The Romanian Aid Foundation & Asociatia Neemia

 
The chilly winter weather that, in a normal year, we would have expected a month ago has now arrived. As we all know, this has not been a normal year and many of our usual activities have had to be stopped or modified to meet the changing health advice. Nevertheless, our core team has managed to continued to provide help to the most needy in Dorohoi and areas further afield.

We are very grateful for an unexpected part-load from the south Wales team. It was a new experience for them to use a commercial carrier rather than Richard’s dedicated trailer, but it has turned out well. This load comprised eight pallets of clothing plus some other items, and is a helpful addition to our winter stocks. We anticipate one more load, from Billingshurst, before Christmas – that, of course, is subject to the vagaries of the weather and any restrictions on loading activities.

The stock in the shop has finally been changed from items suitable for autumn to those required for winter. At present, the shop is allowed to keep trading and provides an essential trickle of income for us.
The colder weather has brought an increase in the number of requests for firewood and we have been able to help several families in this way. Several young men from Casa Neemia have kept themselves warm by helping to prepare and deliver the firewood.

We understand that the number of Christmas gift boxes will be much lower than normal. This will place additional pressures on those who have to decide who will receive them – not an easy task when supplies have been much more generous in previous years and expectations may not be met.
 

 
We have had an urgent appeal for redundant smart phones. Many school children in rural areas do not have access to suitable equipment to receive their lessons online. If you have upgraded your smart phone then please consider donating the old one – they need to be in good working order, and be capable of running educational apps but we do not need the SIM cards. Please make sure that all personal data has been removed!

The need to comply with social distancing and health protection measures means that the preparation of our news updates has been adversely affected; in particular in the number of photos that we can take and in keeping up-to-date with our donation statistics. Normal service with be resumed – but when?

This month’s featured photos

• Maize from our land to be milled into flour for donation
• Donations of firewood
• Unloading, 25/Nov/2020

Photo Gallery: Click on any of the photos for enlargements, more details or similar photos.

Last month’s performance statistics

These statistics give a snapshot of our aid-related activities last month.

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 2020