“I don't want to live in the kind of world where we don't look out for each other. Not just the people that are close to us, but anybody who needs a helping hand. I cant change the way anybody else thinks, or what they choose to do, but I can do my bit.”
― Charles de Lint
This cause, helping orphans in
Romania, is all about the children. Everything in this program revolves around
the children getting the care and love they deserve. I am studying to become a
teacher, so my ideas are a little bit more centered on how teachers can help in
their classrooms, but with these same principles, anyone can help-even those
who, like the “orphans”, have absolutely nothing.
Getting Kids Involved
Kids can relate to each other a
lot better than adults can relate to each other, so it is very important to get
children involved in the cause. By doing this, they would be learning that
there are children in the world who need help and who don’t have a computer to
play Minecraft on every day after school. Even though this would make a small
difference in the child or person who is donating’s life, it could change the
life of a needy orphan.
One of the simplest ways to raise
money (not very much, but at least enough to buy food for the orphans), would
be to simply ask. Teachers can set up routines in their classroom by having a
piggy bank or something similar in their classroom, and children can bring
change they find or a portion of their allowance to donate to the orphans.
Parents could even get involved in this. If more teachers were willing to
participate in the cause, maybe a school competition could be set up to see
which class or grade level raises the most money.
Some other things that could be
done are setting up bake sales, yard sales, talent shows, and lemonade stands
at the school. To increase profit, the students could have a talent show at the
school and have a bake sale in the lobby so that parents and viewers could have
some snacks during the show.
All the money raised for the
cause would go to the group/organization of people that will be visiting the
orphanages during the summer. They could then use the money however they see
fit when they arrive to Romania. They could use it to buy food, clothes, school
supplies, or anything else that might be of need (students could also donate
lightly used clothes to send a package to the orphanages).
This summer, I, with a group of teenagers from church, visited Romania. While we were there, we met three young girls whose father had died and whose mother simply left them to marry another man. The three girls were the ages of 12, 9, and 6. They lived in a small mud house alone, and cared for themselves. Every few weeks, the mother would come visit them drunk and beat them. To them, going to an orphanage is scarier than staying home alone. When I came back to America, the girls’ choir (about 20 girls) donated clothes and school supplies and we shipped the things to the girls within a month. The point is that even a group of young girls from the ages of 9-20 were able to make some sort of a change, so it is possible for anyone.
One last thing teachers can do
with their students is to have them write to a pen-pal. Although this wouldn’t
donate any money to the cause, it would make a tremendous difference in the
orphan’s lives. Imagine how valued they would feel knowing that someone across the
world is thinking of them, and taking time out of their days to write to them.
The letters would have to be short of course so that they could be translated,
but the thought would be amazing. Drawing pictures to send for them would also
be a great idea. Basically, any sort of craft to send to the orphans to let
them know people care about them.
Parents and Adults
·
Encourage.
Parents, if teachers at your children’s school do not know about the cause,
bring it up. Encourage your children to make crafts for orphans in Romania even
if their school isn’t doing it.
·
Donate.
Your donations don’t have to be hundreds or thousands of dollars; they could be
$5 a week. Maybe one day, you will pack your lunch instead of going out-you
could make that sacrifice and use that money as a donation to help children in
need.
·
Volunteer.
If you have the funds and are willing, volunteer to go to Romania with the team
that would be working in the orphanages. I guarantee it would be a
life-changing experience for you and that you would never look at children the
same.
Nothing is too
small. Any action towards good will help!
