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Adi Matis – Smiles
Romania Assistant Director
March
2014
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From
being taken care of... to taking care..
We’ve always declared
that our purpose and goal with our projects is to take someone further
in life so that eventually they could take care of themselves and
perhaps, they will be able to do something for other
people around. So,
isn’t this what we’d all like to see? Sometimes it does happen – we
see people that were in our programmes for a while and then they
become independent, having a life and trying to do good!
Firstly, I’d like to
say thank you for the reactions to my previous post, from last month,
when I told you about Ioska from Salard. Several people that
know of him wrote to me to encourage us and him, into trying to do
some practical things to help him, not necessarily to go to Hungary,
but rather see about getting him an opportunity to do some practical
work. We might be up to trying something!
 This
month I will give you a little bit of an update on Ioana – many
of you will remember the young girl that was on the streets for a long
while and eventually she arrived, together with her mother, in our
Container Village. Ioana is 17 now and has lived on the streets
for about ten years, following an eviction the family had to face. We
first met them years ago, when two of our workers were out looking to
help the homeless. They very fearful and not trusting anyone – life
had taught them to be extra cautious when dealing with unknown people.
Not only did
the family
have
to learn how to survive on the streets, but five years later the
father died and Ioana and her mother lost their only support. When
that happened, they lost their only income source. Ioana and her
mother had the toughest time, living literally with nothing!
We took them in our
container village. We gave them shelter, food and clothing. They came
in with nothing, but slowly they learnt how to trust people again. We
had to prove to them again and again that we are there for them and we
are not going anywhere. We’re not going to send them on the streets
again, instead we’re looking for solutions for their future!
After a while in the
container village, last year Ioana decided to move out with a
boyfriend! Not a smart thing some will say, but in the end, it was her
decision and not altogether a bad one! After such a difficult life,
Ioana can actually start building her own future beside the man she
loves. Is it hard? No doubt. We will continue to be there for them,
should they need us. At the same time, Ioana’s mother, Maricica, is
still with us in the Container Village and we’re working with her
towards getting her future sorted out.
The other day, when
Raul went to see Ioana, he couldn’t find her. Asking her mother, he
found out that Ioana is now a babysitter and quite often she is
asked to take care of a baby, in a family that lives close by. A very
respectable family who trusted her enough to leave their baby in her
care!
Point being:
There is a value in each and every
person, not less so in those who have nothing, lost all they’ve ever
had and are now rejects, abandoned and forgotten. The homeless people
are forced to live on the streets, in poor shelters made of plastic,
quite often suffering from diseases, not having opportunities, not
knowing love or appreciation. Yet, with some help, with some attention
and trust, they are just as any other – ready and able to take
responsibilities and show n
to be up to it!
Thank you for helping
us begin the long process of restoring Hope to the hopeless.
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Adi Matis
Assistant Director to Smiles Romania
Previous reports
from Adi:
February 2014 - My
dream... to become a pig caretaker |
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