An Eye Opening Social Survey

This past week we were given the oportunity to work alongside 2 social workers while they took a social survey of the gypsy community located just about a mile from the city center.  Each day starting 2 and sometimes going till 6, we would walk from house to house (or throughout an apartment building) to ask each family about their children and their homes. We learned from our past two trips to Romania that the community was impoverished, but without seeing it in person we had no idea about their actual living conditions.

The picture above is where about 300 people live and its called the "ghost apartment" because there are stairs, windows, and even some walls missing. Each family has only one room and there could be up to 8 people living in it with only a couch or two and maybe a stove. There is no running water and the heat mostly comes from a wood burning stove.

Venturing out to "houses" It becomes very apparent how close these gypsy communities are to Romanian neighborhoods, yet they look completely different. The communities were cautious of us at first but after doing a couple of surveys, parents were lining up to talk to us and some even allowed us to hold their babies.  Our hearts broke as we found some of the homes of the children that we have been teaching and children that we have met in the past trips. We had always known that it was bad, we just didn't know how bad it could be.  The picture below is of a little girl that absolutely captivated us with her beauty while we were walking around and her mom allowed us to take a picture of her.

We finished the survey on friday and drove to TM for the weekend. There we were able to put the data into the computer and make some stats about the families.  Saturday night we went to a free outdoor concert, featuring the band Smiley. Interesting fact about the lead singer- he is the host for Romania's Got Talent! It was just the kind of fun break that we needed after having such a long and tiring week. Sunday we rested and traveled back to Tarnaveni. Ready for week 3!

Asa!

Greetings,

We are about to start our second week here in Romania! We will move from Targus Mures to Tarneveni, to be closer to where we work. Here are a couple pictures and captions to let you know what we are up to!

We have been hearing the word "asa" (sounds like "Asha" a lot since we got here, so Lish decided to finally ask what it means in English. It means "this way, not that way" as if trying to correct someone. Now we understood- we were doing everything the wrong way, not the right way so we are always being told "asha." Funny moment for us. Here is an example of asha being used: our host family is always telling us to wear slippers on our feet because the ground is cold so they got us each a pair! So stylish! :-)

Here is one of the kids we work with. We were making pipe cleaner animals with googly eyes.

This is the bus stop we were dropped off at to wait for Libero to pick us up. Yep, it was in the middle of nowhere.

We baked some cookies for the volunteers and we had a BBQ in our backyard. They were a hit! Very sugary and the colors we're a bit fluorescent....


Yesterday we went downtown to see what was happening! All of the NGOs in the area each have a tent to display the work they are doing. Buckner had their own tent and we got a video of the team during the march around the square!
Here's a link to a sweet video! Check it out! 

A couple of pics thus far

These are some of the kiddos that we have the pleasure of working with. They are ages 3-5 and as sweet as sugar. They are always giving us hugs or pulling on our hamds to go play with them. 

                           

This is another picture of the early morning class. Even though some of them look like they are bored out of their minds, they were actually the ones that come up with the idea. 

This is an  Orthodox Church in the downtown area of Targus Muras . For the past two days, we have spent our afternoons walking around, experiencing the people and culture. 

This is Elisabeth with a pastry. It basically changed her life. 

Worth the 24 hour trip

We made it! 7 hours at airports and 10 hours of plane rides and and 8 hour car ride later, we arrived in Targus Marus where we are staying. Our host family at the group home is wonderful and we couldn't have asked for anything better. The 4 girls who are staying here are lovely and the couple who watch over them are as well. We got to visit the kids who we will work with at the center, got our itinerary, and ate some amazing food. To sum things up: Romanians are crazy drivers, they make awesome food, and God is doing incredible work here. We are pumped for the next couple of weeks!

Jess's phone is being a tad slow on uploading pictures, but we promise to make up for it in our next post! 

Bunâ Seara! 

Jess and Lish

This week has been spent organizing, planning, and crafting in order to prepare for our 5 weeks in Romania! It's only two days away and we are so incredibly excited. There are many uncertainties (where we will be staying, what we will eat, and how many kids there will be...) but God is calling us to trust. He will always remain faithful and He has already gone before us. Time to get the rest of our things packed and by Sunday we will be in Târnăveni, Romania! Follow our blog as we embark on this adventure.

If you would like more information on our internship, visit this website:
http://www.anotherchild.org/summer-internships/

Another Child Foundation and the Community Development Center in Romania are working towards transforming the lives of both the children and their families, and we are so blessed by the opportunity we have to work alongside this incredible organization.
Our studies in honors social work/sociology(Jess) and international development(Lish) are going to be put into practice on this trip, but we are ready for whatever God has in store.

Please follow our blog as we post about out trip! We would love for you to see the work God is doing. Have a blessed day!