Melanie's Visit to Hungary and Romania March, 2006

This trip was not just about going out to visit the orphanages in Hungary and Romania, but it was also a training trip for Naomi, Betty, and Rita. Betty and Rita are the trustees of The Sunflower Trust. Naomi is a young woman, who just has a hunger and thirst for helping orphans. This was her first trip./ The weather was foul. It rained and snowed continuously, but that didn’t t deter us from our mission at hand. The second day we arrived we ventured on our journey by train to Bucharest, in Romania. The train journey took us 15 hours, and we arrived in Bucharest, at the dead of night. Everything was covered with snow, and it seemed that all life had ceased. We worked our way to the hostel, which was just 2 kilometres from the train station.

The next day, we went to see our orphans in Cirigioli. They were being threatened with eviction, because the "building didn’t t come up to standards", so the deadline was March 28, when the authorities were going to close them down. They are all girls in this orphanage, and they had all come in from off the streets. The tales of abuse, rapes, and violence, is too much for us to tell. We didn’t t know exactly what we could do, but we did know that we could give of our selves. We started by talking about music with the girls. Tash speaks English, so we had an interpreter. We then progressed on to dancing together,(I’m not really up to street dancing), but I had a go, and the girls laughed so much.......and then asked "how old was I".mmm well say no more. Each girl showed us their bed and locker, which held all their worldly goods. I asked the girls were they happy, as the place was a bit run down, they said, they were happier in the orphanage, than being out on the streets, where they suffered far worse things than  the cold or starvation.

The couple who run the orphanage are disabled and ill. Ron has prostrate cancer, and is quite ill. Sue has one leg, and is permanently in a wheel chair. Their love and passion for these sweet little girls if far more then I can say in words. They have been dedicated to the orphanage for 15 years, and have had so many problems. Up to now all the court cases have been postponed, and the girls are still there. We don’t know when they will ask them to leave, or forcibly eject them . When we returned from Bucharest, via the train, we were ready to meet the poor people of Bag, just 30 kilometres, outside of Budapest.

We were not quite sure what to expect, as Erika and Lajois, who help these poor folk, hadn’t told us much about the village. When we arrived we found our selves at the foot of a mountain, where the bus dropped us off. We had to then cross the road, and head along a very dirty, dirt track, heading toward the mountain. There was a little steam that ran parallel with the dirt track, but it was flowing very violently over the boulders and rocks. They told me that the came to some "dwellings", that’s as best as I can describe them, with smoke coming from little iron pipes, that acted as chimneys.

Lajois introduced us to 2 little girls, who came running to meet us. Ezerbet and Suchie, were orphans, and had just lost their mother 4 months before. The extended family were looking after them for now, with the help of Erika and Lajois. We proceeded to go into one of these dwellings, and we were astounded at the simplicity and poverty in the house. Ishtvan and his wife lived here, and had called a meeting for us to access the needs of the village folk. The village is called Bag, (with 2 dots on the top of the B).  The natives of that village were very hospitable towards us, and were very happy to show us their babies. Most of the villagers could not read or write, and the children could not go to school because the nearest school was full and a long way away, and the parents would not allow the children to venture too far away from the village. There was many young mums who had been left, because their partners had gone away to the city to look for work, and consequently, had not returned, so there was a lot of broken hearted girls left behind. There had been some tribal feuding going on, with villagers in the next village, and so there was a lot of feeling of animosity shown toward some of the strangers that entered the village.

We took some much needed baby clothes, and urgently required pain killers and paracetamol, antibiotics. We took pens and writing books and various educational tools. Erika and Lajois are teaching in the newly founded school, funded by The Sunflower Trust. A little goes a long way here, and so we are paying for Erika and Lajois s bus fare to take them twice a week to this remote village, which is not the most desirable place to go.

I thank this couple so much for their efforts in helping these people, who are from Roma origins. Life is so harsh for them, and unless the Government intervenes soon, then their plight will go on for another generation. We aim to make a difference in the lives of the children of Bag. We are setting up a programme, where we can distribute a little money each month for food. The School is already in operation, and Erika and Lajois are in Teacher training college in Budapest. They themselves are struggling, while they are training. It is people, like Erika and Lajois, who have  a passion to help the poor, that will change nations for the future. Many a child from humble beginnings, when given a chance, has overcome the poverty trap. and gone on to be, Dr s and  Politicians and Presidents. We aim to help these people to develop them selves, with a little help from their friends. We will keep you updated on this work.  Hungary, is up and coming, because now it is in the EU.   This generation will carry us on into the next, remembering that some one gave them a hand ,up on to the ladder of success.