Shortly before Easter we were invited to make a special food appeal at three local supermarkets. These appeals are undertaken in co-operation with a Romanian national food bank which both provides coordinated publicity materials and gives the appeal a greater credibility. Our teams were present at each store on the Friday, Saturday and Sunday; the goods donated by the stores’ customers amounted to some £11,000 in value, and distribution of the food to needy people has already started. This is in addition to the daily collections of short-time food which had a nominal shelf value totalling over £13,000 in March.
Once again, legislation has been proposed which would introduce more restrictions on the import and sale of second-hand clothing. The objective of the proposed legislation is to reduce the current amount of allegedly inferior items being dumped into Romania. The scope of the legislation is as yet unclear but, if enacted, these regulations could have a severe impact on RoAF’s activities.
At Casa Neemia we continue to provide accommodation for the community of Romanians and Ukrainians but the operating costs continue to be a drain on AN finances. Solar panels help reduce the electricity costs by some 30% at this time of year, more so in the sunnier months. Additionally, some of the residents have been able to make contributions to the costs.
Our warehouse at Dealu Mare is larger than we now need and would lend itself to a more commercial use. The warehouse itself sits on a large plot which used to be outside the village but new housing development surrounds the land, which is now considered to be ‘intra-urban’ within the local development plan. By selling most of the land as housing plots we could realise funds to acquire or build a smaller warehouse and help with the costs of Casa Neemia. We have received a favourable response from the local council, with a view helping with some of the costs of creating a new access road and creating new land divisions, but we have been warned that the timing is likely to be protracted. A diagram showing the various parcels of land around the warehouse is available by clicking on this image:
Given the unlikelihood of any significant progress in the short term we have decided to plant the warehouse land as in previous years. We usually plant sunflowers and maize in alternate years; this year the crop will be maize, which will be ground into flower for donation to our usual recipients.
This Month’s Featured Photos
Food appeal:
Food distribution:
Warehouse at Dealu Mare: General view … Ploughing the land …
This Month’s Prayer Notes
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Link to this month’s Prayer Notes
