly liked what he could smell. It was only the quick action of one of the teachers that stopped him squirting the toothpaste into his mouth. He thought it was food – he had never seen toothpaste before.
We then started to deliver the family boxes to the poor families in the village that had been previously identified. We were welcomed into the poorest of homes, hugged and thanked for the clothing and blankets. It was sad to see that the conditions some of the families were living in had deteriorated since our last trip.
On the Friday it was the ‘International Day of the Child’ which is celebrated in Romania. In the morning we were invited back to the school in Gageni where we broke a specially prepared loaf of bread and drank some local wine from a special jug. We then spend a wonderful couple of hours playing with the children who were all proudly wearing their new T shirts. Games were being played thanks to the donated balls and skipping ropes. There was tug of war and a competition of drawing in chalk on the concrete paths.
In the afternoon we went back into Ploiesti for the party with the children from the disabled association. This was to take place in the park in the centre of town. Some parents had travelled 70k just to attend this special day. It was lovely to see the children so happy despite their own problems. A band was playing and there was street theatre. Five minutes into the chalk drawing competition a thunder storm brought an early end to the festivities.
It was back to our base to sort and start to load up the vans with the aid to be taken the 5 hour drive to Sighisoara and Danes in Transylvania.
On the Saturday morning there was a quick trip to the old peoples hospital in Bacoi to deliver the exercise machines for the physiotherapy department and some other specialised equipment.
Sunday morning came early bringing back the sun and the heat making the journey across the mountains hard work. As soon as we arrived in Sighisoara we started to deliver the family boxes of aid to the families close by. We were met again with warm smiles and thanks. Even some of the local Romanians thanked us for helping what they could see were the very poor and needy amongst them.
Over the next couple of days we delivered the rest of the family boxes to the village of Danes meeting up with families we had know for some years and sad to say things were no better for them either. One family had to pull down half of their home as it was about to fall down by itself. There were now ten of them sharing one room 10 feet square.
A visit to the music school in Sighisoara brought mutual joy – the staff and the children for the new keyboards, organ, drum and music we had taken and the team in listening to the children play wonderful music at their end of term concert. The head explained that the portable, battery powered keyboard was her favourite as she could take that out with her to the outlying villages and play music for the children at the village schools.
During the aid trip we were helped by four Romanian students who acted as our interpretors. Nicu, Andrea, Leah, Ioana were brilliant in the help they gave us, in getting involved in what we were doing – an eye opener for them all, and becoming good friends with all the team.
The end of the trip came too soon as always. Roy & Simon left the rest of the team in Sighisoara to make the 12 hour drive back to Hungary. The rest of the team drove back to Bucharesti to get the flight back to Manchester. As the flights arrived back within an hour of each other back at Manchester the team were reunited again to say their goodbyes to each other and set off back to their homes with mixed emotions - memories full of sad sad sights, awful smells and the good wishes and smiles of the many Romanians we touched on this aid trip. This had been the most successful aid trip I had been involved in in seventeen years as far as the planning, organisation and team work.
It was just ‘A Drop in the Ocean’ but together we did make a difference.
Roy Bowden
Co-ordinator Oak Tree Foundation- Helping Romania Children
May 2007 - loading team made up of Oak Tree members and friends. Loading of the 6.5 thousand kilos of aid into the wagon was from our base in Manchester. The Romanian driver is second on the right.
Children at Gageni School delighted with the football posts donated by St Thomas' School, Heaton Chapel, Stockport.
Children at Gageni school playing with some of the sports equipment donates by folk from the UK
Children from the disabled association Ploiesti at the International Day of the Child - June 2007
Children from one of the poor families in Gageni that received aid - June 2007
The boy on the right was the one who had never seen toothpaste at the school in Gageni.
Dental Care - or lack of it...............
For many years we have been concerned over the condition of the teeth of the many children we have met in their family homes and the schools.
A survey carried out some time ago at one school in Gageni found that over 87% of the children had severe decay or other oral problems. All the rest had some dental problems.
Non of the children from the poor villages ever receive any professional dental treatment as all such treatment costs money; a commodity that most of the families do not have.
The poor living conditions, malnutrition, poor diet and never owning a tooth brush or toothpaste is the main reason for the state of these childrens teeth.
There is no dental hygene education at home or at school.
This 7 yrs old girl has a lovely smile but already has dental problems
This is the teeth of a 15 yrs old boy.....
Oak Tree Foundation has recognised that something has to be done.
For the last few years we have included in the Family Clothing Boxes delivered to the individual poor families in the villages of Gageni & Danes tooth brushes and toothpaste.
Most of these items were donated by collections made by schools or from other groups and individuals in the UK.
We realised that this was a start in helping the children and introducing them to the daily brushing of their teeth but we had to take this a stage further.
Negotiations and meetings with the heads and teachers at the schools has brought about a joint inititive to help reduce the numbers of children having dental problems.
It is hoped that on our November 2008 humanitarian aid trip to deliver a bulk supply of toothpaste and brushes to each school who will, over the following months while we are not there, regularly give out the tooth paste and brushes to their pupils.
The teachers are introducing into the classroom, as part of the education of the children, continuous encouragement and help in getting all the children to brush their teeth daily.
It is a start and may be one that we will have to support for some time as the cost of a tube of toothpaste in Romania is far more than many can afford - it really is a case of either eating or brushing teeth - there is no choice!
Our campaign this year has been kick started by the children at St Thomas's School, Heaton Moor, Stockport who have generously collected and donated dozens of tubes of toothpaste and brushes.