Five year old begins to thrive in impoverished Romanian community
The family of three lives in a two-room house, where a three-square meters room serves as a bedroom, kitchen, dining room and living room. Two beds stand beside a table and a stove that is used for both cooking and heating in the winter. Traditional Romanian carpets and icons decorate the humble abode. The second room is seldom used, as they cannot afford to keep two rooms warm.
Andreea plays with her best friend Pufi, the family kitten, and her favorite doll Adelina. It is a raggedy doll that other children would probably pay no attention to. But to Andreea it is the most beautiful doll she has ever had.
Andreea relies on her mother for financial and emotional support since her father threw them out of their home a few years ago
The five year old is the joy of the house, although she rarely smiles because of the heartache she has endured. She is shy but very attentive to everything that is happening around her. Andreea’s playful engagement with her mother reveals how much she adores the young woman. They are two peas in a pod. With just the simplest expressions, they know exactly how the other is thinking and feeling.
Margareta is a tall, emaciated woman. Her brown eyes sink into her pale face, revealing how life’s hardships have worn her down. She is keeper of the home. Every day she is busy cooking, washing clothes, cleaning, keeping the fire, taking care of the animals, and fetching water from their neighbors, as they have no water source of their own.
When she is not looking after household responsibilities, she is teaching Andreea to count, recite poems and draw. For Andreea, her mother’s lessons are the closest she can get to an education during the winter months, when she cannot attend kindergarten due to the rain.
“There is no kindergarten in our small village. The closest is three kilometers away and we cannot walk that far during the winter because the rain turns the paths to mud,” explains Margareta. “This is the middle of nowhere. There are no proper roads. If it rains, getting around is a mess because of the mud, and if it is sunny there is dust everywhere,” she adds.
There is no kindergarten in Andreea’s village because there are not enough children as required by Romanian law to attend it. According to article 158 from the Law on Education of Romania, a minium of ten students are required to begin a kindergarten class, and there are only nine children from three to six years old where Andreea lives. Therefore, Andreea attends kindergarten in a neighboring village when the roads are not muddy. There is a local primary school for her to attend when she grows older.
When asked whether she misses her father, a frown forms on Andreea’s face and she becomes very serious. “I do not miss him and I do not want to see him. He does not love us.”
In Romania, high schools and vocational schools are mainly located in urban settings, requiring children from rural areas to commute daily or stay in school dorms. Most children from rural communities do not have the financial means to do so.
Andreea relies on her mother for financial and emotional support since her father threw them out of their home a few years ago. Margareta married Andreea’s father when she was just 17 years old.
Nine months after Andreea was born, Margareta’s husband met another woman in a nearby village. For two years, her husband flaunted his relationship with his mistress in public. When he came home, he frequently yelled insults at Margareta and even beat her when she told him he should not publicly parade his adulterous relationship.
Margareta continued to hope for the best throughout those dreadful years. She prayed “to all the saints” and cried all the time until she could no longer take being humiliated and abused in front of her child.
“Andreea was scared of what he could do to us, although he had never laid a hand on her. He wanted us to leave, that is all he wanted us to do anyway,” says Margareta.
One day he finally threw Margareta and Andreea out of the house “like we were nothing, like we were garbage,” says Margareta.
They moved into Andreea’s great-grandmother’s old house, where they live now. Andreea’s father lives in the same village but has not visited her once.
When asked whether she misses her father, a frown forms on Andreea’s face and she becomes very serious. She looks down and answers very sure of herself, “I do not miss him and I do not want to see him. He threw my mother and me out of our home. He does not love us.” The little girl was traumatized by her father’s behavior.
He does not care about his daughter at all. He even took the girl’s allowance because Andreea’s cheque was in his name since she is too young to take the allowance on her own. He took it and spent it without caring whether his daughter has anything to eat or not.
“He does not care about his daughter at all. He never came to see her or asked about her - if she was healthy or if she needed anything. He even took the girl’s allowance because Andreea’s cheque was in his name since she is too young to take the allowance on her own. He took it and spent it without caring whether his daughter has anything to eat or not. He pays no alimony because we are not legally divorced. I had no money to take him to court. I would have to spend Andreea’s allowance to do that and I could never do that. My daughter has so many needs,” says Margareta.
The family income is only US $70, including Magareta’s social aid (US $50) and Andreea’s allowance (US $20) from the government. Margareta’s mother who lives with them also receives a retirement fund, though she spends it on medicine for her illness.
“My mother is very sick and stays in bed all the time. I cannot leave Andreea alone with her because she often faints and that scares Andreea, ” says Magareta.
Yet there are rays of sunshine penetrating the darkness of little Andrea’s life. In March 2006 she became a World Vision sponsored child. Since then, her life has begun to significantly improve. Not only has Andrea received essential items such as clothes, shoes, hygiene supplies, she has also been the proud recipient of Christmas presents from World Vision.
Recently, a World Vision donor from Scotland decided to supply two goats to four families in Andreea’s village. Andreea’s family was one of them.
“These beautiful goats are the best Christmas present we have ever received. We would like to send our deep gratitude and love along with a thankful heart. May you be blessed by God with happiness, good health and the fulfillment of all your dreams,” says Margareta with tears in her eyes.
These beautiful goats are the best Christmas present we have ever received. We would like to send our deep gratitude and love along with a thankful heart. May you be blessed by God with happiness, good health and the fulfillment of all your dreams.
“Everybody knows that goat’s milk is the best milk,” she proudly adds.
For the first time in her life Andreea has access to milk on a regular basis. Previously, Margareta could rarely afford to buy such nourishment for her little girl. Milk is high in iodine, which is vital for healthy functioning of the thyroid. Lack of iodine is one of the main causes of thyroid disease in Romanian communities. Moreover, iodine deficiency during pregnancy and early infancy can result in cretinism (irreversible mental retardation and severe motor impairments).
World Vision is working in Andreea’s community to improve education by restoring kindergartens and schools, including the installation of water and sanitation systems. World Vision also provided new furniture, educative materials, carpets, toys and games for the kindergartens and schools, as well as a playground.
World Vision began engaging in community development in Dolj County in 1999 and is now working in 13 communities: Argetoaia, Brabova, Bralostita, Breasta, Bucovat, Carpen, Cernatesti, Cotofenii din Dos, Plesoi, Predesti, Scaesti, Sopot and Varvorul de Jos, including a population of 32,568 adults and 5,391 children under 18 years old. Through its community development programs, World Vision has improved the quality of education, school performance and healthcare services; increased the capacity of community-based organizations to promote community development, and supported local churches. Approximately 87% of Romanian citizens identify themselves as Eastern Orthodox.
Andreea plays with her best friend Pufi, the family kitten, and her favorite doll Adelina. It is a raggedy doll that other children would probably pay no attention to. But to Andreea it is the most beautiful doll she has ever had.
Andreea relies on her mother for financial and emotional support since her father threw them out of their home a few years ago
The five year old is the joy of the house, although she rarely smiles because of the heartache she has endured. She is shy but very attentive to everything that is happening around her. Andreea’s playful engagement with her mother reveals how much she adores the young woman. They are two peas in a pod. With just the simplest expressions, they know exactly how the other is thinking and feeling.
Margareta is a tall, emaciated woman. Her brown eyes sink into her pale face, revealing how life’s hardships have worn her down. She is keeper of the home. Every day she is busy cooking, washing clothes, cleaning, keeping the fire, taking care of the animals, and fetching water from their neighbors, as they have no water source of their own.
When she is not looking after household responsibilities, she is teaching Andreea to count, recite poems and draw. For Andreea, her mother’s lessons are the closest she can get to an education during the winter months, when she cannot attend kindergarten due to the rain.
“There is no kindergarten in our small village. The closest is three kilometers away and we cannot walk that far during the winter because the rain turns the paths to mud,” explains Margareta. “This is the middle of nowhere. There are no proper roads. If it rains, getting around is a mess because of the mud, and if it is sunny there is dust everywhere,” she adds.
There is no kindergarten in Andreea’s village because there are not enough children as required by Romanian law to attend it. According to article 158 from the Law on Education of Romania, a minium of ten students are required to begin a kindergarten class, and there are only nine children from three to six years old where Andreea lives. Therefore, Andreea attends kindergarten in a neighboring village when the roads are not muddy. There is a local primary school for her to attend when she grows older.
When asked whether she misses her father, a frown forms on Andreea’s face and she becomes very serious. “I do not miss him and I do not want to see him. He does not love us.”
In Romania, high schools and vocational schools are mainly located in urban settings, requiring children from rural areas to commute daily or stay in school dorms. Most children from rural communities do not have the financial means to do so.
Andreea relies on her mother for financial and emotional support since her father threw them out of their home a few years ago. Margareta married Andreea’s father when she was just 17 years old.
Nine months after Andreea was born, Margareta’s husband met another woman in a nearby village. For two years, her husband flaunted his relationship with his mistress in public. When he came home, he frequently yelled insults at Margareta and even beat her when she told him he should not publicly parade his adulterous relationship.
Margareta continued to hope for the best throughout those dreadful years. She prayed “to all the saints” and cried all the time until she could no longer take being humiliated and abused in front of her child.
“Andreea was scared of what he could do to us, although he had never laid a hand on her. He wanted us to leave, that is all he wanted us to do anyway,” says Margareta.
One day he finally threw Margareta and Andreea out of the house “like we were nothing, like we were garbage,” says Margareta.
They moved into Andreea’s great-grandmother’s old house, where they live now. Andreea’s father lives in the same village but has not visited her once.
When asked whether she misses her father, a frown forms on Andreea’s face and she becomes very serious. She looks down and answers very sure of herself, “I do not miss him and I do not want to see him. He threw my mother and me out of our home. He does not love us.” The little girl was traumatized by her father’s behavior.
He does not care about his daughter at all. He even took the girl’s allowance because Andreea’s cheque was in his name since she is too young to take the allowance on her own. He took it and spent it without caring whether his daughter has anything to eat or not.
“He does not care about his daughter at all. He never came to see her or asked about her - if she was healthy or if she needed anything. He even took the girl’s allowance because Andreea’s cheque was in his name since she is too young to take the allowance on her own. He took it and spent it without caring whether his daughter has anything to eat or not. He pays no alimony because we are not legally divorced. I had no money to take him to court. I would have to spend Andreea’s allowance to do that and I could never do that. My daughter has so many needs,” says Margareta.
The family income is only US $70, including Magareta’s social aid (US $50) and Andreea’s allowance (US $20) from the government. Margareta’s mother who lives with them also receives a retirement fund, though she spends it on medicine for her illness.
“My mother is very sick and stays in bed all the time. I cannot leave Andreea alone with her because she often faints and that scares Andreea, ” says Magareta.
Yet there are rays of sunshine penetrating the darkness of little Andrea’s life. In March 2006 she became a World Vision sponsored child. Since then, her life has begun to significantly improve. Not only has Andrea received essential items such as clothes, shoes, hygiene supplies, she has also been the proud recipient of Christmas presents from World Vision.
Recently, a World Vision donor from Scotland decided to supply two goats to four families in Andreea’s village. Andreea’s family was one of them.
“These beautiful goats are the best Christmas present we have ever received. We would like to send our deep gratitude and love along with a thankful heart. May you be blessed by God with happiness, good health and the fulfillment of all your dreams,” says Margareta with tears in her eyes.
These beautiful goats are the best Christmas present we have ever received. We would like to send our deep gratitude and love along with a thankful heart. May you be blessed by God with happiness, good health and the fulfillment of all your dreams.
“Everybody knows that goat’s milk is the best milk,” she proudly adds.
For the first time in her life Andreea has access to milk on a regular basis. Previously, Margareta could rarely afford to buy such nourishment for her little girl. Milk is high in iodine, which is vital for healthy functioning of the thyroid. Lack of iodine is one of the main causes of thyroid disease in Romanian communities. Moreover, iodine deficiency during pregnancy and early infancy can result in cretinism (irreversible mental retardation and severe motor impairments).
World Vision is working in Andreea’s community to improve education by restoring kindergartens and schools, including the installation of water and sanitation systems. World Vision also provided new furniture, educative materials, carpets, toys and games for the kindergartens and schools, as well as a playground.
World Vision began engaging in community development in Dolj County in 1999 and is now working in 13 communities: Argetoaia, Brabova, Bralostita, Breasta, Bucovat, Carpen, Cernatesti, Cotofenii din Dos, Plesoi, Predesti, Scaesti, Sopot and Varvorul de Jos, including a population of 32,568 adults and 5,391 children under 18 years old. Through its community development programs, World Vision has improved the quality of education, school performance and healthcare services; increased the capacity of community-based organizations to promote community development, and supported local churches. Approximately 87% of Romanian citizens identify themselves as Eastern Orthodox.
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