The Romanian Aid Foundation & Asociatia Neemia

Both our packing teams, in Horley and near Swansea, have reported receiving good quantities of clothing and similar items for onward transport to Romania.

The Horley team has received items from mostly southern England: Dorset, Hampshire, Sussex, Essex even Birmingham. They arrive with us by various routes, mostly personal delivery. The Horley packing dates are 6th and 20th February, then the 6th March. When we sort and pack, very few items are discarded because of unsuitability for donation. We currently have more than half a ton of items ready to dispatch to our colleagues in Dorohoi.

In previous years, the month of February has often been the coldest time of the year in this area of northeast Romania. However, this year January has set the records so far with negative temperatures into the double figures for an extended period. This has implications for the activities of our team – whilst many people are still braving the trip to the office there are others who ask for help at home.

We have continued to donate food, clothing and other items throughout the cold months but the adverse conditions have made travelling difficult. In particular, the daily collections from the supermarkets have, on some days, resembled a polar expedition!

As might be expected, there has been an increase in the numbers of people asking for help with the cost of heating their homes. This is exacerbated by the high inflation rate in Romania (nearly 6% pa). These rising costs affect our own activities. Some families receive specific sponsorship from funds received for them but we have not been able to help many other people this winter.

We received another package of kindergarten materials from a supporter with a particular interest in teaching children of that age. This one included some street-themed dominoes which will help to teach the children about roads and traffic as well as dexterity, shape recognition and similar skills.

This Month’s Featured Photos

Winter warmth: Wintry roads … Ready to go … Typical food boxes

Casa Neemia residents are included in the food distribution:

Street Dominoes: training for street-wise children

This Month’s Prayer Notes

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We have had a successful year, both in Horley and in south Wales and we want to thank all those who have brought us items that we can forward to Romania. We also want to thank all those who have supported our work with their time and finances. 2025 was another year during which we were able to help many needy people with food and clothing
In Horley the packing team will be resuming on Friday 16th January and then on the first and third Fridays of each month thereafter.

At the beginning of 2026 Romania instituted an EU directive that requires that all packages valued at less than €150 will incur a charge of €5 per package when being brought into the EU. The UK and EU have a partial trade agreement but we have yet to see whether there are any implications for the transport of our donated goods. We are working within an increasingly complex legislative environment where forward planning is difficult, especially when it is often sidelined by more immediate needs.

The joint Romanian and Ukrainian community at Casa Neemia has matured, with many of the residents being involved in the day-to-day running of the house, working in the garden or helping with the diverse activities of the charity.

In December we were invited to run food appeals at two supermarkets in Dorohoi and one supermarket in Darabani. These appeals are in addition to the daily collections of short-dated food items. The customers of the supermarkets are asked to donate one or two items that they have purchased. The total value of these donations amounted to some £12,500; a team of volunteers then prepared and distributed food parcels for families in the villages near Dorohoi.

Our daily collections of short-dated food from local supermarkets have continued. During 2025 we received short-dated food with a nominal sales value totalling some £63,800 which we have donated to needy households. Recently, the collections included a large quantity of fruit and sweets, both of which are very popular with the door-to-door carol singers who visit on both Christmas Eve and on New Year’s Eve.

A donation of hi-vis jackets arrived in time to be distributed before the onset of the winter weather. They are very much appreciated, as much for their warmth as for any road safety considerations.

Negotiations about the reuse of the land surrounding our warehouse at Dealu Mare have continued. During the Communism era in Romania much of the non-residential land was state property but after the revolution in 1989 people who had previously had an interest in the land could apply to return it to private ownership. However, the administrative procedure requires the cross checking of land transactions back to 1989 and can be slow.

This Month’s Featured Photos

Winter Donations: Food distribution … Carol singers … Warm jackets

The Casa Neemia Community

This Month’s Prayer Notes

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The packing session on 5^th December concludes our packing activities at Horley for this year; we will be resuming on Friday 16^th January, then on the first and third Fridays of February.

We have had a successful year, both in Horley and in south Wales, and we want to thank all those who have brought us items that we can forward to Romania.

As part of our affiliation with a Romanian food bank we are able to receive stocks of food and other household goods that have short validity dates or are surplus to required stock levels. Each evening we attend two local supermarkets to collect each day’s items, which are then donated to needy households the next day. A typical collection will include bread, fruit, vegetables, dairy products and frozen meat. A recent surprise was nearly 100 chocolate croissants, released due to a change of packaging.

In addition to the daily collections, the people we help will be benefiting from a pre-Christmas food appeal at two supermarkets in Dorohoi and one supermarket in Darabani. The appeals are conducted in co-operation with the Centre of Hope in Dorohoi whose clients also benefit from the donations. The produce received has been purchased and donated by the customers of the respective supermarkets and previous collections have demonstrated their generosity.

There have been further positive moves in respect to the future of the land surrounding our warehouse at Dealu Mare. The shared access is a complication due to shared ownerships but there is goodwill on the part of the neighbour and the local council officers, and we anticipate further, albeit slow, progress.

During the past month we have been able to bring a special happiness to a number of people: an amputee has received an electric chair, a wounded veteran from the Ukraine war is receiving therapy and the children at Casa Neemia are joyfully anticipating Christmas.

This Month’s Featured Photos

Supermarket surplus: An evening’s collection … Marcel helps with the donations … A variety of items

Happy people: A gift of mobility … A wounded soldier … Anticipating Christmas

This Month’s Prayer Notes

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In October we received a large consignment of surplus school uniforms, passed on to us by a charity in the UK. Whilst some urban schools in Romania do have formal uniforms, most of the schools in rural areas do not, and these clothes will be valued by families in those areas. They will also be donated to other families for use as casual clothing. Once again we are grateful for these donations and for the supporters who continue to prepare the items for dispatch.

The future of the warehouse and the land around it is still under discussion but progress is slow. Current thinking is that we could divide the land into smaller plots which would sell more easily but access constraints need to be resolved. A plan of the current ownerships is here. This year the land has produced good crops. The sunflowers were harvested for us by a local farmer and they will be pressed for oil for donation whilst a glut of apples will allow us not only to share the fruit itself but also to have the surplus pressed into juice for preservation.

It is with sadness that we heard of the passing of Gheorghe Mirauta aged 85. Ghita’s skills as a master builder were central to the construction of Casa Neemia and the buildings at the Centre of Hope in Dorohoi; he was also involved in many of the housing redevelopment projects that the two charities have undertaken. His legacy lives on in that two of his sons now manage the respective charities.

Some rural kindergartens have enrolled in an EU initiative to prepare younger children for the experience of being away from home and learning to socialise with other children. It is essentially a play-school where the various ages mix and includes a meal and a rest break. We have provided some knitted blankets and various other materials.

We have continued to collect short-time food items from a supermarket in Darabani; these items typically have a shelf value of some £5,000 each month. The food is donated to visitors to the office, some 10-15 recipients per day. During October we were invited to recommence collections from a second branch; we have previously collected from this store but another charity joined the scheme for a year. The additional food will allow us to help more people and, since we already have the necessary procedures in place, the additional work involved will not be as great as starting from scratch.

This Month’s Featured Photos

Georghe Mirauta, 1940-2025: well-earned refreshment … at casa Neemia … at Iezer

From the warehouse grounds: raining sunflower seeds … bagging the harvest … picking the fruit

Packing: a bulk delivery … a busy team … comfortable beneficiaries

This Month’s Prayer Notes

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Each year the change of the seasons results in what might be called an inverse effect on the clothes that we receive – summer clothing arrives during the colder months and warmer clothing comes at the beginning of summer. Nevertheless, we are grateful for good quality items which we can store and share with those in need when it is appropriate. As an exception to that trend we have recently received a quantity of warm jackets which we will be sending to Romania as soon as possible.

Not all our donors are in the UK; our status as a registered charity means that we can also receive clothing and other items from local sources in Romania and distribute them on their behalf. During September we received a small batch of computer monitors and peripherals which will be passed on to families with students.

Our warehouse near Dorohoi has a total floorspace of approximately 400 sq metres on two levels. There have been times when we have used it to full capacity and even spilt over into the trailer alongside. However, our current aid operations are much more focussed and there would be benefits from down-sizing our storage space.

When we bought the premises in 1998 we also acquired the adjacent field, some 7,900 sq metres, which we have used each year for crops such as sunflowers and maize. Part of this field is now being used by a Ukrainian family to grow watermelons and marrows. In addition there is a small orchard at the front of the warehouse which produces a variety of fruits in season, and which are used at Casa Neemia or donated to people calling at the office.

We are now considering our options for smaller premises. We still need to store winter items that arrive in the summer, and vice versa, but lower costs would allow more help to be offered elsewhere.

This Month’s Featured Photos

The warehouse: The western elevation … …

From the warehouse grounds: Water-melons and marrows … Abundant apples … Optimistic sunflowers

Miscellaneous items: Monitors for students … Blankets for pre-schoolers …

Last Month’s Statistics

Awaiting preparation

This Month’s Prayer Notes

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We have been helping poorer households in the Dorohoi area for over 30 years. Sometimes we are tempted to ask what has been achieved, especially when subsequent generations seem to fare no better. However, we were encouraged recently to meet a family from those early years who have had success with employment and managing a business in Dorohoi.

For the change of season we gave the shop a bit of a ‘spring’ clean. New curtains and a thorough cleaning have made the shop more inviting. We continue to sell good quality clothing and shoes together with school stationery and other items.

New legislation requires us to produce quarterly financial accounts for our activities. We have been caught up by rules intended for larger commercial enterprises and, whilst it no doubt a good discipline, it will be an increase in our administrative workload. It follows on from legislation requiring us to use a specific type of software which, again, was not designed for charity activities like ours.

With the onset of autumn it is time to start thinking about making provision for winter heating. For many of our beneficiary families that means firewood. In previous years we have been able to help a few of the poorest but firewood is now strictly controlled and expensive, and our ability to help will be limited.

We had a good crop of apples and plums from our trees at the warehouse. Several of the ladies at Casa Neemia have collected the fruit and made a good quantity of jam. Warm jam doughnuts always go down well during the cooler weather. Also at Casa Neemia, our Ukrainian children are preparing for the new school year, with help from some of the older residents.

We recently had the opportunity to take one of our Ukrainian visitors to visit the grave of his grandfather who had been killed whilst fighting in Romania during the second world war. It was a very emotional visit for him and helped him a little with his own life away from his home.

This Month’s Featured Photos

At Casa Neemia: Fruit at the warehouse … A sticky situation … Jam it in the cupboard

At the shop: A clean façade … Economic elegance … Stationery and shoes

Preparing for school: Stationery from the shop … Personal tuition … A donation of stationery and tools

Last Month’s Statistics

Awaiting preparation

This Month’s Prayer Notes

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Our supporters in south Wales have sent another consignment of aid, comprising clothing, bedding, household textiles and shoes, 1,143 kg in total. This is a very timely load, arriving just as people will be starting to think about what they need for the new school year and the return to work after the summer holidays.

The Horley team is continuing to pack on a fortnightly basis, the next date is the 15th August. The 29th August is the fifth Friday so we will skip that week meaning that we will resume on the 5th and 19th September.

Casa Neemia is currently full, with 7 Romanians and 10 Ukrainians occupying the rooms. In general, they live well together, co-operating in looking after the house and tending its garden. The polytunnel has produced a good crop of tomatoes and peppers whilst the outside vegetable plot has given a welcome quantity of onions and potatoes.

Some residents from Casa Neemia spent several days at the warehouse making the grounds more presentable. This year we are using the land at the warehouse for growing sunflowers which will be pressed into cooking oil for donation later in the year. There is also a good crop of apples although very few cherries this year.

We have continued to receive food donations from a local supermarket. We have a large fridge and a freezer in the office, to ensure food quality prior to donation. Typically 10 households per day receive food although the number can range between 5 and 25 dependent upon the quantity of items that we receive each day. Occasionally the daily collection includes over-stocked vegetables which are no longer suitable for donation as food but they can be used by some households for feeding domestic animals, so nothing is wasted.

In addition to our usual type of donations, this month we were able to provide a comfortable bed and mattress for an elderly man.

This Month’s Featured Photos

Food, Clothing and a Good Night’s Sleep: Sunflowers and apples … More clothing arrives … Donated bed and mattress

Tending the Warehouse Grounds: Tune-up the tools … Hitting the rough stuff … Team photo

Harvest at Casa Neemia: Tomatoes … Peppers … Onions

Last Month’s Statistics

Awaiting preparation

This Month’s Prayer Notes

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We are grateful for the continuing supply of clothing and bedding being offered to us. In Horley our packing team has had plenty to do, so much so that we have decided to continue through August, on the first and third Fridays of that month.

The distribution of clothing to those in need forms the basis of our operations in Romania – it is that which provides the charity status that allows us to maintain our wider activities there, such as qualifying for the food donations that we receive and certain other benefits.

Once again we want to thanks all those who contribute to the continuation of our mission to help those in need.

School is out. The summer holidays in Romania last from late June to early September. The reason for this long period is historic: the children were required to help bring in the harvest. Now that so much more of the population is focussed in urban areas there have been suggestions that this amount of time is excessive but there is resistance to any change because the long period allow families a greater choice of timing for their holidays.

Many Romanians who work abroad come back and use the time to work on their houses. This often means an increase in casual labour opportunities for some of our beneficiaries at this time of year, typically as building labourers or garden hands.

In the office we continue to grapple with the statutory accounting system that was introduced last year. It is incompatible with our established system, meaning that we cannot yet include the operational statistics as in previous years.

For our team in Romania the start of the summer holiday has become associated with the children’s camp at Voronet. Each year, some 50 children from our beneficiary families enjoy five days in the mountains, introducing them to an environment and a social interaction that they not have been familiar with previously. Once again we thank those responsible for the generous sponsorship that underwrote the camp this year.

This Month’s Featured Photos

A Typical Packing Day: What’s in the bag? … Get it sorted … The next step

Enjoying Camp: … …

Last Month’s Statistics

Awaiting preparation

This Month’s Prayer Notes

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In Horley, packing continues on the first and third Friday of each month, the next dates are the 20th June, 4th and 18th July. The team meets at Horley Baptist Church from 13:30 to 15:30 on those Fridays. As always, we are happy to receive donations of good quality clothing, bedding and footwear during our packing sessions, and we would welcome other visitors who would like to know more about our activities.

In Romania we continue to provide help, mainly clothing and food. We currently receive short-dated food worth about £3,500 each month; this requires prompt distribution, to individuals who come to the office and to the residents of Casa Neemia.

Marcel was one of the homeless young men who featured in our early thoughts about providing accommodation for people like him, back in 2015. In due course Casa Neemia was built but he was considered unsuitable for living there due to his social awkwardness and his inability to get on with other people. Now, ten years later, he has matured, become more self-confident and has settled down. Each morning he comes for an hour or so to help move boxes between the warehouse shop and office. His help has become invaluable.

Marcel does not do accounting and paperwork but someone has to. Administrative activities at the office this month have been concentrating on finalising the accounts for 2024. Since 2012 we have been using an in-house accounting system which could promptly provide the details that our accountant needed. However, in 2024, the government stipulated that all traders, including charities, should use designated software, which has proven to be both complex and inflexible. Many hours have been spent in training and efforts to reconcile the two systems.

Some of our residents have been working at the warehouse, organising the stock and giving our little orchard a tidy-up. We anticipate the usual crop of apples, plums and cherries, for donation later in the year. This year’s crop of maize is beginning to grow, revealing the curved track of the seed drill!

This Month’s Featured Photos

At the Warehouse: Looking tidy … How green is the orchard … Curvature on the earth

At the Office: Marcel in 2015 … Marcel in 2025 … Master of the paperwork

Last Month’s Statistics

Awaiting preparation

This Month’s Prayer Notes

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Packing continues, both in south Wales and in Horley; in Horley the team meets on the first and third Friday of each month. The scale of packing in the UK is less than in previous years but this makes the activity more manageable for our ageing teams. Nevertheless, 33 years after the first load, we continue to send good quality items to Romania.

By contrast, our team in Romania is as busy as ever; distributing food, donating clothing and household items, responding to requests for other help and managing Casa Neemia and its residents. Romania has one of the highest inflation rates in the EU, incomes are often low and there is a strong temptation for working-age people to seek a better life elsewhere, leaving the older folk without the traditional family support. As a result of these factors the number of people asking for help remains high.

Our pre-Easter food appeal at two local supermarkets was, again, well supported. We received food and household items worth about £5,500; this is in addition to the daily collection of short-time items which, for April, was valued at some £3,000 based on marked shelf prices. The short-time food includes meat and dairy products, which we distribute immediately, and surplus fruit and vegetables which are shared with families who visit the office.

This is the season for preparing our land for this year’s crops. The residents at Casa Neemia have been busy tilling the land and planting vegetables. Meanwhile, thanks to generous donor, another family has received a tank for conserving rain water for their summer crops.

A special consignment of educational materials for kindergartens was received recently, coinciding with the start of the summer term. As before, these materials will be shared between local kindergartens. First reports are that the children are delighted with the new items.

This Month’s Featured Photos

Preparing for the growing season: Repairing the rotavator … Investing in onions … Conserving rainwater

Distributing the donated food: A bag of goodies … Office visitor … A happy mum

New educational items: Handling the herd … Building their future … Getting in shape

Last Month’s Statistics

Awaiting preparation

This Month’s Prayer Notes

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