On the 25th of June, a team of 8 pupils and 2 teachers from Inverness in Scotland travelled to Marghita in Romania. During the first week of our stay we were helping to run a summer camp for disadvantaged children and teenagers. This was a busy and fun-filled week packed with different activities and games. A particular highlight was the nearby swimming pool and we were swimming at least once every day. It was hugely rewarding to see the kids grow in confidence in the water and we all had fun playing different games and practicing our diving. Week one was rounded off with a highly entertaining and amusing talent show where everyone had the chance to showcase their skills. It was brilliant way to bring everyone together and end a fantastic week. Prior to the trip our team had been fundraising for months and it was brilliant to see the positive impacts our efforts had as we were able to give these children a great holiday.
A visit to Casa Silvia was a great way to start our second week in Romania. We enjoyed meeting everybody and giving out clothes and other gifts. The team put up a trampoline in their garden which seemed to be an instant hit and will hopefully provide hours of fun over the summer. Our main task for the second week was redecorating a part of the children`s home Casa Albă to be used as a special needs school. This involved sweeping, mopping and lots of painting. We made the rooms as bright and cheerful as we could and had a lot fun painting murals on the walls ranging from the alphabet and a number line to hot air balloons and an elephant. We loved getting our hands dirty doing some manual labour and it was great to see the tangible results of our work. Throughout our stay in Marghita Dan, Lidia, Ruben and Manuela Micula were excellent hosts who provided great food and activities such as volleyball, football and swimming. Speaking of great food, while staying in the beautiful FCE Guest house, Barbro’s cooking was fantastic and greatly appreciated by the team. Everyone we met in Romania was very welcoming and now that we are back in Scotland we miss the friends we made and are definitely feeling the cold! We loved our experience and we are grateful to everybody who made the trip possible.
Anna Snedden on behalf of the 2016 Romania Team
