Colin's Romania diary

Hi everyone,

Firstly thank you all so much for your donations and support. I recorded a diary of my time in Romania so that I could share my experiences with you. I have enclosed this diary with some pictures of a few of the kids we were working with.

Ss you all know I went to Romania for twelve days. During this time I lived at a special centre for orphans with thirteen other British students. In the morning for three hours we would work with special needs orphans. That was really sobering because most of them couldn’t talk and some couldn’t walk so we had to help teach them to. We were told to try and bond with one or two orphans and spend the majority of our time with those two so they would get to know us. The two that I bonded with most were two 3-year old boys called Mihi and Ionuc (Romanian for John). After working with him, we raised his independent walking record to 11 steps on his own. In Romania orphans are seen a scum so it was really good to be able to give them the help and the love that they have never had before. In the afternoon we would play with the non-special needs kids who were always a lot of fun. The trip really boosted my desire to become a doctor, and now I really want to become a paediatric surgeon so I can help children in their position.

Once again I thank you all for you support and donations.

With Love,

Colin


Romania Diary

Day 1 – 04/07/05

Today I flew to Romania. The flight was cramped but not too uncomfortable. Claire, one of the leaders, thought it was going to be 5 hours but she had mixed up the time zones and so it was only 3. I was quite apprehensive and quite when I arrived at Heathrow because I didn’t know anyone, and I could never have imagined what an amazing two weeks I was about to have. The weather in Romania was warm, humid but overcast. The car journey from Bucharest to Slatina took about 3 hours and I got really bad pains in my back and legs. The country side was sometimes really beautiful, but sometimes spoiled by run-down abandoned buildings. It sometimes looked like a war had finished prior to my trip. The evening consisted of fun ice-breaker games. We met a few of the kids too. They are really cool and nice. They are all so happy so see us.


Day 2 – 05/07/05

Today was really good. We all got showed and ready for about 9 o clock and went down to the first session with the special needs children. They were really hyper at our coming and all either cross-eyed or deformed in somewhere. It was heart breaking to see those children of God who had been treated so badly in the Orphanage. As President Gordon B Hinckley’s father once said, we all needed to “forget ourselves and go to work”. I especially liked a little 3 year old boy called Ionuc (Romanian for John). He was so cute and so easy to look after. All he wanted to do was sit and rock with a toy in hand. He’s not a very good walker. Apparently his personal best is 3 steps without help. I went to the shop with some others during the afternoon group because there were so few kids. In the evening we played card and watched Family Guy. We went to a bar and chilled. Then Ben and I invented indoor tennis and I lost. lol.


Day 3 – 06/07/05

Today was a “special day” where just the normal kids came over for the day. We played volleyball, football, rounders, ping pong etc. It was really tiring but unfortunately not much looking after the kids had to be done as the special needs kids did not come. It was still good to help the normal kids though. Emi is a Romanian guy who is the younger brother of the guy in charge of the whole project over there. He is 18 and a really funny guy. He speaks English probably better than me lol. In the evening we watched A Walk To Remember which is one of his favourite films. Everyone was teasing him because it wasn’t very good. lol. But he took it well bless him.


Day 4 – 07/07/05

Today was back to normal routine. The special needs kids came to the centre in the morning as per usual. I spent most of my time with little Ionuc again. He can’t talk yet but he is responsive physically and emotionally. He is lovely. It breaks my heart that these kids are only “special needs” because of neglect in their orphanage. Maria is a perfect example of this. She is really bright but cant really talk because of the lack of stimulation in the orphanage. She made us all lie on the floor in a line and wouldn’t let us get up. She is really awesome. When I first met the volunteers I was nervous and quiet, but now we are all like the best of friends. Its really awesome.

The afternoon kids were cool as well. We kind of had a mini water fight. They loved the stuff we brought so far, although Alex, one of the directors of the centre, is keeping some for another time. In the evening we played cards and went out for drinks. I had this stuff called Nectar. It is like think fruit juice. I love it.


Day 5 – 08/07/05

Today little John beat his walking record. He walked 6 steps on his own. He is so lovely. We have been working hard to help him to walk and it looks like it is paying off. Little Mihi is cute to. He is the same age as John but is in a worse condition. Hopefully I will be able to help him too. The kids are great. Soreen has a broken leg that never healed, and he looks like a little old man but he is so kind hearted. Fluorine is very slobbery and likes to scratch you but he just wants love. Ozzie is hyper and really smart. Addy and Pappy have been abused physically and you can see the marks round their wrists from where they have been tied to their cots and scars on their backs etc. Its just horrible but they are really nice kids. The rest of the orphans have all been abused physically, emotionally, and in some cases sexually. The conditions in the special needs orphanage are absolutely horrendous and the volunteers are not allowed to see the inside because it would be too upsetting. I got horribly sick in the evening but its nothing compared to what these kids have been through so I can suck it up and get on with the work.


Day 6 – 09/07/05

Today is Saturday and we had a day off. We drove for 5 hours to the mountains in the Transylvania region of Romania. It was gorgeous. That was pretty much it. We all miss the orphans and cant wait until Monday. We were told to expect the orphans to come on Monday in a worse condition than when they left on Friday. This is because they get abused over the weekend. I hope they are ok, especially little Ionuc and Mihi.


Day 7 – 10/07/05

Today is Sunday and we went to the church that the workers go to. It was a good experience but I know my church is the one for me. lol. It was good though to spend more time with everyone. Again we had the day off so not much to report.


Day 8 – 11/07/05

Today we were back with the kids. The morning group were really bad because the orphanage treats them so badly over the weekend. It makes me feel sick inside that these beautiful children of God are treated so poorly. In Romania orphans are seen and treated as second class citizens and so they are just thrown in horrible orphanages. It is our duty to give them the love they deserve.


Day 9 – 12/07/05

Today was hard again. It was the first day that we had to select the kids we wanted to work with before hand. I had Ionuc and Mihi which was really cool. They were great. Then in the afternoon two new groups of people showed up. A group of Americans were there for church work, and some students our age from Brighton College near my college were there for the same reason as us. They were really unfriendly and snobbish. They were blatantly only there for the reference and not for the kids. That made me angry. I really wish I could stay here for a lot longer than I am.


Day 10 – 13/07/05

Today I had Silveau first. He is the most hyper-active kid I have ever seen but he is so intelligent and kind. All we wanted to do was play with the mouse on the computer. He also loves balloon so we spent a while playing with some. Unfortunately I couldn’t work with Ionuc for the first time on the trip which was quite upsetting but at least he had someone to play with. I saw him beat his walking record. I almost cried when he walked 11 steps on his own. Mihi was awesome again. He is so cute and desperately trying to walk. He loves to cuddle. Probably because he doesn’t get any usually. I went with the leaders to drop the kids off at the orphanage and that was really upsetting, but it really reaffirmed our purpose here.


Day 11 – 14/07/05

Today was really sad because it was the last day with the kids. First I had Alex who is really sweet. He just sits and plays on his own, but we have to watch him because he sometimes hits his head on the floor and walls. Its really sad but he showed some improvement. I took him into the multi-sensory room which is soft and colourful so he couldn’t hurt himself. He looked happy. I hope he was. Then I had Ionuc for the last time which was devastating but he was lovely as ever. In the afternoon we had a party for the kids who live at the centre. They loved it although the balloons only lasted a few seconds lol.


Day 12 – 15/07/05

In the morning we said a quick goodbye to the kids but had to rush to the airport. It was really sad to leave the kids. It was the most awesome 2 weeks of my life and I wish I could stay. Hopefully I will return before I go on my mission.