Newsletter No. 62

January, February, March - 2017

At the beginning of the new year, we set out with the intention to recruit new volunteers willing to help the beneficiaries with meditations. After our announcement, two people showed interest in collaborating with us, one of them student at the University of Electrical Engineering, Energetics and applied computer science and the second volunteer works in the IT field.

This activity of holding school meditations takes place weekly, at the "Vasile Lupu" Pedagogical high-school in Iasi, where the majority of our beneficiaries study. Until January, this activity was held in a boarding school room which didn't have the proper studying conditions.As a novelty, since February, together with the high-school's principals, we agreed that this activity will be held in a class room, where there are proper conditions and thus the volunteers and students are more efficient. The relationship between the beneficiaries and the volunteers is based on comunication and respect. The volunteers are willing to find solutions to the problems faced by these students in school.

The activity of parental education takes place twice a month in Voinesti, Iasi county. The goal of this activity is to determine mothers to acknowledge their important role in raising and educating the child. Sometimes, during this activities, the mothers receive clothing and shoes for their children. These small joys encourage the mothers to activly participate to the activity.

In February we held an activity involving the donation of clothing. Thus, families in need from Slobozia benefited from this opportunity.The number of people that showed up to the event was very high, which prooves that this activity is very useful for the community.

Since the beginning of February, together with out beneficiaries we thought about organizing a foundraising activity. Together we manufactured trinkets, cards and bookmarks, because we considered them to be traditional for this month. We decided that the best place to sell them would be at the high-school in which they study. In collaboration with their high-school, on the 5th, 6th and 7th of March we held the selling of our manufactured things. Although the money we raised weren't as many as we had expected them to be, we enjoyed the nice experience we shared together and the activity was very appreciated by the teachers of the high-school.

With the coming of spring, we and the beneficiaries thought about holding two activities, one between the beneficiaries and their mothers and the second between beneficiaries and volunteers.

8th of March is about spring, trinkets and mothers. This activity took place in Voinesti, in a very festive atmosphere. The activity was very emotional because each child had the opportunity to thank their mothers. Also, the mothers really enjoyed this activity because they had the chance to spend this lovely time with their children.

Because we wished that the volunteers would participate to other activities with the children than the ones related to studying, we planned a party during their free time. We organized various games, listened to music, discussed different subjects and so the bond between the volunteers and the beneficiaries strenghthened.