Breaking a world record doesn’t happen every day

Breaking a record, let alone a world record is always a challenge, no matter what record it is you are trying to break. And, when it is a team event the emotions and excitement grow exponentially. 

On Sunday, September 23, 1,200 people gathered in Bucharest to work together to break the record for the world’s largest salad. The participants were divided into teams who then worked tirelessly for more than seven hours to wash, peel and mix nearly 24 tons of vegetables in large part of Romanian origin.

While the Romanian team was made up of people from all walks of life, 50 people representing World Vision were also present, among them high school students (who receive scholarships to study from World Vision), volunteers and World Vision employees.

The high school students were expecially excited about participating. Sorina C, 17, is studying in 11th grade, in part, thanks to a scholarship she receives from World Vision. She came to the event with a group of eight other students from her class. They traveled more than 60 km to be abel to participate in the event. “Something new and special always happens with World Vision,” she says. “And, I am sure [today] will be the same,” she said as the event got under way.

Cristina B, 40, and her daughter, Alina, 13, are faithful World Vision voluntees who also came out to participate in the event. “I like to meet other people and to be active,” says Alina. “[This] is the third time I directly interact with children from World Vision Romania’s projects. Today, I met [fellow] teenagers and together we can establish a new record,” she says. “It is a unique opportunity.”

At the end of the event, Cristina could hardly believe what she and the others had accomplished, "I lived unique moments that rarely are given.... I was happy to be with my friends - World Vision volunteers, but I equally liked to also meet new people; to see collective enthusiasm, and to achieve what we wanted - to break the world record for the largest vegetarian salad.... and we did! I am proud that I can say ‘Yes, I was there too’…  I am sure Romania's image became better in the world, showing that there are ambitious people, united, hard workers with big dreams.”

After the salad’s weight was officially measured and recorded by the representative of the Guiness Book of World Records’ representative, weighing in at a whopping 19 tones and 50 kilos, Sorina could not contain her excitement. "We are so proud that we have beaten the Greeks!,” she said. “I thought our salad would be just a few kilos more. But look, we beat them by five tons. If we had more vegetables, we would have reached 20 tons!"

The salad was donated to orphanages, old people's homes, monasteries’ social canteens and a small quantity to some event attendants. Leftover vegetables were donated to an animal farms nearby.

Overall, the day was about more than just a big salad, especially for the World Vision scholarship students. It was about learning bigger lessons, like being part of something much bigger than yourself, and achieving dreams alongside others “It was fantastic what we lived,” added Sorina. “My life with World Vision is more than a scholarship to help me finish the high school. It is the experience that fulfills."