Georgiana stays with mother
“I did not know that I had a baby inside me,” recalls the young mother. “And after I found out, I got scared and wanted to hide it.”
The poverty and misery in the clay shacks they live in are shocking. Their home is dark and chilly; the remains of the last dinner are still on the table: some polenta in a dirty plate, beans in soup and two boiled potatoes. Today she holds her beautiful little girl in her arms and kisses her red cheeks affectionately. The bond between mother and daughter is strong and real, even though they are dressed poorly and have to face severe hardships like lack of food, and a cold unhealthy environment.
Luminita and her daughter live in the poorest area of Gherla city, in Cluj Country, north-western Romania. The poverty and misery in the clay shacks they live in are shocking. Their home is dark and chilly; the remains of the last dinner are still on the table: some polenta in a dirty plate, beans in soup and two boiled potatoes.
Luminita lives with her parents, Tereza and Vasile, and another sister, Steliana.
“I was too scared to come back home with the child. I didn’t know to take care of it. Tanti Lia told me she would help me if I kept the baby,” says Luminita.
Tanti Lia, or Letitia Simon, is World Vision’s social worker that did her best to support Luminita and her baby.
World Vision’s presence in the area had an important role to play in their lives. Powdered milk, diapers and clothes received when Georgiana was born and during her first year of life, became an essential support for the mother and child.
“I saw Luminita so many times before she came to the maternity unit and I didn’t notice that her body went through any changes. I saw her playing with other children or doing all kind of chores,” remembers Letitia.
“She is definitely still a child and she is lucky enough that finally she gained her parents’ support. To come back with a fatherless baby in their small community is a big issue,” reveals Letitia.
she holds her beautiful little girl in her arms and kisses her red cheeks affectionately. The bond between mother and daughter is strong and real, even though they are dressed poorly and have to face severe hardships like lack of food, and a cold unhealthy environment. Fifty-five-year-old Tereza, Luminita’s mother, struggled to accept the idea. Her family had too many problems to solve. The baby’s father was a married man and Luminita would not talk about his identity. Tereza felt the entire burden would fall on her shoulders.
“I thought this girl wouldn’t take proper care of the child. We were about to give it away because we couldn’t afford to feed it,” says Tereza. “Tanti Lia gave us powdered milk; this child grew up with it.”
The woman is dressed in black, her head covered with a scarf. Her face shows gratitude and lights up when she holds the baby in her arms. She gave birth to 11 children and raised them all, not to mention the nephews who live around her home. Five of her married children live in the same neighbourhood.
“My husband is paralyzed and he cannot walk. He got hit by a car three years ago,” explains the woman.
Vasile was one of the few fortunate men in the neighbourhood who had a job at the time when the accident happened. He was left with a small pension after that. He is 56 but looks much older.
Because of the accident he cannot speak anymore, although he does his best to mumble words and say ‘hello’. His income, around US$80, and Luminita’s social help for the child, around US$20, are crucial for the family of five.
Letitia has known Luminita since she started working with people in her community. Children of Romania project began its abandonment prevention activities back in 2001. The young woman was 12 then and the two of them had good moments of interaction, coming from the time when Letitia volunteered to give literacy lessons for the children in the area.
“I used to teach them to read and write because I noticed that they were eager to learn,” says Letitia.
The social worker lives close to the neighbourhood and wishes to change things for its inhabitants.
Although primary and secondary school is mandatory in Romania, these children fail to attend class because of improper clothing and lack of educational interest from their parents.
“When children are able to walk they mingle with others and start to learn how to take care of themselves,” says Letitia Simon. Parents are caught up in the game of finding food supplies and wood for fire.
People do not share much of a sense of tradition and community spirit here because almost everybody came from somewhere else, just after the fall of the communist regime in 1989.
Adults lost their jobs because so many working places disappeared. People began to eat when they found temporary jobs, some of them stated to beg on the streets. The levels of illiteracy began to increase among the children People older than twenty had once experienced better days and better life conditions, but today they seem to be at a point of no return. Adults lost their jobs because so many working places disappeared. People began to eat when they found temporary jobs, some of them stated to beg on the streets. The levels of illiteracy began to increase among the children.
Interventions like World Vision’s are essential for many of the babies and toddlers in the area, in keeping them with their families. World Vision’s Children of Romania Project has operated in Cluj County since 1992. Its beneficiaries are children from paediatric hospitals and maternity clinics, children from poor families, children and families at risk.
--Ends--
The poverty and misery in the clay shacks they live in are shocking. Their home is dark and chilly; the remains of the last dinner are still on the table: some polenta in a dirty plate, beans in soup and two boiled potatoes. Today she holds her beautiful little girl in her arms and kisses her red cheeks affectionately. The bond between mother and daughter is strong and real, even though they are dressed poorly and have to face severe hardships like lack of food, and a cold unhealthy environment.
Luminita and her daughter live in the poorest area of Gherla city, in Cluj Country, north-western Romania. The poverty and misery in the clay shacks they live in are shocking. Their home is dark and chilly; the remains of the last dinner are still on the table: some polenta in a dirty plate, beans in soup and two boiled potatoes.
Luminita lives with her parents, Tereza and Vasile, and another sister, Steliana.
“I was too scared to come back home with the child. I didn’t know to take care of it. Tanti Lia told me she would help me if I kept the baby,” says Luminita.
Tanti Lia, or Letitia Simon, is World Vision’s social worker that did her best to support Luminita and her baby.
World Vision’s presence in the area had an important role to play in their lives. Powdered milk, diapers and clothes received when Georgiana was born and during her first year of life, became an essential support for the mother and child.
“I saw Luminita so many times before she came to the maternity unit and I didn’t notice that her body went through any changes. I saw her playing with other children or doing all kind of chores,” remembers Letitia.
“She is definitely still a child and she is lucky enough that finally she gained her parents’ support. To come back with a fatherless baby in their small community is a big issue,” reveals Letitia.
she holds her beautiful little girl in her arms and kisses her red cheeks affectionately. The bond between mother and daughter is strong and real, even though they are dressed poorly and have to face severe hardships like lack of food, and a cold unhealthy environment. Fifty-five-year-old Tereza, Luminita’s mother, struggled to accept the idea. Her family had too many problems to solve. The baby’s father was a married man and Luminita would not talk about his identity. Tereza felt the entire burden would fall on her shoulders.
“I thought this girl wouldn’t take proper care of the child. We were about to give it away because we couldn’t afford to feed it,” says Tereza. “Tanti Lia gave us powdered milk; this child grew up with it.”
The woman is dressed in black, her head covered with a scarf. Her face shows gratitude and lights up when she holds the baby in her arms. She gave birth to 11 children and raised them all, not to mention the nephews who live around her home. Five of her married children live in the same neighbourhood.
“My husband is paralyzed and he cannot walk. He got hit by a car three years ago,” explains the woman.
Vasile was one of the few fortunate men in the neighbourhood who had a job at the time when the accident happened. He was left with a small pension after that. He is 56 but looks much older.
Because of the accident he cannot speak anymore, although he does his best to mumble words and say ‘hello’. His income, around US$80, and Luminita’s social help for the child, around US$20, are crucial for the family of five.
Letitia has known Luminita since she started working with people in her community. Children of Romania project began its abandonment prevention activities back in 2001. The young woman was 12 then and the two of them had good moments of interaction, coming from the time when Letitia volunteered to give literacy lessons for the children in the area.
“I used to teach them to read and write because I noticed that they were eager to learn,” says Letitia.
The social worker lives close to the neighbourhood and wishes to change things for its inhabitants.
Although primary and secondary school is mandatory in Romania, these children fail to attend class because of improper clothing and lack of educational interest from their parents.
“When children are able to walk they mingle with others and start to learn how to take care of themselves,” says Letitia Simon. Parents are caught up in the game of finding food supplies and wood for fire.
People do not share much of a sense of tradition and community spirit here because almost everybody came from somewhere else, just after the fall of the communist regime in 1989.
Adults lost their jobs because so many working places disappeared. People began to eat when they found temporary jobs, some of them stated to beg on the streets. The levels of illiteracy began to increase among the children People older than twenty had once experienced better days and better life conditions, but today they seem to be at a point of no return. Adults lost their jobs because so many working places disappeared. People began to eat when they found temporary jobs, some of them stated to beg on the streets. The levels of illiteracy began to increase among the children.
Interventions like World Vision’s are essential for many of the babies and toddlers in the area, in keeping them with their families. World Vision’s Children of Romania Project has operated in Cluj County since 1992. Its beneficiaries are children from paediatric hospitals and maternity clinics, children from poor families, children and families at risk.
--Ends--
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