White Cross Mission
http://www.whitecross.org.uk/background.shtml
For those of you who may be new to OPS here is a brief low down on the White Cross Mission : Some years ago the White Cross Mission decided to try to rescue some of the thousands of children from the lives of suffering and neglect to which they had been condemned by the cruelty of the Ceausescu years. WCM bought five farm homes near old Romanian orphanages and opened them up as permanent residences for those children who needed them. These homes not only provide accommodation, but also employment for their inhabitants. The children work the farms themselves and exist - to some extent - on what they themselves produce. All of these homes have official sponsors, the One Percent Scheme being the official sponsor for Casa St Nicolae, which sits in the village of Suncuius in Western Romania, since 2005.
2006 Progress Report: Throughout this two-year partnership we have been very pleased with what has been achieved with WCM: Feedback from them has always been prompt and our contact their, Jenny Townsend, has always been only too pleased to update us with all the news. Casa St Nicholae was also the scene of our inaugural project visit last year (for the report click here ).
This went really well and Dave and I were more than satisfied
that the house and the whole organisation is being very well
run indeed. We saw the new water system last year's funds helped
pay for and the old outdoor pump that it replaced…this looked pretty antiquated to say the least and perhaps not the most practical or inviting throughout the harsh Romanian winter…a
job well done! It was great meeting the people we have all
helped and if WCM is voted in again we would certainly be willing
to organise another weekend trip out there to meet everyone
and see how things are going. To view pictures from the trip
click here http://good-times.webshots.com/album/554689135QgWcRk
Work for 2007: In terms of projects for the coming year, having spoken to Jenny, it seems that our money would best be spent on the general upkeep of the house and preparing it for some of the changes that will soon be taking place. The five people living there now (Adam and Eva having been re-located to another house more suited to their needs) are all ready to embark on the Independent Living Programme that WCM has been hoping to initiate. Over the course of three to five years the aim is to get the children (as they still prefer to be known) of Casa St Nicolae fully looking after themselves. This will mean that rather than several house mothers working part time, with one always being at the house, now only Mama Felicia will visit once a day although she will always be on call, whilst the children will take care of all day to day matters (cooking, cleaning etc) by themselves.
Whilst this, along with the summer opening of the new WCM guesthouse, will in theory reduce the cost of running Casa St Nicholae and the other houses (the guest house will buy produce from the houses and also provide the children with some part time work), WCM expect that it will still be five years until this yields sufficient profit to cover the costs of running the houses.
Our money this year would go towards covering the day to day running of the house (bills, repairs, wages etc) as well as purchasing some new household equipment that is needed to ensure that the children can make as easy a start as possible on this exciting new period of their lives.
Marcus Fairhurst, Jan 2007