CHRISTMAS APPEAL

This Christmas please spare a thought for Georgeta, and many other vulnerable elderly people preparing to survive another Winter in Romania.

 

Georgeta, 75, receives essential support from
 Providenta Divina

Georgeta is 75. She lives on her own in a small house with one room and a kitchen, no bathroom, and an outside toilet. She is lonely and isolated as her neighbours and family are too busy or cannot help her.
She receives a tiny state pension which is barely enough to buy food or the medication she needs for her asthma and hypertension. During the winter, she cannot afford to buy enough wood to keep her tiny house warm.

Working with Providenta Divina, we help a group of elderly ladies, including Georgeta. We already provide food parcels, help with shopping and home visits.

But we want to do more. 

Please donate whatever you can. As little as £5 will help to buy essential fuel over the Winter.

You can make a donation via this blog, or send your cheque to Humanity at Heart, 28 Keymer Road, Hassocks, West Sussex, BN6 8AN.

Many thanks.

HAH Shop Volunteers Party

We had a very succesful "do" last week at the White Horse in Ditchling. It was a great way to say thanks to the volunteers for all their hard work in the shop over the year. As you can see, a good time was had by all!

"Hope for Colony" community centre gets a facelift!

The essential works on the building have now been completed. The Centre has had new pipework, heating, and guttering, as well as internal and external decoration. It was very difficult for the staff and volunteers to carry on whilst the work was being done, but we hope that now they will have a clean, dry, warm building over the winter - good for both staff and beneficiaries.

The Boys move into the "House of Roses", Birlad

Good news from RAKE.  Razvan and Ionut have moved into their new home, now called "the House of Roses".  The boys left the Camine with nothing but the clothes they were wearing, so we were glad to have collected up a load of clothes from the shop, which Linda shipped out some weeks earlier.  It may be that we will provide some funding to kit all 4 youngsters out for the winter - proper boots and coats, hats and scarves.  The winters are very cold and snowy in Romania!  I hope to post some pictures from the house soon.

Health Screening and Eye Testing

Dave Bennett and his team of optoms visited Petrosani a week ago.  I hope to get a full report of his visit soon, but in the meantime, you can see from the photos below how new volunteers have been given training to make up glasses.  The Screening continues to have a positive impact on the local community, not only by giving free glasses, but by building trust and as a great way to meet the local people, find out about their problems and decide the best way in which to help them.

Part of the screening team

David and Jane from the screening team, giving advice to local beneficiaries



2 girls from the organisation Caritas came to the Centre for an eye test



Vlad, a new volunteer, learning how to use the glazing equipment

Paula and Ionela making up the glasses

Summer Club at our Community Centre, Petrosani

 We've just had an update from Adina, the Manager at the Hope for the Colony Centre in Petrosani. They have had a very busy summer, running a number of holiday clubs, for the children who usually attend the Homework Club. They've also been busy setting up the new glazing workshop, as well as continuing the regular health screening and eye testing. They are now concentrating on making vital repairs to the Centre in readiness for Winter.



Florin, very proud of his work at the "Handy Hands" Club!



The English class



Volunteers' Tea and visit to Borde Hill

 Every year we do a special afternoon tea for the shop volunteers to thank them for all their hard work.  This year we decided to have a trip to a local garden called Borde Hill, followed by tea in the cafe afterwards.  A lovely time was had by all - we braved the cold and winds, and managed to gallop around the garden, reviving ourselves with cake, scones and tea afterwards.

The Girls finally move into their new home in Birlad, Romania

We are pleased to hear that after 2 years of living in the State Institution, Geta and Irma moved into their new permenant home on Monday.  Linda and Mike from RAKE went out to Birlad to settle the girls in, and sent us this lovely report and photos.

Doing the washing up!

Irma and Geta with Cela.

 We set off on Monday morning to go and collect the girls and amazingly there were no set backs – we were allowed to take them! The girls didn’t know we were coming so they were really excited to see us. When we arrived at the house we all had lunch with the team from Myosotis (the charity we are working with). They were great and we have every confidence in their ability to care for and support our young people. I was so proud of Irma and Geta, who despite the environment they have been living in for two years, behaved beautifully with perfect manners.

Mike and I were then “on duty” for the next few days. On Wednesday we were joined by Cela (our support worker from Casa Linda). We were acutely aware of the close relationship the girls have with Cela and how vital it is to have her there, at least for the first weeks. The girls were totally relaxed and happy.

The house is great and all the items HAH enabled us to buy looked lovely. Although on the edge of the town (about a 15 minute walk from the town centre) it feels like its in the country. We were woken by the noise of cockerels and barking dogs. The temperature was about 38 degrees but the house has a lovely patio area shaded by grape vines and once we discovered a table in the cellar which we brought out we spent most of our time outside. The garden needs some work and a new fence (a job for next Spring), but it has 4 apple trees, a plum tree, and a couple of other fruit trees we couldn’t identify. We are hoping to get chickens as soon as possible.

 

"Hope for the Colony" Community Centre

Here are some recent pictures taken on on 1st June at our Community Centre in Petrosani. They were celebrating Children's Day in Romania. 

 

   

Plant Sales

 We really need your help. Our plant sale area has proved to be extremely successful - so much so, that we need more plants to sell.  Now is a great time to have a clear up in the garden, so please don't throw anything on the compost heap - pot it up and bring it in for us to sell. Many perennials  such as hardy geraniums can be cut back and split now.  We will also happily take any excess produce from your veg patch or allotment to sell.

We have already taken over £800 on the plants, and we're aiming for £1000 by the end of July, so please help us.  All profits from the plants help our projects in Romania. 
Many thanks.
Ann

RAKE House

I recieved an update from Linda at RAKE, together with some lovely pictures of the girls visiting their new home.  Here is a copy of Linda's email:

The girls haven’t moved into their home yet but we are really pleased that last Wednesday they were given permission to visit the house. Our support worker, Cela, who HAH support , went with them. They spent the day at the house (and were very excited by everything) and met all the Myosotis team who will be involved in the project. A couple of them knew the girls from years back when they went on camping holidays. They had planned to spend some time sorting out the garden together as it is so overgrown but it was pouring with rain (not just us then!) so instead they all had lunch and just spent time together.

The Myosotis team were very impressed by how polite they were and how they immediately helped with laying the table and washing up. I feel very proud of them that they haven’t forgotten how to behave properly despite the awful environment they’ve been in for the last 2 years. They are spending another day at the house on Tuesday. We are still waiting to hear when they will move in permanently – but we are still awaiting the boss man to visit the house and officially authorise it. At least the girls have something to look forward to now......

Great news, and here's hoping the paperwork can be done soon and the girls can move in permenantly.

WI Fashion Night

The Fashion show on Monday night was a great success.  It was organised by the Hassocks WI, and HAH provided the outfits.  We hope to arrange some further joint ventures later in the year. Our thanks to the WI for a wondeful night.

Above, some of the lovely WI ladies who were models for the night

 

Update on new house, RAKE

Have received some pictures from Linda of the new kitchen.  HAH paid for the kitchen, so it's great to see the completed room.  I hope to be able to give the news that the youngsters have moved in very soon.

Friends of Humanity at Heart

Don't forget about our Friends of Humanity at Heart Tea Party this Saturday 19th May, 2-4pm at our garden (weather permitting!) at 28 Keymer Road, Hassocks.
Come for a cup of tea, piece of cake, and find out how you can be involved in helping HAH's work in Romania.
Don't forget your wellies and umbrella!

Working with RAKE to help youngsters with Special Needs

We are excited about supporting a UK registered charity, RAKE, who are working with youngsters with special needs. For some years HaH contributed towards the running costs of Casa Linda, opened in 1996 and home to 17 children with special needs.
Working together with the Romanian authorities, the project was a great success until 2010 when RAKE handed it over to the Romanian authorities. Sadly and unbelievably they closed the home and returned the youngsters back to the institution.
Despite the passing of time and Romania joining the EU, RAKE were horrified to find that the quality of life for residents in the institution remained unchanged. They are largely confined to their dormitories, have no personal belongings and no activities. Sedation is widely used and beatings are common.
RAKE is now in the process of trying to rescue some of the young people who lived in Casa Linda. They have bought a house and hope to move 4 of the youngsters (now adults) into their new home within a couple of weeks. The aim is to teach the youngsters to live as independently as possible within a supported and happy environment.

Humanity at Heart has provided funding to furnish the house, and make it ready for the youngsters to move in, as well as committing to pay part of the salary of a support worker. We will keep you posted on the progress of this excellent project.