Bringing Smiles to Romania Part 4 of 7

You Make Me Happy When Skies Are Grey

The things you do it make children happy ... 😂 I love working with children, making them smile is rewarding and their laughter is infectious. No matter the language, you can still communicate happiness.


Today I got the opportunity to volunteer at a local Holiday Bible Club called COPs (Children's Outreach Programmes) with local Romanian and gypsy children. When we first arrived, the tiny heads all hid behind the backs of the pews peeping over wide uncertain eyes, unsure about how to cope with so many new people at once. After a very competitive game to help them remember names, we started straight into our prepared plans for the day. We taught them actions to Romanian songs, we taught them a children's religious song in English, we taught them a Bible verse and we did a roleplay on a Bible story. We even made crafts and played team games. It was strange to see how divided the communities of 'Romanians' and 'Romani Gypsies' were, but it was very rewarding to see their innocence as they came together in the team games and overcame these cultural barriers. I wasn't expecting to arrive to a community as divided as our own. Although Romania doesn't have the same violent past as Northern Ireland between these two communities, they have faced their own struggles with gypsy communities being denied basic needs such as access to water a s electricity as they were 'unwelcome' to stay in towns and villages in Romania causing tension and dispute. It was enlightening to see bridges being built between younger generations, I hope I have for our own future in Northern Ireland.



One child really struck a chord with me. She didn't speak to me but smiled at me throughout the day. She was the eldest sister of a family of gypsy children. As a young child herself, (no older than 8) she showed a level of maturity beyond her years, caring for her younger siblings. It made me quite emotional watching her help them with their crafts, leaving hers to the end, answering questions on the Bible stories to give her reward (a lollypop) to others each time and collecting her goodies at the end to return with the youngest sibling to help him collect and carry his. At this young age she was selfless and sensible and I was glad to be running a programme which kept her smiling all day!



There were Romanian girls who reminded me of myself when I was younger, who were enthusiastic learners, stretching their little slender arms in the air as high as they could reach, waving their hands and wiggling  their fingers to answer questions in the quizes. At the end they chose a furry stuffed animal each as their reward to take home which would have been my choice too. It was a moment of realisation for me, that these children were just kids, no different from our own at home. It upsets me to think that anyone could think negatively of children who are just like ours but raised with different languages in a different culture. Some of the older girls even had smart phones and asked me for selfies on them afterwards!



Today was a very positive day and full of giggles. From discovering the largest watermelon I've ever seen, to pretending to be a dog to entertain children during a song, to being a target for soft balls!






I left the church today with a face sore from smiling. Some of the children had even tried to speak English to me which melted my heart to see them try!

By the time I got home and had a sleep I was able to explore the area around the centre some more. We went for a walk to explore the local area. The weather felt reflective of my calm and reflective mood after dinner with the sunset streaming cross the golden fields of sunflowers and corn. There was a faint, tickling, warm breeze to brushing through the sunflowers' petals and through the strands of my hair. It was comforting and welcoming.



I'd love to come back here. I think I have to. 


NPK X


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