The Romanian Aid Foundation & Asociatia Neemia

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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Link to this month’s Prayer Notes

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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The packing team in Horley usually meets on the first and third Friday of each month but this month the third Friday is Good Friday, meaning that the team’s next packing session will be on 2nd May. Our packing teams, both in Horley and in south Wales, are getting older (and frailer!) but they remain enthusiastic – come and join them! The needs in Romania no longer have the public focus that they once had but there are still many households who are being left behind by progress elsewhere in the country. We are providing help of some sort to approximately 400 households on a regular basis.

We have finally been able to instal the second set of solar panels at Casa Neemia. These panels were donated to us but poor weather and a shortage of contractors delayed their installation. The panels will help to reduce the costs of providing accommodation at Casa Neemia and we hope that they will generate sufficient power to give a surplus which can be sold back into the grid.

Casa Neemia is now home to 15 people, both Romanians and Ukrainians. The latter are families from the area now dominated by Russia and include one disabled person who needs ongoing medical treatment. There is good co-operation between the two groups.

Our dedicated staff and volunteers have been able to help many people during the past few months. This help can be in the form of clothing and household items, sponsored payments for firewood or as part of the distribution of short-dated food from a local supermarket. In addition, we have been offered the opportunity to hold a pre-Easter appeal at two branches of the supermarket. The collection at Christmas was very successful and, at the time of writing, it looks as though this collection will enable us to help more people to enjoy Easter.

One factor that adds to household poverty is a tendency to low economic activity amongst those who should become the next generation of bread-winners. A recent report indicated that Romania holds the EU record for the highest number of pupils dropping out of secondary education prematurely. At the same time, some 25% of school-leavers do not find jobs, probably due to unrealistic expectations resulting from the prominence given to a number of ‘high-rollers’ on social media. It is likely that many of these young people will be tempted by what they perceive further west, thereby deriving the country of greater economic prospects. It was well said “The poor you will always have with you”.

This Month’s Featured Photos

Solar panel installion: Fiddlers on the roof … A dry-weather job … Drone view

Packing, ploughing and playing: Packers at work … Preparing for planting … What goes up

Sharing with others: Well-filled trolleys … A grateful family … A donation of mattresses

Last Month’s Statistics

Awaiting preparation

This Month’s Prayer Notes

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It was with sadness that we learnt of the passing of Lesley Butcher last month. Lesley and her husband, Peter, were amongst the original members of the aid initiative that subsequently became the Romanian Aid Foundation. They were part of the first group to visit Dorohoi in 1994; Peter was one of the minibus drivers and Lesley oversaw the group catering (memories of frozen Jammie-Dodgers). Subsequently, Peter often drove one of the Royal Mail trucks whilst Lesley kept track of the loading, often staying up late to ensure that the paperwork was ready for departure day. She will be missed.

February was, as we have come to expect, the coldest month of the winter. A warmer-than-average January gave some relief in the costs of heating but February reminded us that spring is not yet here. Consequently, requests for help continue to keep us busy. Spring is on its way but the needs and requests for help still remain at the winter level for another month or so. We have been able to donate food to many people alongside the donation of clothing as usual.

We have been able to respond to requests for firewood, using stocks prepared in late autumn using specific sponsorships. Some firewood has been distributed to nominated households in accordance with our sponsors’ requests. Firewood is distributed about once a month to those registered for it, and the quantity should be sufficient for careful use in the typical single-room household.

We continue to receive food from a local supermarket. There is some work involved in collecting it but the quantity usually justifies the cost and time involved. The number of people asking for the food often exceeds the amount available each day.

Annual housing taxes (similar to ‘council tax’)are due this month and we have many requests for help with the bills. Unfortunately, our own rising costs mean that we cannot help as many people as we would like. Last year’s total for our premises (office, shop, Casa Neemia and warehouse) was approximately £3,000 and we anticipate that the figure will be higher this year. We continue to be grateful to our supporters who enable bills like this to be met without compromising our help for the most needy households.

This Month’s Featured Photos

Lesley Butcher: Checking a load … With the driving team … Creating memories

Aid Activities: Delivering firewood … Managing the food donations … Completing the paperwork

Last Month’s Statistics

Awaiting preparation

This Month’s Prayer Notes

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We have continued to receive a good quantity of items suitable for sending to Romania and our small but enthusiastic teams have continued to ensure that the items that we send are prepared to a high standard. Whilst we no longer enjoy the excitement of loading full-size trucks we have found that sending small quantities more frequently means that we can continue to supply our colleagues with the items that they need in order to help the needy people that they deal with each day.

We are grateful for the continuity of support for our activities on behalf of the needy but we would appreciate more volunteers to help with preparing and packing the aid. In Horley our team meets on the first and third Friday of each month for packing (and coffee and cakes); you are warmly invited to join us.

In Dorohoi our shop offers good-quality items to the local community; items offered in the shop amount to approximately 8% by value of the goods received from the UK. Currently we have good stocks of seasonal clothing, both for donation and for sale. Historically, clothing suitable for winter wear has arrived in the Spring and clothing for the summer has arrived in the Autumn but, due to healthy stocks accumulated in previous years, we are able to ensure that the items on sale are appropriate to the season.

The town now has a number of outlets offering cheap clothing from the Far East and this provides some competition for our shop but rapidly rising costs of living mean that many people still find our items to be good value for money. There are costs incurred in operating the shop but proceeds from the sales continue to make a worthwhile contribution to AN’s activities.

Although January has been warmer than usual February is often the coldest month of the year in our area and there will be requests for help with gas bottles and firewood. Romania is experiencing one of the highest rates of inflation in Europe but we trust that rising costs will not compromise our ability to help those in need – we will continue to help whenever we can.

This Month’s Featured Photos

Packing is rewarding: Goods incoming … A busy team … A worthy reward

A glimpse into the shop: For winter days … From head to toe … For younger customers

Last Month’s Statistics

Awaiting preparation

This Month’s Prayer Notes

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Once again the old year with its memories of difficulties and successes gives way to the new one – what challenges will it bring? Perhaps one of the few certainties of the new year is that there will still be needy people left behind by the progress being made in the wider society.

We will be endeavouring to help where we can but we too face challenges including an ageing team, changes in legislation and transport regulations, and competing interests. But such is the nature of an endeavour that relies on voluntary support and we take this opportunity to thank for your support thus far and look forward to the year ahead.

There was an excellent response to our pre-Christmas food appeal, resulting in some 3½ tons of food being received directly from the customers of three local supermarkets. This is different from our daily collection of short-time food in that the food has been purchased and donated by the customers themselves. The collection was undertaken in co-operation with the Centre of Hope and the food was shared between our respective beneficiaries.

Also during December we were able to have some more of the maize from the warehouse land milled into flour. Despite the poor growing conditions earlier in the year our land did produce a worthwhile crop which we can mill and distribute during the winter months.

Although our own Christmas gift box appeal now longer operates, we were invited by another charity to distribute some boxes at Christmas. We cannot satisfy all those who want them but we have chosen the most deserving cases.

Firewood is still the principal – often the only – means of heating and cooking for many of the people that we help. At the beginning of the month we were able to purchase and distribute several loads of wood using funds received specifically for that purpose.

Our staff have continued to work as a team, successfully managing a busy workload whilst themselves facing the challenges of health issues, rising costs and the wintry weather.

This Month’s Featured Photos

Food, flour and firewood: A full fridge … The dusty miller … Timber!

Sharing the donated food: visiting people in their homes … …

Christmas gift boxes: on behalf of another charity … …

Last month’s statistics

The monthly figures do not include food donations with a total value equivalent to GBP 4,690

Stats notes:
– Joiners are new registrants this month, Leavers are are those whose latest recorded donation was 12 months ago.
– Some households may receive more than one donation during a month (eg, repeat donations of food).
– Items shown as 0 or as “…” are awaiting final returns for the month.

 
Previous month’s news:

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It was the ‘end of a era’ as we dispatched the final lorry load from our Billingshurst warehouse. There were times when even this building was filled to the doors but circumstances evolve, the diversity of the needs is less than in earlier days and the regulations governing the import of goods have become more stringent. Together these changes mean that we no longer need the facilities of a large warehouse. However, we do intend to continue to collect, prepare and dispatch items which are still needed. There is an opportunity to send smaller loads more frequently, this will better suit our packing team – and our treasurer!

Our regular packing sessions at Horley Baptist Church have finished for this year – many thanks to all who donated or joined in the sorting, packing and dispatching the aid. We expect to resume packing on the 3rd and 17th January 2025.

It is now approaching 12 months since we started receiving short-dated foodstuffs from a local supermarket chain. This is produce that has been discounted in the store but has not sold before its sell-by date, meaning that it has to be distributed very quickly. Initially we received stock from two stores but July one of the stores arranged for another charity to share the items, meaning some relief for our staff. There is significant effort and expense on our behalf in collecting and documenting these donations but we do think that the benefit to needy households makes it worthwhile. The total retail value of items received to date is equivalent to over £85,000 or some £1,600 per week for the whole period to date.

In a separate initiative, before Christmas we will be participating in a collection directly from the shoppers; these items can be given to families who might not meet the stricter criteria for the main food distribution.

As we have come to expect, there were changes in the paperwork necessary for importing the recent load into Romania. With some effort we were able to satisfy the new requirements; this was helped by the excellent quality of the goods in the load and the way they were packed.

This Month’s Featured Photos

Sending …: Preparing the inventory … The end of an era … Leave only footprints

and Receiving: After customs inspection … The night shift at work … Safely in the warehouse

Preparing for distribution: Finishing the paperwork … Transfer to the office … Eager recipients

Last month’s statistics

The monthly figures do not include food donations with a retail value equivalent to £3,523

Stats notes:
– Joiners are new registrants this month, Leavers are are those whose latest recorded donation was 12 months ago.
– Some households may receive more than one donation during a month (eg, repeat donations of food).
– Items shown as 0 or as “…” are awaiting final returns for the month.

 
Previous month’s news: November 2024

This Month’s Prayer Notes

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