After a grueling 25 hour travel adventure, we finally arrived in Sibiu, Romania. We were greeted by Debbie, the founder the Fundatia Heart of Hope, and Zultan, one of Debbie's house parents, our driver. Surprisingly, we were also joined by two other American volunteers from California working with Debbie at her children's camp. Zultan drove us to our home for the next two weeks, Casa Salzburg, which is a very quant bed and breakfast right next to the large city square, Piata Mare. After a much needed night's rest, Sarah and Ashley had a traditional Romanian breakfast downstairs, while Cristina and Valdora extended their much needed night's rest. Debbie picked all of us up and took us on a tour of the orphanage where we will be working, which is only 5 minutes from our hotel. The orphanage is set up in three modules, based on age and severity of impairment. Each module has small dormitory style rooms with beds or cribs. The first module is for older children with physical disabilities in wheelchairs that appeared to have Cerebral Palsy. One of the more physically impaired young girls boasted that she was now able to drink from a sippy cup by herself. She asked us if she could show us what she just learned from the last therapy team (this team came a week prior from the States). We all applauded as she demonstrated her new skill. After watching how happy and accomplished this little girl felt, we realized that a skill we see as something so small, was so big for her. Not only did learning to drink from her own cup improve her quality of life and feeling of independence, but it decreased one of the burdens from the caregivers who feel so overworked. In module two, the room was filled with about 15 different kids who were able to walk on their own with varying degrees of intellectual and developmental disabilities. Right when we walked through the door, the kids started hugging us, climbing on us, smiling, holding our hands, and wanting us to just be with them. This came as a surprise to us, as we were expecting sensory defensive and withdrawn children, but were pleased to discover they actually craved social interaction and physical contact. Our prior expectations were more realized in the third and final module. This module was filled with children of all ages and diagnoses, crib ridden, and lying flat on their backs with only a mattress and a fitted sheet. One of the children we met appeared to be around five years old, but was actually fourteen. He was blind and had a large mass growing out of his head, which the director told us was an excessive growth of brain matter which will not be operated on. We are all excited about the potential impact of the simple changes that can impart a grand lasting improvement in the lives of these children and the workers in the orphanage. Our goal of providing education for sustainability was realized after meeting our translation team of student nurses and doctors. The translators will be a huge help in carrying out our treatment plans and educational training.
We had lunch at the transition home for young women, which is part of Heart of Hope. We were able to meet some of the young women who lived there, who prepared us a traditional Romanian meal of chicken schnitzel, homemade mashed potatoes, chicken noodle soup, fried zucchini, and a yummy Romanian pastry. After lunch, Debbie explained more about the Heart of Hope and her history with the program. She told us the transitional home was a place where young girls who transitioned out of the orphanage when they reached 18 could go and live to attend the university, learn a vocation, get a job, and save money while learning new skills and how to be self sustaining. Debbie explained that her organization provides humanitarian aid to the nine orphanages throughout the city, including the center we saw earlier. She also sponsors summer camps for typically developing children in the orphanages as well as a variety of other programs throughout the year. Debbie shared with us that her whole life changed when she saw a documentary in the early 90s describing the horrific conditions in the Romanian orphanages. Debbie's response to this one news program resulted in the adoption of her daughter from Romania to eventually starting the Heart of Hope program. We were impressed and moved by Debbie's dedication to this population and her ability to continue sustaining it since the early 90s.
Our day ended with a dinner at sunset on the balcony of Cafe Wein, a bottle of Romanian wine, and fresh gelato. We are excited for our work that will begin tomorrow and the lasting impact we hope to make in these very short two weeks. Continue to pray for us during the next week that we will be able to make simple suggestions that the workers will implement and that their minds will be open to those suggestions. Thanks for reading! Buna Seara (that's goodnight in Romanian).
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