Elder and Sister Leonard are the Area Humanitarian Specialists for Europe stationed in Frankfurt, Germany.
They wanted us to take them to see some of our projects and meet the people. We started with a wheelchair distribution in Brasov which we hosted at the meetinghouse there.
Randy was charmed by Ana Maria's smile.
The local media covered the event on the evening news.
This fellow plays tennis and basketball. He shows off his upper body strength on the practice ramps. The trainer kept close by, but was not needed as the fellow powered up the ramps, spun around at the top and climbed down the stairs on his back wheels all on his own.
Then back to Buda, just outside of Bucharest to meet Cristian Ispas, the head of Motivation Romania and to get a tour of their facilities.
On day two, we took our guests to Braila to meet Lina Meirosu and the children and to see the playground we helped Lina build at her day centre for autistic children.
In the afternoon we visited the leper colony. True to form, Hima had a doilie for Sister Leonard. We brought her a big bag of crochet cotton so she wouldn't have to unravel leper bandages to make them.
Day 3 found us in Slobozia to visit with Noreen O'Gorman (second from the right) and meet the children she cares for at her center. Then she took us out into the country to meet some of the people she tries to help as a community nurse. Left to right: Florina (social worker), Dan (physical therapist and all round handyman), Georgetta, Randy, Elder Leonard, Noreen, Sister Leonard.
Noreen wanted us to see the house that Georgetta has built all by herself (except for the roof). She has 2 children. The youngest was born with cerebral palsy. The husband said it was Georgetta's fault that the boy had a handicap and left them. She was given this piece of property and she began to build house - making bricks by hand from mud, straw, and dung. You can see the walls are not all exactly straight, but we were blown away by her grit and determination to make a better life for her family. Noreen managed to find people in town who provided materials and put on the roof for her. Then she rounded up a local pastor and a volunteer from the UK who will come and finish the work before the winter. Hats off to Noreen - a champion of the underprivileged!
Next we were led out into the middle of nowhere to a house in ruins. It originally had 3 rooms, but now, as you can see, the rooms on each end are destroyed. Who is living the room in the middle?
A woman with learning disabilities, a man who is legally blind..
A 2-year old little girl...
and a newborn baby who the couple had brought home just minutes before we had arrived. Florina tried to talk the parents into bringing the children into a shelter in town for the winter.
Their only room holds the bed and this wood-burning stove. No electricity of course.
We could find no source for water. They must haul it from somewhere. The parents didn't want to leave their home. Our hero, Noreen doesn't speak much Romanian, but talked in a language they did understand: she said, "You will not lose your children's allowance by living in a shelter. And if you do not come in, your baby will die or be taken away from you by Child Protective Services!" The family is moving into town.
This is a family with 8 children. All sleep in one room. The parents and baby are being treated for tuberculosis. In spite (and because) of their condition, they are building on this new section so the parents and baby can sleep separately from the rest of the family. Noreen brought them this bag of groceries and raises funds for their treatment and testing at the clinic. I peeked in the little window and saw many smiling eyes peeking back at me.
With these and a couple of other visits, the Leonard's could see why we love the champions we work with here in Romania and are grateful to be able to help wherever we can.
