In January 2005 I made the decision to reapply as a volunteer for Playscheme Romania 2005. While Children on the Edge does accept applications from previous volunteers, I was not holding out much hope that I would be selected again. After all, it would be in their best interest to have new volunteers spreading the word about COTE's work and generating fundraising.

Imagine my surprise when I received word that I had been chosen to return! I have been assigned to "Team 3", arriving in Romania on August 6 and staying through August 19.

My return trip to Romania trip to Romania was bittersweet but just as rewarding as the previous year.

The "accommodations" were two very large rooms in an old, abandoned school building. One room was set up as our kitchen and meeting area. The other room was where we slept, the room divided by a tarp into "boys" and "girls". I slept for two weeks on the floor. We had electricity but no running water. Every other day we had to go to the well and haul up 70 gallons of water for washing/showering. It was back-breaking. There was a water tank set up at the entry for washing up. In the backyard we had an outhouse (clean, but with an odor that knocked my socks off!) and a shower hut (yes, we had hot running water for the shower).

The village we lived in was quite poor. No one had running water and many used horse and cart to get around. They raised their own fruits, vegetables and livestock. Despite that, they were extremely generous, bringing us eggs, milk, and flour. My admiration for the Romanian people is great. They live with a quiet dignity and strength that awed me.

We worked with three different groups of children. First, we went to a special needs orphanage in Targu Frumos. I was there last year and remembered many of the boys. One in particular, a handsome Gypsy teenager, was clearly moved when he saw that I returned, hugging me and placing his head on my shoulder. He thanked me over and over.

Next, we went to the orphan's camp in Strunga. Here, I saw many more children that were also there last year. I was able to form even stronger bonds and reach out to some children that were aloof and did not participate before.

Finally, we went to an orphanage in Halaucesti. I was really looking forward to this experience. Halaucesti was the very first orphanage exposed as inhuman when the communist regime toppled. Anita Roddick, Body Shop and Children on the Edge founder, was one of the first to visit. In 1990 what she saw, and what the world was soon to discover, was children tied to rusted metal cribs, rocking back and forth in their own excrement. At it's worst, there were nearly 1000 children housed at this facility with very few caretakers. They were horribly neglected and had never experienced loving human contact.
Halaucesti has greatly improved since then, thanks to Children on the Edge and others that stepped in and offered help. Romania has made efforts to close many orphanages, finding alternative living arrangements for their orphans. Halaucesti no longer has many children and many of it's buildings have been abandoned. Those that remain open as housing have been marginally renovated (again, thanks to COTE).
When we entered the gates, I was reminded of a concentration camp. I could not envision 1000 children living in these conditions. I was encouraged by the children, however. There were only about 4 dozen on site at the time, many at jobs in the village, others fortunate enough to be at their family homes during summer holiday. They were pleasant, warm, and social. What really impressed me was how they cared for one another. It was truly like one big family.

While this years experience was similar to last, there are some images that stand out :

• Ramos a 17 year old boy at Strunga. When he found out that we were going to Halaucesti, he asked that I bring a note from him to his brother who lived there. They had not seen each other for a very long time. Ramos was desperate to contact his brother, Adrian, and clearly moved when I took the note from him and offered to deliver it. When I delivered the note to Adrian, a sad smile crept over his face and he thanked me in his broken English. I could see just how much these two meant to each other even though they had very little contact.
  
• Ionutz a 13 year old boy from Targu Frumos. He attached himself to me during my days at the camp. Ionutz was dressed in tattered clothing and his shoes were falling off his feet. One day we inflated the "bouncy castle" (the same inflatable structure you see at children's birthday parties and carnivals). This is always a favorite activity. Ionutz quietly waited for his turn and erupted in a joyful smile when he finally jumped in. As he bounced and sprung about with wild abandon, his smile slowly turned to pain and embarrassment as he realized that his pants , barely held up by a weak string, were falling down. He stopped bouncing and looked around to see if anyone had noticed. Then he gamely grabbed onto the waistband of his pants, pulled his shirt over and continued to bounce. His strength and resolve brought me to tears.
  
• Marius a 12 year old boy from Strunga. One day we took a group of children into the woods for team building games. During one game, Marius was "caught" and hauled to the goal. In the process, he lost both his shoes in the woods. When he realized what had happened, he began to moan in the most painful and mournful manner, a look of sheer distress and agony on his face. These were the only shoes he had. We stopped the game and miraculously recovered his missing shoes a broken pair of flip-flops, one with half a sole missing. I will never forget look of relief that spread across his face.