Bringing Smiles to Romania Part 7 of 7

I Wished Them Luck and Then I Said Goodbye

As the sun sets on another humbling day, I stare out across the sleepy fields in Cihea. I am sitting on the balcony of the Mission Centre reflecting on my time here in this beautiful country. The crickets have began their evening song and little birds are tweeting their lullabies whilst children's giggles fade into silence as bedtime approaches. Lights have started to turn on, like stars surrounding the fields, luminating the few houses there are in these rural lands. The dogs engage in their twilight bark (101 Dalmatian fans please appreciate this) and the smoke of an evening fire rises up to meet the silhouettes of distant trees and watercoloured sky with clouds sketched  into the horizon. The city lights of Oradea twinkle in the distance. Nobody could recreate this moment with paint, film or photography. It's a scene fit for poetry. I am so lucky to be able to escape the sad stories I experienced today. I am so lucky to be back in the safe boundaries of the Smiles Mission Centre enjoying this view whilst others continue to live in conditions which made me uncomfortable for the few minutes I spent there. 

The first project we visited today was the homelessness project in Oradea. We visited a lady called Corina, her partner and her friend who were living in a self-made wooden shack made from construction site scraps. She's had 5 children who have all went straight into state care from the maternity  ward because they weren't allowed to return to the parents' living conditions. She and her partner had came from an orphanage and when they turned 18, they were told to leave without any support and ended up on the streets. 

Their neighbour, was a man who suffered from diabetes living in similar living conditions. He'd had his second toe amputated due to the condition but the surgeon never stitched the wound back together so it was left to become infected. Between the two houses lived many dogs, a family of ducklings, some chickens and a kitten. The two households are trying to survive and sustain themselves by raising animals for food and protection. It was emotional leaving them as Corina hugged us tight for the food, toiletries and female hygiene products we gave them. 

The second family we met  was a mother and  a daughter living  in a brick 'shed' I suppose you could call it. The daughter has lived her life as a concubine to sustain herself and her mother. When her first relationship  fell apart, her ex was unimpressed and has burned  them out of their home 3 times. A court case has been looked at and has yet to begin. The daughter has since moved on into another relationship. On a brighter note, she is a dog lover and has beautiful puppies. It took all of my resistance to stop me from cuddling them as I knew they probably had fleas or ticks with the conditions they were living in. 

We then visited the shipping container village and shelter which is a partnership project between Smiles and the Mayor Office to house the homeless overnight but asks them to leave during the day to encourage them on a search for work. The project is being redesigned to have the Mayor's Office fund the infrastructure of the accommodation and Smiles to run activities and workshops about life skills and hygiene. The project should be fully underway in a year or so as licensing for the project is a lengthy process with the administration. 

After some lunch in the hills with the grass swaying in the wind around us, we made our way to the Emergency Housing Unit. It is used for people who have nowhere to go in times of urgency such as a house fire or a domestic abuse case. We had an incredible moment meeting a lady called Lydia who had heard us singing on the terrace in the hotel in Dezna and had asked a team member about what was happening. After being told about the charity's work she seeked help from the staff to escape an abusive husband. She is currently using the unit as a place for respite and headspace but hopes to go back to a better marriage for her family's sake. 

We met a second lady called Ramona who had a son called Denis. She came from the container village and has worked her way up since then. She married at 14 and had Dennis but was a victim of domestic abuse and has ended up in the emergency housing unit until her son finishes school in the area. He was a humble and approachable child who just needed a playmate. We played tennis with a garden tennis game set which we had brought him and helped him through some stages of his Mecano car.

Last but not least, we visited Rapa, a community of Romani gypsies who were living in wooden shacks but after years of hard work from Smiles, the area now has 12 houses catering for all families in the area. We brought bags of sweets and toys for the children who gathered with excitement at the prospect of gifts. The community is now trying to move into independence by raising piglets and chickens to sustain themselves. 

After a long day, we began a not so long but bumpy journey home. The minibus sped down the winding, stoney roads down the hillside until we arrived back at the centre for our last supper before travelling home tomorrow. 

Darkness has now fallen across the landscape. We are all winding down for the night as Warren sings and strums on his guitar. The laughter becomes chatter and the chatter becomes whispers before sleep. It's the perfect end to a perfect week. 

NPK X