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Welcome to our annual newsletter which highlights our visits to Barlad, Romania, by

David and Alina in April and October and Jean , Wendy, John and John in November. The

year has been a busy one with the Crestin Trust continuing to support the Myosotis Trust

with their good work in both the House of Roses and Casa Esme as well as providing

funds to help ensure that the annual Summer Camp for all the children and young peo-

ple involved in those two projects enjoy a holiday in the wilds of Romania.

Inside this newsletter we have information on all the projects we support . As well as

those mentioned above we support families living in poverty (Adopt a Family) and

Children who are going through treatment for facial abnormalities and extreme

orthodontic work.

We hope you enjoy this short but informative newsletter. A very big thankyou to all of

you who support us and the people and children of Barlad. If its something you feel you

would like to do, all donations are very welcome no matter how small. You can find infor-

mation on how to contribute on the back page of this pamphlet

This leaflet is very kindly printed by Richard Poyntz, Estate Agents, Canvey Island

Essex.

Romanian Crestin Trust – LOVE IN ACTION – Registered Charity No. 1062964

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Rarinca Caramalu

Rarinca came to visit us for a cup of fruit tea and

some luxury biscuits, not something she sees

often. Rarinca lives in a one room shack on the

outskirts of Barlad and your donations this year

has helped to provide her with a new chimney as

well as help her to provide warmth and food dur-

ing the year. Rarinca is extremely poor and relies

on our money to support her every day existence

Mrs Zanet and her Daughter Oana

They live in a block of apartments just half a mile from the cen-

tre of Barlad. On approaching these apartments you would

think that you were in a war torn area of Beirut. Their home

consists of two rooms. The one you see where they live and

sleep and a small kitchen area. There is no bathroom. Each

landing has approximately 20 apartments and at the end of the

dark and foreboding corridor is a communal bathroom /toilet.

All the residents on the floor use this for washing and their

necessary toilet. I leave it to your imagination as to how it looks

and smells.

Oana has undergone a great amount of orthodontic work paid

for by the Crestin Trust and we support this family with heating

in the winter and other necessities throughout the year such as

medication and food.

Anica

Anica is new to our Family adoption and during our visit to Barlad we attempted to see her. We understand

that she is 89 years old and lives in a small property up an unmade track on the fringes of the town. When we

arrived, the shack was in darkness apart from a light over the front door and despite waking the neighbour-

hood dogs, trying to get a reply , we unfortunately were not heard. Adriana tried every possible method to

indicate we were there but sadly to no avail.

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The Crupa Family and Alesia

The Crupa family were first adopted by us in

2017 and this was our first visit to meet the

family. They live in a three bedroom apartment

in Husi, about an hours drive from Barlad on

the Maldovan border. This apartment is owned

by Mrs Crupas mother and there are four fami-

lies living together. Three sisters and their re-

spective partners with one child each as well as

the mother and father. Your money has helped

to pay for some of the orthodontic and facial

reconfiguration work for Alesia, the little blonde

girl with the Teddy Bear. The little boy and

Alesia were very interested in Jeans camera.

The two children we can see in the picture were

very entertaining while we were there and

Alesia became great friends with Wendy

The Vasilescu Family

This is a lovely picture of the family with their

daughter Delia (in the wheel chair) , Gigi, wife

Miana, their son Alin with his wife Andreea and

brother Horia.

Every year when we travel to Romania the fami-

ly look after us in every way. Delia has been

quadriplegic since early childhood and is now 30

years old. She receives weekly visits from Julia,

her physiotherapist which helps her breathing

and digestion. This is paid for by the Crestin

Trust

We have other families within this project that we support. If you feel this is something you would like

to support please contact either Jean or Wendy whose contact details are on the back of this news-

letter.

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From Left to right we have John, Wendy, Julia

(Speech Therapist), John, Claudia (Social Worker)

and Loridana who is the Head Teacher and Man-

ager of Casa Esme. During the week that we visit-

ed Loridana and her team were carrying out child

assessments to determine their progress and to

ensure that a plan for each childs educational and

developmental requirements are in line with their

progress.

Casa Esme offers its services to approximately 61

young people with various special needs. The pro-

ject aims to improve the educational and social

development services of its beneficiaries by using

individual personal resources.

The Need for Casa Esme

Not only does Casa Esme provide an Educational

and developmental school for children with Learn-

ing difficulties and special needs it also provides

some respite for the parents. The school is open for

48 weeks of the year, the other four are for special

holidays or for the Summer Camp.

Casa Esme is only part funded by the local council.

The parents, however, are becoming more and

more involved with trying to raise funds to keep it

going. The Crestin Trust also help to ensure that

this project continues with a small amount being

provided annually. They are so grateful for our

small contribution so thank you for all your help

Here we see Julia carrying out the required assessment

on a little girl that is not only special needs but also has

hearing difficulties.

Claudia as Social Worker visits the children's homes and

discusses the needs of the children with their parents.

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The House of Roses is a sheltered home to 5

handicapped young people, Geta, Irma, Ionut,

Ionica and George. These five young people

are a legacy of the communist regime and

dreadful orphanage system that still plagues

Romania. By giving them the opportunity to

live in a normal home environment they are

able to live a normal life where they can inte-

grate socially, culturally professionally and also

develop their own autonomy. They each have

responsibilities within the home, to keep the

house clean, ensure the garden is looked after,

grow fruit and vegetables and look after hens,

and cook their daily meals. Irma and Ionica are

tasked with doing the weekly shopping . David

and Alina were welcomed by them all when

they visited in October.

Some of the young people from local

High schools are given the opportunity

to volunteer their time and energy to

assist at the House of Roses and here

we see a young lady, Andrea, giving a

dance lesson. It seemed unfair not to

join in so the two Johns got stuck in

much to the enjoyment of Ionut and

Geta.

When we visited for the second time

during our week in Barlad we were

invited to have a meal with them.

This came as a surprise as we didn't

know until the table had been set for

all of us. It was lovely to spend such

quality time with them all.

The House of Roses needs our sup-

port, not just for the day to day costs

but to ensure the House is main-

tained to a reasonable level. To all of

you that support this exceptional pro-

ject we would like to say a big thank

you

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Mihaela was abandoned aged three months and

taken to Leaganul de copii, an orphanage in Barlad,

in 1998. Mihaela was fortunate to be one of the

many children sent to the Children’s hospital in Bra-

sov for surgery on her cleft lip.

Picture left is Mihaela aged just 6 months

In 2001 Mihaela was fostered by a poor family

who live in a small town on the Moldovan border.

At first Mihaela was a difficult child, but with a lot

of TLC and a very determined foster mother,

Mihaela adapted and grew to love her new par-

ents

Mihaela had a multitude of operations in

Brasov, courtesy of Mr Fenton and his team

from Wakefield, but on his retirement in

2016 Mihaela still needed a lot of maxiofacial

and orthodontic work, to repair and reshape

her nose, mouth, gums and teeth.

The Crestin Trust took up the challenge and

thanks to wonderful donors Mihaela has this

year had operations on her nose, by a sur-

geon from a private clinic in Iasi.

One of Mihaela’s main characteristics is her positive mental

attitude, which has helped her attain a place at Iasi university

this year where she is undergoing a three year course to be-

come a nursery teacher, which has always been her dream

It has been my privilege to witness the evolution of this won-

derful young lady since first seeing her as a baby in the or-

phanage in Barlad, and can only join Mihaela and her foster

parents in thanking you for the love and support necessary to

achieve this wonderful success story

John

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Every Year the Myosotis Trust take the children from the House of Roses , Casa Esme and chil-

dren from very poor families living in and around Barlad on a camping trip out into the coun-

try. Between 20 and 30 volunteers from local High Schools join with them to assist in the day

to day care of these children.

The volunteers and staff help

cook and serve meals for the

camp. The children undertake

many of the chores by keeping

the areas clear and clean as

well as collecting firewood and

washing dishes.

Whilst at the camp the chil-

dren take part in games,

craft activities, country

walks, exercising and visits

to nearby places of interest.

The Summer Camp helps the

children to socialise with

children of different ages as

well as build an understand-

ing of team work. We the

Crestin Trust feel privileged

to have been able to spon-

sor this years Summer

Camp .

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We hope you have enjoyed this glimpse into some of

the projects your money helps us to support.

If you would like to know more about our project work in Romania, please contact:

Adopt a Family – Jean Hall or Wendy Norris on 01268 743148 or 01268 777901

Casa Esme – David Conway on 07767 363 445 or John Raine on 01268 773539

House of Roses – John Amos on 01268 779889

You can now donate securely on line via:- Virgin Money Giving, where you will have the option to donate by Paypal or Credit Card or by posting a cheque to John at 23 Sheridan Close

Rayleigh SS6 8YR

On behalf of our trustees and all the folk we have the privilege to work with in Romania thank you for your continued interest, encouragement and support and wish you all a very happy Christmas.

Alina, Wendy, Jean, David, John and John

The money goes a long way in Romania and just £10 can

help a family survive a very cold winter. Here are a few

pictures taken while we were there which helps show a way

of life that is a struggle for those people that are living be-

low the poverty line