An idea for a tea towel.......

Yesterday we went to a small village called Siria to visit a Christain Organisation called Networks who are  based there. Networks was established in 2001 and has been working with the poor in Romania for ten years. Lindon and I were given the details of this organisation by some friends in England when they found out we were planning to come to Romania. At first I just nodded and smiled......Romania is a BIG country which is notoriously difficult to travel around due to it's distinct lack of motorways i.e. one, in the whole country, somewhere near Bucharest and therefore of no use to us whatsoever. But I looked them up anyway and was surprised to find they were located in the county of Arad, next door to Tinis, which is where we are. Brilliant!!!!

So, after a few calls and emails we arranged to go for a visit so we could see what they do and discuss opportunities for us to volunteer. It takes about an hour and twenty minutes from our house to the base in Siria, so we set off about 9am and enjoyed a nice drive through arable farmland in the sun. It's incredibly flat around Timisoara, which is surprisingly hard to adjust to when your a native of the Yorkshire penines, still, at least it significantly reduces your petrol consumption :-). We arrived at 10.30 and introduced ourselves to Karen, a full-time networks volunteer of ten years, who is originally from Rochdale and whose accent became reassuringly broader and more northern sounding the longer she talked with us. She told us all about the organisation and the different works that they are doing in different communities in and around Arad. We were really impressed by the variety of their activities and the thoughtful philosophies behind their interventions in these communities.

Networks are involved in basic crisis help for the very poor, i.e, distributing food,  firewood and emergency medication for those who desperately need help to survive day by day. But they are also very concerned with addressing the more long-term issues and have many projects to help people work their way out of the poverty they find themselves in. For example, they have a full time social worker who is dedicated to helping people get the id and papers they need to be able to work and get medical help. Without an id card you cannot get a job, sign a contract, access a hospital or claim any kind of help from the government in Romania (Note to self: Get and ID card!). Many people have no papers whatsoever and are not even sure when and where they were born making it a difficult but essential task to get them registered.



Networks also place a high value on education since this will be a significant factor in helping the children break the cycle of poverty that their families are in and so they provide pre- school clubs and homework clubs in deprived communities to help encourage the children in their learning. Similarly Networks are concerned with helping to provide employment opportunities for those who are willing and able to work and have several enterprise schemes on the go. One such project is the Dece clothing company. Women with families to look after are provided with the skills, designs and materials to make high quality hats at home which are then sold internationally via the Dece website. Networks are also helping families by building giant greenhouses in their gardens enabling them to start growing fruits and vegetables and helping them negotiate contracts to sell them to the big supermarkets. We went to visit one of these newly built greenhouses and the owner was very enthusiastic about it...... his only complaint was that he could have planted earlier if only it had been finished lol.


After we'd heard all about it at the office Karen took us for a walk around two of these communities, the rural community in Siria and the inner city ghetto that is kakece (i have completely made that spelling up) in the city of Arad. Despite my enthusiasm for being involved while sitting and hearing about the work in these communities- the reality of being in them was a bit overwhelming. I wish I could say I was filled with instant love for the grubby little kids with bare feet and  (very) snotty noses who came running up to us, punching and hugging us in a bizarre show of affection and demanding to know our names. I wish I found it easy to look them in the eye and hug them back. But I'm afraid if I'm completely honest- the unknown is pretty scary and overwhelming, and these kids covered in dirt and shouting at me in Romanian were very much the unknown and I was a bit daunted. I know as I spend more time in these communities and get to know and recognise the people I will become more used to them and their ways and relax a little bit but at first, in all honesty , its going to be a challenge.

The next step for us is to fill out an application form and work out when we will be available to help out. Our hope is to be able to volunteer on a regular day once a week. Obviously my being pregnant and our limited availability will put restrictions on what we can do but Networks have so much going on that they are sure they will be able to give us something useful to do. I was so blown away by the commitment and ambition of the founders of Networks who have given so much, and achieved so much, that I came away feeling a little bit useless and mediocre .........but then I came up with a wise saying, all by myself, and it made me feel better..........I'm thinking of printing it on a tea towel.......

"Don't let your inability to do everything right undermine your potential to do something right".
                                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                    Ta Da!!!!!!!

What to have for lunch...????

I am five months pregnant. Before I got pregnant I thought about what it would be like to be pregnant, then, when I found out that I was, I thought about what it would like to be more pregnant, you know, with a big fat belly and all that. Right now I'm thinking about having my own baby in my arms. But I'm pretty sure once I finally have my baby in my arms I will be thinking about how I will cope when he/she decides it's time to leave home.

Funny how very rarely we are satisfied with the present moment of life. We, or at least I, are always looking for the next thing. I don't know if it's just me but I tend to decide what I will eat for lunch while I am eating breakfast- well I say 'decide' but I am actually truly rubbish at decisions of all kinds so the reality is I merely think about it, ponder it, come up with a few options. You'd think, with the amount of time I spend thinking about what I will eat and when upon any given day, I would be able to boast a rich and varied diet and perhaps have written my own cookery book including all the fabulous new recipes I have concocted during these times. Unfortunately the reality is I usually just end up going with soup!!

There are lots of wise sayings about life being about the journey and not the destination, which when we read we all nod knowingly and say 'it's so true'. There was even that annoying x-factor song a year or so ago which reminded us it was really all just 'about the climb'. And we know it, we know it's the truth and yet we just can't help thinking about what's next.

What's with that!! I'm not saying it's wrong it just seems odd that we are wired that way. We always seem to be looking forward to the next thing. When I get here, or do that, or have the other, then I will be settled and happy and my life will be complete. Somehow we have to figure out how to enjoy now for all that it has to offer.

Unity Square- Timisoara

Right now in my life, I have just moved to a new country, I am learning a new language, I am making new friends, I am finding my place in a new church and a new city and of course I am expecting a baby. You'd think that'd be enough right.......... but for some reason I am spending all my time thinking about what it will be like WHEN I've settled in properly, WHEN I can speak Romanian, WHEN I have lots more friends, WHEN I am useful and indispensable in my new church, WHEN I know the one way system in my new city and WHEN I have my baby. I have so many hopes for my future here- I desperately want to have a purpose and be useful even if only in a small way. And that can only be a good thing right? But somehow my hopes for the future are preventing me from enjoying the present to the full. I should be enjoying settling in and finding my way around and learning about people and places and culture instead of fretting about how long the future will take to come about!!

So the lesson I'm learning this week is one which I really ought to have learnt by now. And to be fair I am generally doing quite well with it, I just have my occasional relapses and moments of panic. It's patience and trust that the future will happen despite of and regardless of how much time I spend planning it and fretting about it. And it's peace and joy and contentment in the moment that I get to live now. You only ever regret it when you look back and realise how good life was back then if only you could have relaxed and enjoyed it for what it was.

Timisoara Cathedral

So....... right now in my life I am sitting on my terrace, writing out my thoughts about life, in the hope that it will help someone else figure out their thoughts about life, watching my belly wriggle with life and making the most of the sun. This afternoon I have a language lesson to do but first its lunchtime and my soup is ready :-)!!