The Romanian Aid Foundation & Asociatia Neemia

Progress towards the resumption of aid preparation and transport has been made on two fronts:
> the Horley team has received consent to resume Friday packing at Horley Baptist Church although we cannot start until after the first load leaves and there is space in the warehouse;
> following the receipt of approvals from the Romanian customs to send aid items an application has been submitted for the necessary UK export documents.

In south Wales, some 500 boxes are awaiting the outcome of the first load; hopefully this will clarify any need for repacking or relabelling them. Both teams have many helpers and donors wishing to unload their homes of accumulated items, and we look forward to re-establishing our collecting and packing activities.

We have finally received the approval from the customs authorities to resume the import of humanitarian aid. We understand that this is a general approval and would allow us to resume deliveries for the rest of the year but it is unclear whether a detailed inventory will have to be submitted with each load. Certain items are excluded from the permit, the most significant being coffee and tea!

Last month there was a substantial reduction in the quantity of aid being donated from the office. This category of donations includes clothing, food, household goods and certain medical items. This reduction reflects a shortage of clothing suitable for the summer season and the easier availability of food in the local markets. However, we have continued to be busy, with distributing other items such as mobility aids, home improvement items like doors, paint and furniture, and produce from our own cultivated land.

Our land at the warehouse and at Casa Neemia looks set to produce good crops again this year, thanks to the warm winter and wet spring. We have already harvested some vegetables and fruit, and some residents at Casa Neemia have been busily involved in this.

We used this relatively quiet period to have some refurbishment work done on the van, including bodywork, suspension and a new coat of paint. It really does look very smart (the pictures below were taken before the refurbishment) and we are grateful to those who undertook this work at a very charitable cost.

This month’s featured photos

• Working the land
• Fruit and vegetables
• The AN van

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, June 2021