The Romanian Aid Foundation & Asociatia Neemia

title: News from Asociatia Neemia, September 2022
link: https://www.roafan.org/news2022sep
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The RoAF packing teams will be operating within revised guidelines this season. Goods from the UK are now considered as imports into the EU and some new rules are being enforced. There are requirements for how certain goods are packed and labelled which, in practical terms, mean that we can no longer accept food, soft toys, bric-a-brac and domestic electrical items. These restrictions include the contents of personal gift boxes as well as more general donations. More details on our website.

At last, August has come to an end. The various offices that were short-staffed during August are returning to normal, the thousands of expatriate Romans who came ‘home’ have done back to their host countries and, certainly not least, the 90-day school holiday is over. This means increase activity in our office as parents ask for clothing and stationery.

The onset of autumn reminds us that we need to start preparations for the coming winter. Some 2·7 million households in Romania rely on firewood for heating or cooking and EU restrictions intended to protect forests have caused firewood to become a expensive commodity. AN has already acquired a limited stock of firewood, which will be shared with needy households during the winter. On a lighter note, our resident guard dog has introduced some new recruits to the warehouse security team.

The polytunnel at Casa Neemia has again provided a bumper crop of tomatoes, peppers and cucumbers. These will help feed the residents at Casa Neemia and the surplus will be preserved for the winter. Our Ukrainian residents are actively involved in this.

In another example of how AN’s established facilities and local knowledge can be deployed to help other people with their humanitarian objectives, a charity based in Cluj has offered to assist with the costs of providing accommodation for the refugees staying at Casa Neemia. This help will include a contribution towards the costs of food and electricity, and the expenses in sending the children to school. There is a school near Dorohoi which has facilities for Ukrainian children with special needs, and where the children from Casa Neemia can attend.
One of the children is a gifted sculptress and she has made some items to decorate the grounds at Casa Neemia.

Last month’s statistics

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, August 2022