Romania

Rob and Holly have recently returned from Australia having spent 5 months working and travelling around the Outback. Before heading to Aus, Rob and Holly spent time volunteering on the Oyster project with Bears in Romania. Here they tell their story…

“We started our mini adventure in the depths of the forests in Transylvania working at a brown bear sanctuary. We stayed in Brasov, the second largest city in Romania, a beautiful and historically interesting place to roam around at the weekends. The bear sanctuary is an awe inspiring place, set in the hills surrounding the city it houses both Brown bears and a few wolves. Our main job at the sanctuary was feeding the bears, collecting food from the huge supermarkets and throwing it over the electric fence for the bears to argue over. The bears have all been rescued from appalling circumstances and we really felt like we did our bit to help out. We would love to go back to see our favourite bears and see how the sanctuary has evolved.

After Romania we spent 2 days back in the UK before flying into Brisbane, Australia. In Australia we spent a week learning the basics of farming at a training farm on the east coast. Our week consisted of tractor driving, motor bike riding, chainsawing, fencing and other farm based activities. After finishing our training we managed to get 3 jobs over a period of 5 months. Our longest was 3 months on a 42,000 acre cattle station right in the heart of the outback. We did a lot of mustering cattle on motor bikes, moving them from one place to another and yard work. We got accommodation, food and a wage, It was an amazing experience and one that I would recommend to anyone. After 3 months we had saved enough money to fund the rest of our travels around Australia and saw some classic Australian sights on the way. Because of our work on the farm we can now apply for a second year visa which may tempt us back and away from our radiators back in Suffolk!”

Thanks very much for sending in a great read! We are so pleased that you had such a great time on both of your placements!

It is such as shame that the current media coverage of the child care institutions in Romania give the message that the situation is all bad. Since the fall of Communism, and with the help of external funding, Romania has worked hard to improve the lives of the vast majority of orphans. There is still work to be done and the institutions really do benefit from the work of international volunteers.

Whilst the situation has improved, a lot of the children’s homes are still under-staffed. The carers just about have enough time to feed and clean the children in most cases. Without volunteers, the children do not get the emotional support that they so desperately need.

Oyster Worldwide has been sending volunteers to work in children’s homes since 2004 and over the past 5 years have sent 250 people who have all done vital work to improve the lives of some of Romania’s orphans. Romania needs more volunteers, if you are interested please visit our Romania Child Care page and apply to volunteer for a month, or even longer.

The 2008 Romania Christmas Card Appeal has been a great success. We managed to raise almost £600 in the sale of the cards. A big thank you to all of you that helped us by selling them to your friends and family.

Oyster volunteers with the new Codlea Wheelchair

All of the money was sent to Romania and has now bought a brand new wheelchair for use at Codlea Children’s Home.

A big thank you once again to all of you that were involved!

Designed by children in Codlea, Romania

After the success of our Christmas card last year; raising around £400 for Romanian Orphans, we have decided to try and beat last years record and help Codlea Children’s home even more. We already have a few keen sellers enlisted to raise money for Codlea but we need more. If you want to be able to send unique Christmas cards that you can guarantee no one else will send (Disabled children from the home designed the card themselves) or if you want to help enrich the lives of these children in Romania then please do get in touch with us and we can send you as many cards as you’d like, to sell to your friends and family. The cards are not too expensive either meaning that you should be able to sell quite a few. Roger is heading up the Christmas card project this year so you can get involved by calling him on 01892 770771 or by emailing on roger@oysterworldwide.com. We would love your help and you really would be making a difference to those orphans lives. Read the rest of this entry »

In July 2007, I boarded the plane to Romania without any idea of how much I would grow to love it. My three month stay passed so quickly and before I knew it, it was time to fly back to England. After working at a hospital and two family homes, coming back to my old job was a real shock and it wasn’t long before I was planning another visit to Romania. I missed being welcomed at the door by the children from the hospital, thinking of games to play and things to make for the children at the family homes. I missed their smiles and their willingness to be involved in everything. It seemed the most natural thing to return…

This time, I wanted to do a project as I knew the children and more of what to expect when I arrived. In the summer, I had worked at Dale family home; a home for older boys with mental disabilities. They had spent a lot of time in the garden which was overgrown, very dull and contained lots of chairs,
wheelchairs, pieces of wood and metal. I decided to make the garden my project.

As I only had one week it was straight to work the morning after I arrived. I spent the morning with the boys and in the afternoon, I went to buy all of the paints. All day Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, I worked in the garden, painting the fence blue, green and yellow. When the carers had a spare ten minutes, they would join me and bit by bit, the garden became a much brighter, happier place to be. Read the rest of this entry »

Following on from last year’s success where by four returned volunteers sold nearly 1,000 Christmas cards (raising £400) we are hoping to expand the scheme this year. Susan Boyes revisited Romania over the summer and got the disabled children to design a card. If you would like to help sell these cards then please comment and we will be in touch!

Laura offer who went out in April 2008 for three months has emailed this to us;

I can hardly believe I’ve been here more than 3 weeks, it only feels like a week or two! I’ve been really busy, so I suppose it’s understandable that the time flies by, but even so! I want my 3 weeks back!

I spend my mornings in the children’s hospital in the respiratory ward, which I love! I play with the children and give them their hugs! The children in the hospital aren’t orphans like at my other placements, but often their parents can’t afford to travel to the hospital with them, especially if they have other children at home. The nurses are overworked and poorly paid so they hardly have time to feed them and administer their medicines, let alone get them out of their cage-like cots and play with them. That’s where I come in. I take them to play therapy at the beginning of my shift, and look after them while they play with the toys in there, and then later, when the doctor does her rounds, I play with the babies in their rooms, and take the toys around for them. I adore my hospital babies; it’s so good to see them smiling. Read the rest of this entry »

When I arrived in Romania in July 2007 I was not expecting the temperatures to rival that of my stay in Tanzania from February to June 2005. However, the soaring heat wave followed by torrential downpours was not dissimilar to the warm months and rainy season that I experienced in Tanzania.
On arrival in Tanzania the stark differences to home are more striking than those in Romania. Romania is, after all, now a member of the EU whilst Tanzania remains one of the poorest countries in the developing world. However, in both countries you will experience significant cultural differences, which will affect you throughout your placement in a variety of ways. Some of the more difficult aspects to deal with are the more archaic forms of discipline that you may witness in Tanzania within the school system. In Romania the attitudes of the carers towards the children and of society as a whole towards disabled children can be distressing. However, the cultural aspects that you can become involved in and share with the local people, such as ritual parties and feasts, food and music, far outweigh and enhance your time in both your host countries.
Your accommodation in Romania is great and located in the beautiful town of Brasov. It is well kept and not so different from home.
In contrast Tanzania could not be further removed. There are few creature comforts but this is undoubtedly part of the experience and provides many moments of hilarity.
During your placement in Tanzania you will be faced with a classroom of 100 children to which you need to effectively teach English. In Romania you work in family homes of around 10 children. You will play, change nappies and help with feeding. Both placements allow you to use and develop invaluable life skills. It is vital that you embrace your placement with energy and enthusiasm from the start if you are to have a rewarding experience. From the very start in Tanzania we ran a club every day after school. Art, sports, and a choir can all be easily implemented and thoroughly enjoyed by the children and many of the adults. In Romania ask what you can do to help as soon as you arrive and use your initiative at all times. Any previous experience with disabled children will be invaluable. Just your presence will significantly improve the quality of these children’s lives.
I have been challenged and moved by both of the placements that I have undertaken. I was supported by Oyster worldwide in the UK during my preparations and have been lucky enough to share my experiences with the friendly and helpful country representatives and other motivated and kind volunteers. I could not choose between the two placements, as both have been highly worthwhile and successful. Why not try both?!

Written by Bex Stokes

Follow the links below for more information on our Romania and Tanzania placements:

Romania

Tanzania

In July 2007, I boarded the plane to Romania without any idea of how much I would grow to love it. My three month stay passed so quickly and before I knew it, it was time to fly back to England. After working at a hospital and two family homes, coming back to my old job was a real shock and it wasn’t long before I was planning another visit to Romania. I missed being welcomed at the door by the children from the hospital, thinking of games to play and things to make for the children at the family homes. I missed their smiles and their willingness to be involved in everything. It seemed the most natural thing to return.
This time, I wanted to do a project as I knew the children and more of what to expect when I arrived. In the summer, I had worked at Dale family home; a home for older boys with mental disabilities. They had spent a lot of time in the garden which was overgrown, very dull and contained lots of chairs, wheelchairs, pieces of wood and metal. I decided to make the garden my project.
As I only had one week it was straight to work the morning after I arrived. I spent the morning with the boys and in the afternoon, I went to buy all of the paints. All day Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, I worked in the garden, painting the fence blue, green and yellow. When the carers had a spare ten minutes, they would join me and bit by bit, the garden became a much brighter, happier place to be. The boys couldn’t wait for it to be finished so they also helped. Each morning, they would run up to the gate, take my hand and drag me in to the back garden where they wasted no time in taking the lids off all the paints, pushing the paintbrush towards me and showing me exactly which fence panel they wanted painting next! They were very excited to see the brown disappearing and colours showing in its place. If they thought I was working too slowly, they would take hold of the brush and cover the entire fence panel, themselves, the grass and anyone who was unfortunate enough to be around, in paint, in less than five seconds which was all very funny until they realised that they couldn’t stay blue forever and would have to go and wash it off!
By the time Friday came around, I had finished most of the fence and had painted the benches so I went to look at some garden furniture that the carers had asked for and some toys. On Saturday, Razvan (Oyster representative) and a couple of other volunteers very kindly gave up their day to help me finish. We went and picked up the furniture, gave the fence and benches another coat of paint and moved all of the wheelchairs and chairs. With their help, it took no time at all and by the time we had finished, the garden had been completely transformed and was now an area that the boys could play in safely.
It was an amazing week that I really enjoyed and I am very much looking forward to going back out again in the summer. Anyone who travels to Romania with Oyster will find it a very rewarding experience where solid friendships are made, not only with other volunteers but with everyone you may work alongside during your stay.

Written by Laura Marzaroli

OH MY GOD I’VE BEEN TO THE SANCTUARY AND IT’S THE MOST AMAZING PLACE IN THE WORLD!!!!
Sorry, I’ll try and calm down. I’ve just got back from my first visit and it’s just stunning up there. It’s up in the mountains with views that go on for miles and there are loads of random dogs that come and greet you, some of which want to be friends straight away and others who are still a bit wary of me but are friendly with the other people….and then there are the bears - WOW!!!

They are in large natural habitat enclosures (i.e. the fences have just been put in around trees etc that have been there for years, no landscaping or anything) which have sturdy fences on them which then have electric fences on the inside, so you can put your hands through the outside bit to get your camera in or throw in food or whatever but they know to keep their distance from the edge because they get a shock. They are absolutely beautiful animals, and their fur is really fluffy and shiny as though they’ve just stepped out of a salon! Some of them come over to the edge of the enclosure to see you and sniff you when you arrive. They are absolutely amazing! Last word today is WOW!!!

Click here to find out more

Written by Emily Barclay