Delivery Diary 2009
SHOEBOX DELIVERY DIARY 2009
Although we give out shoeboxes each year every trip turns out to be very different. You meet different people and new places and situations. In the places we visit the boxes are always greeted with a sense of wonder and usually disbelief that this whole box could be for them. So many of the children in particular have to be encouraged to open them even when their parents are standing right next to them. What struck us all most was the acute poverty that people are living in either in ghetto blocks or in houses with no glass or houses falling down or families forced to live in cattle sheds.
Giving a shoebox just doesn’t seem enough but that all pales away when you see a person receive the shoeboxes and just for those few moments they feel they are loved and important and someone, somewhere actually cares for them enough to give them a gift, a complete stranger who they are never going to meet. That is the joy of giving a shoebox and we hope that through this diary that we have been able to give you some idea of the emotions and response that a simple shoebox can produce. Thank You.
Day 1. Mon 30th November
Having been rerouted to an airport some 150km away from where we actually wanted to go we arrived in Iasi in the very early hours of Monday morning. The team was made up of Maria Scard, professional photographer and long term supporter of the charity, myself Lisa Hector, General Manager and 5 of our Area Collectors – Kieran Parker, Heather Mathews, George Hoskins, Di Miller and Camilla Johnson.
First stop the kindergarten in ‘Dallas’ shanty town where children aged 5-7, from some of the poorest families in the town are given the opportunity to learn to read and write (unlike most of their family members) they stand a better chance than most of making something of their lives. We visited some of their families and homes which usually consisted of just one, often bare walled room and a brick oven in the corner. One home we entered was a converted stable, which was little more than a wattle and daub affair, uneven walls for which the mum showed us a single roll of pretty wall paper and explained where she was going to hang it. There were 8 children plus 2 adults living in this one tiny room.
Day 2 Tuesday 1st December
Our first stop was at ‘Way of Joy’ a support centre for children. Valentin, the director talked about their work in the Phantom or Ghetto blocks, buildings which are on the point of collapse, with no water, they had to steal electricity (many people are badly injured or killed in their attempts to do so) plastic bags or buckets suffice as toilets.
The phantom block is almost beyond description. Incredibly, families pay to live in what are, essentially derelict blocks, floors, ceilings, walls – all caving in. stairs a death trap, slippery, sloping misshapen planks of wood, hardly any of them complete, no useable handrails. Fridges were boxes tied with scraps of string outside glassless windows. Bare floorboards in tiny rooms housing entire families, some with just one thin cover over a mattress. The smell of sewage and worse.
One teenage girl, stood quietly in her family’s room, so shy to take a shoebox, and not wanting to open it in front of us, came down the treacherous stairs a short while later clutching a sparkly silver handbag, beaming. Another girl of about the same age opened her box and discovered a cutlery set which she clutched as she carefully examined the rest of her gifts. In the whole of the Ghetto Block, we only saw a single spoon.
Onwards, via potholed, uneven winding roads to Claudio’s village. Claudio is a Link Romania success story. He was an illegitimate child who lived with his grandmother until the age of 6; he then spent some time living around a railway station before being taken to an orphanage, 
where he lived for 10 long years. On leaving the orphanage at 18, Claudio was taken under the wing of Pro Agricultura a charity with strong links with Link Romania. This was the start of a whole new future for Claudio. With these new life skills he has made something of his life. Claudio proudly helped give the shoeboxes out to his village.
where he lived for 10 long years. On leaving the orphanage at 18, Claudio was taken under the wing of Pro Agricultura a charity with strong links with Link Romania. This was the start of a whole new future for Claudio. With these new life skills he has made something of his life. Claudio proudly helped give the shoeboxes out to his village.Day 3 Wednesday 2nd December.
‘Team UK’ set off to the gypsy town Slobozia. Mihaela, one of the kindergarten workers who was with us today as guide and translator emphasized how these gifts change the lives of the children. The homes we were welcomed into were drastically poor, holes in windows stuffed with rags, dirt floors and huge holes in walls and ceilings.
The afternoon was spent at the Farm of Hope. These are young men who have come from orphanages or living on the streets. The farm began in a small way about 10 years ago; they have land which is used for growing crops. With funding from Link Romania and other sources, Farm of Hope have been able to build a new house, which has a large conference room (brimming with shoeboxes to be distributed by the young men to the local community),indoor bathroom and several ready to take more boys in however the authorities will not allow the new house to be used until the top floor is completed, at a cost of about £5000!
Day 4 Thursday 3rd December
Our first stop was at a school opposite the Josef Foundation. A school of about 300 children. 41% from gypsy families. Some parents insist on segregation, so 2 classes are solely gypsy children. However we made sure the shoeboxes were given out equally to all. For this school it was the first time they had received shoeboxes. The wildfire with which the news spread within the school was amazing! These children were so excited, and carefully opened their boxes with gasps of awe. They had such fun exploring their gifts, and took so much pleasure from each other’s surprise.
Next was Raduceni to visit some families to deliver yet more boxes. There were some very sad stories. One lady had 3 daughters and a son, the eldest was married. The father was in prison as he had attacked one of the daughters. In the yard surrounding the house was a newly dug pit to replace the current outdoor privy which barely had any wooden sides, and looked on the verge of collapse.
We then went to meet with families who were fostering or had adopted some children who were having social assistance. This is a fairly new 
initiative, and something all the people seemed rightly proud of. It was delightful to go into homes where children were so valued and loved. Also where they were well fed, clothed and safe. The mayor wanted us all to wait a while before leaving, he disappeared for a short while before returning to his office, his arms enfolding the biggest bunch of yellow chrysanthemums I have ever seen, which he presented to Lisa.
initiative, and something all the people seemed rightly proud of. It was delightful to go into homes where children were so valued and loved. Also where they were well fed, clothed and safe. The mayor wanted us all to wait a while before leaving, he disappeared for a short while before returning to his office, his arms enfolding the biggest bunch of yellow chrysanthemums I have ever seen, which he presented to Lisa. DAY 5 – Friday 4th December
Woke up early to see the main team leave to catch the flight back to the UK leaving Maria and I to carry on to Moldova.. We took the local bus to the border crossing of Albita-Leusen. Chris Ducker our contact there picked us up and took us to Dancu which is the poorest village in Moldova and has 80% unemployment. Many people leave for the west and there is a terrible suffering particularly amongst the elderly. Many have been completely abandoned and are left to fend for themselves. Unfortunately families who have left often never contact again and some grandparents are left with children to look after.
As it was getting late we left Dancu and went straight to Razesi village to meet the local Mayor and start to give out Shoeboxes in the dark! As we waited the Mayors mobile phone started to ring and Maria and I tried not to smile as the theme tune from the British sitcom ‘Men behaving badly’ blared out! We went house to house giving out the boxes and the Mayor was delighted. We finally gave up for the night when it got too cold to continue and went back to Dancu for the evening.
DAY 5 – Saturday 6th December
Our first visit in the morning was to a project that Link Romania has been able to help finance which is the Inn of Love ‘ Hanul Dragostei’. The Mayor has suggested a list of needy and poor people that live in the village. The week before we arrived the project had started and 20 meals were delivered to people’s homes and 20 people came into the church to be fed in the kitchens. One elderly lady has run out of food on the Sunday so imagine her surprise when there was a knock on the door on the following Wednesday and the team were standing there with hot food and hugs. She hadn’t been told that she was on the Mayors list to receive help. Her prayers were answered and now she receives regular food deliveries.
Chris, Slavik, Maria and I went to visit some of the elderly people that benefit from this. We entered people’s houses that were living on their own, sleeping on bundles of rags, looking like they were wearing every piece of clothing they had and many ended up in tears. One lady was barely able to walk and very isolated and asked us if people she knew were still alive as she hadn’t seen them in such a long time. Another lady was bedridden and was looked after by her daughter 
whose work must have been tremendous as they lived in very basic accommodation and their bathroom was invariably a latrine in the garden. People were just so grateful to see us and we were all greatly moved and humbled.
whose work must have been tremendous as they lived in very basic accommodation and their bathroom was invariably a latrine in the garden. People were just so grateful to see us and we were all greatly moved and humbled. DAY 6 - Sunday 6th December
Chris kindly drove us to Chisinau where we were being met by Ruvim and Pasa our next hosts. On the way Chris recounted some of the problems that have occurred getting the boxes through the border. Customs had searched the truck and opened 3 large brown boxes to see what was inside. The first had the wrong number of shoeboxes in. It said 10 on the outside and there were 12 inside! The shoebox he took from the second box had last year’s leaflet on it so the date code for the chocolate was a year out of date and the third box was missing a customs list altogether. Fortunately Ruvim is very well know by customs and prevented the whole lorry being offloaded but it did make us realize how difficult it is trying to get all these shoeboxes into 5 different countries with all the different rules and regulations.
We were met by Ruvim, Pasha and Margareta (who thankfully speaks English!) and driven back to Cosnita. This is where Link Romania is building a soup kitchen where between 50 – 100 people come a day to be fed. As the last premises closed and the new building isn’t ready yet then Ruvim is driving round the village trying to do home deliveries to make sure people are still receiving food.
Day 7 – Monday 7th December
Up early to go and visit as many people as possible and give out shoeboxes. Ruvim took us to the families and individuals who benefit from the soup kitchen. One woman had baked a loaf of bread for us as a thank you as that was all she had. We felt very awkward but from their point of view they are proud people and they don’t just want to be given something they want it to be an exchange of gifts one to another. We visited the half completed soup kitchen which is so nearly finished but another £5,000 is needed to finish off the outside and to put in kitchen and bathroom facilities. Everyone we met mentioned that they were looking forward to it opening and were waiting for it to happen.
Ruvim drove us to the local bus station where we caught the bus from Chisinau to Odessa. We had found out by now that the shoeboxes weren’t going to make it to the Ukraine for our visit so packed as many teddy bears in to plastic bags and took them with us on the bus. After a 5 hour bus ride we arrived in Odessa to be greeted by Natalie and Max who work for the Way of Love foundation and who we distribute shoeboxes through in the Ukraine.
Day 8 – Tuesday 8th December
Max picked us up in the morning and we went to visit some of the projects that the Way of Love helps. We visited the settlement of Korsyntsy and also Shevchenko. There live around 25 gypsy families. Many families are poor and illiterate and some families have TB. Here the Way of Love builds relationships and encourages the gypsy families to send their children to their school. We visited this school and the ages of the children ranged from 6 to 18. Some of the adults were also being persuaded to try to come back to school as virtually none of them could read or write. Grey teddies bear were gladly received and the people were just so lovely telling us about their customs and heritage and how they were really trying to get on and make a difference for their lives and families.
Day 9 – Finally return to the UK to find that the very last shoebox has left our warehouse and peace reigns again at Link Romania.
Diary written by: Camilla Johnson, Di Miller & Lisa Hector