PHILADELPHIA HOUSE CHILDREN S HOME

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1 ASOCIATIA ANDEMOS PHILADELPHIA HOUSE CHILDREN S HOME Dear friends, We are now, less than a couple of weeks before the end of 2017, extremely grateful to God and you all for the amazing blessings we have experienced since the opening of Casa Philadelphia in 2014! It has not been an easy year but, in spite of all the difficulties, here we are at the end of it, physically tired and emotionally exhausted but thankful for all the wonderful experiences of a year that is slowly fading away! We cannot thank you enough for being here for us and for your steady, loving and generous support! People often wonder how we can provide such an excellent care to the kids we look after but we are always quick to point out that without you and your commitment we could never do it! You might think we are still looking after the seven children you already know of but at the end of August an eighth was added to the fold! His name is Claudiu Marian Peta, he is 8 and, though originally from a village just outside Hateg, we collected him, so to speak, from Hunedoara. His mother is a prostitute who has abandoned him after he was born and then left for Bucharest though nobody knows her exact whereabouts and his father, who he only met once, is a drifter currently living somewhere in Germany. After his maternal great-grandmother, who had cared for him for nearly four years, passed away he was placed into foster care with a family from Hunedoara who, at the time, was already looking after an older boy with a severe mental disorder. In August, they had to let Claudiu go as his foster mom, because of some health problems, had to travel to UK, where they have family, for some treatment. They opted to keep the other boy as he was much older and in need of special care so they got in touch with the Child Protection

2 Authority (CPA) who, in turn, knowing that we are available, approached us regarding Claudiu. We were quite reluctant to take him in initially, as Ionescu, our administrator, had already left us in June, so we were understaffed, but after meeting him and realizing it was going to be reasonably easy to work with as he was such a nice and clever little guy we decided we should give it a go! As I said we were a bit concerned about our ability to look after eight kids, both because we were struggling a bit financially and because we were understaffed but we never regretted our decision. Claudiu proved to be a very organized and meticulous young man, doing very well in school (one of those rare kids who really love school!!!) and it is a pleasure to work with. Though a bit hyperactive, he fits in very well with the other kids and together with Gabriel and Iustin they call themselves the three musketeers (he is Athos, by the way!) We are really pleased that he enjoys church, too and although at first he was a bit confused about this new experience he now gets really involved in church activities. He has a great voice and he really loves to sing. Actually, all the eight kids are really enjoying church and are quite active as well. Before meals they constantly fight for the right to pray although usually they tend to pray for everything and anything but the meals they are supposed to give thanks for (we are struggling hard not to burst into laughter when we hear them praying!!!). Seven of the eight kids go to school in Salas while Daniel attends the Ioan I.C.. Bratianu National College in Hateg! He is a 9 th grader and happily commutes to Hateg everyday though he s not very excited to have to wake up at 6 a.m. every day in order to catch the bus to school. When he and Iustin, his brother, arrived in Salasu de Sus in the summer of 2016 he had some serious school-related issues mainly because he had to skip school to look after his brother. We have shared their difficulties in the previous newsletter but the bottom line is we never thought he d be able to catch up with his colleagues and get the necessary grades to get into the high school in Hateg, which being a National College, it is more difficult to be admitted to than a regular high school. However, we explained the situation to his teachers, Daniel worked hard and with

3 help from some private tuition we could offer him he managed to recuperate sufficiently so his final grades saw him admitted to the Hateg National College. We were all very pleased with his achievement especially as the alternative would have been a lower quality school somewhere in the county with a costly commute and no real chance to improve academically! He is a decent young man, quite interested in history and IT and with his new phone and tablet he got for his birthday (out of his own allowance) he is trying to write code and improve phone apps! He is quite hardworking and often helps with keeping the younger ones in check! He is a regular churchgoer and though at times we insist he should dress a bit more casual he cannot imagine going to God s house without a suit and a tie! Iustin, Daniel s younger brother, is a funny little guy, his teacher s pet! He is a very good natured kid, rather wise for his age (he just turned 8 and is in the first grade) and quite interested in dinosaurs! He was lacking all basic skills when we got him last year but has started to improve considerably and although we are still struggling with him at times, he is making steady progress and he makes everybody laugh with his attitude and funny sayings! (i.e. the other day, our son Andy was there with his girlfriend and, when they left, Iustin, said to them: May God bless your relationship! ). He is also very keen to tell all the ladies he meets how lovely they are and he is quite famous for telling all girls he loves them!!! Gabriel and Denisa, on the other hand, are the same lovely kids, very playful and cuddly! We love them to bits and in a sense, as they were the first kids we got at the Casa Philadelphia, in April 2014, they will always have a special place in our hearts! They are doing ok but we had to take them both to have some glasses made recently as we noticed they were squinting and Gabriel always seemed to get too close to the computer monitor when they were playing. We found out that Denisa s problem is not that serious and though Gabriel might have to wear glasses all his life, they were both rather excited at the prospect of having to wear them! As to the former Ionescu brothers (Edi, Sonia and Bogdan) their family name is now Barica! Edi and Bogdan s father decided to recognize all three of them as his own (though Sonia is his brothers!) He is doing his best to take them home for good and

4 although the kids are very excited at the prospect (esp. Edi who always craved more independence and a life with less rules and regulations!) we are not really looking forward to it knowing that, in spite of the effort their father put into finding a job, getting along with his wife and renovating the old flat, they will have to live in a very different environment to the one they got used to at the Casa Philadelphia. We are praying about the situation and are waiting to see if the Uricani local council gives its ok because if they consider that the parents do not meet the necessary criteria they will be remaining in our care! Edi is doing very well in school while Sonia, though quite capable, is having some problems focusing on her homework. She has a very nice handwriting and is not doing too badly but one has to regularly spend hours with her when she does her homework, partly because she needs constant support and partly because she is desperate for attention. Also, she just can t understand why she should bother with school, really! As I already mentioned in the previous newsletter she can be quite jealous and manipulative but she is always ready to help with the household chores. Actually all three of them are quite hardworking, with Bogdan who has made visible progress, always trying to keep up with his siblings! Bogdan is still using pampers at night (he will be 6 in January) but he is becoming more and more intelligible now! He recently started to put some words together in sentences and we were amazed at how well he was pronouncing the dirty words! The other ones he still struggles with!!! Not long ago we took him to a psychiatrist and the doctor informed us that though his mental age is about 4, his IQ which is still rather low is showing visible improvement so she was quite hopeful that with constant and loving care he will be catching up! Our problem is that if they go back to Uricani, where they come from, we seriously doubt his parents will be much preoccupied with his special needs! On the other hand, we are doing our best to involve all eight kids both in church and school activities and we also try to give them a chance to see different places and expand their horizon. The younger ones have visited schools in Orastie and Petrosani that are twinned with the Salasu de Sus primary school while Daniel went on a school trip to Sibiu and Sighisoara in October.

5 At the beginning of September we were given the opportunity to take all the kids to Geoagiu for a long awaited and really welcome splash! They were extremely excited and we cannot thank you enough for making this happy day possible! At the end of this newsletter I would like to say a big thank you to all those who are involved one way or another in providing for our eight kids, be it our regular staff (Monica, Neli and Sorina), churches that have generously donated food for Casa Philadelphia or the many individuals who have given them clothes, shoes or toys! We cannot forget the lady from Salasu de Jos who decided she would bake a birthday cake for free for every child every year and last but not least those who, through their financial support and loving commitment, keep this ministry going! I am sure you all know that without your steadfast support these kids would not stand a chance and we can only pray that God will give you the will and the means to continue to share our burden for the needy children and families of Romania! If we are where we are today, almost four years since we began our activity in Salasu de Sus, it is only because of God s blessings upon us and because of your faithfulness and unwavering commitment to a noble cause! We are praising God for you and your involvement in our project and, on behalf of all of us here at Casa Philadelphia, would like to ask you to keep us all in your prayers as we rely on God s grace upon our ministry on a daily basis! Also, as we have a reason for this season, we would like to wish you all a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR! Wilt u hen steunen? Via Stichting Helphand Anna P, kortweg SHAP genaamd. Iban: NL36RABO o.v.v. Casa Philadelphia Salasu de Sus, Dec. 22 nd, 2017