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Kiwi supporters get their chance to meet Romanian orphans

Kiwi supporters get their chance to meet Romanian orphans

A dozen Kiwi supporters will get a chance to see the fruits of their labour when they visit Orphans Aid International’s Casa Kiwi project in Romania this month.

From 22-29 August the group, who have each been supporting Casa Kiwi in different ways over the past eleven years, will meet the children living at the orphanage and take them on an activity they have never experienced before, such as visiting a zoo, pool or local shopping mall.

Orphans Aid International’s Hastings op-shop manager and Romanian tour host, Gabriela James, says the group will also help with a special project at the home and visit other social programmes in the area.

“We hope to take the group to visit one of the local hospitals, where children are often abandoned, and to deliver large bags of potatoes and other food items to a Gypsy village, which is very primitive,” says Mrs James.

Long-time Hastings supporter and artist Colleen Archibald says she fundraised for the trip through the sale of her paintings.

“I wanted to see the amazing work being done by Orphans Aid International for myself to get a better understanding of what the needs are and what I could do to help the situation,” says Mrs Archibald.

Wellington couple Abie and Matt Spicer say they hope to gain a greater understanding about what is involved in running Orphans Aid International and how it helps support children and families.

“After watching the documentary ‘Someone, Somewhere Loves Me’, which portrayed the heart-breaking situation of abandonment of babies and young children, we knew we wanted to take part in helping them raise money and giving regular support personally.

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“The world needs more people like Sue van Schreven,” says Mrs Spicer.

Orphans Aid International’s CEO Sue van Schreven says the charity often gets requests from supporters asking to visit Casa Kiwi and other projects, but forsafety and privacy reasons the numbers of visitors that can be allowed through the home is limited.

“Bringing supporters over in a group provides a way for them to visit the project and the surrounding areas together, and when they see the children they are helping first-hand it creates a whole new level of understanding.

“Casa Kiwi recently had a major renovation, which has lifted the capacity of the home, so there is further opportunity to expand the project and the numbers of children being cared for, including renovating the premises next door to the original home.

“We hope to provide further opportunities for supporters to see our work first-hand in the future,” says Mrs van Schreven.

ENDS


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