Fehérlófia

That is not all! Then, Ruediger suggested camping for two weeks in July with German and Romanian youth at a campsite near Torja in the Tusnad region, near Targu Secuiesc—no electricity and only a very cold brook for “running” water. I had never camped before. Again he was very persuasive. It was a good thing, too, regardless of the doubts I had. It was there that I met and grew to like many of the children I would later work with in the English classes of Feherlofia.

I came to Keresztur (Cristuru Secuiesc in Romanian), Romania, on a bus filled with campers who had camped close to Bautzen with Mateffy Hajnalka as their leader. We arrived early on a Sunday evening, August 31. Zsofi, Krisztina and her friend, Brigitta, helped me to wheel my heavy luggage—I packed in four categories, hot and cold weather, books for teaching, and camp paraphernalia—where Imre Robert and Jana live in the Family House with their nine children: Eniko, Jeno, Julian, Gyongyi, Zsofia, Eduard, and Krisztina, all former residents of the Children’s Home, and Fanny and Florian, ages 8 and 5 respectively. It is a wonder watching the interaction of these children in the Family House. It is a beautiful thing. They are happy and healthy enjoying life in a large extended family. Robi’s Grandmother, “Mama,” lives there in winter; and, in the absence of Robi and Jana, cooked for us when I first arrived. Erszebet, Robi’s Mother, is an important person, helping with the younger children when needed.

My work in Feherlofia with Mateffy Hajnalka was to leach English to kids who wanted to learn—some would rather learn German—and to join them on Fridays when they did various activities such as “sport,” e.g. volley ball, football, or creative work including needlework. The children enjoy other activities with Hajni such as hosting an impressive candlelit, white-table-cloth reception for the American hikers when they came through and a going-away party for me when I left. I found these kids loving, caring, and respectful. Their favorite expressions when meeting me were, “Are you all right? Are you okay?”

How I wish I could give these children a world that is fair and just, with opportunity for everybody to get what is their right, to work hard and receive satisfying returns for that work. I have promised myself I will work hard for that world.

But it isn’t here yet, and I have some ideas and recommendations that could be considered. The first is this: If you truly want these children to be motivated to learn English then there has to be a way to teach them in a progressive manner, to structure a program that moves from one year to the next by steps, each step building on the one before. I have only one suggestion for that kind of program. Have a workbook for them from which the current teacher can see where they have been and where they are to go. Do not bring in a teacher who knows nothing about what has been happening; nothing about what these kids have been taught, nothing about what they know. A quality workbook would serve this purpose well. In short, the program needs to be more structured.

My second recommendation regards training these children to take responsibility for their futures. They must realize they are not entitled to economic help forever. How will they support themselves? Where would they like to be 10 years from now? Some of their activity could be learning how to market and sell their creative work for instance. The most important thing, it seems to me, is to make them aware that there is a future; and, they can be and should be a part of it, making contributions along with those they live with in a positive, helpful, constructive way.

I have been reading a book while in Romania called The End of Poverty by Jeffrey D. Sachs. Mr. Sachs lays out a plan for governments and world institutes to follow in order to end extreme poverty by 2025. At the end of the book there is a quote by Robert F. Kennedy that says:

“Let no one be discouraged by the belief there is nothing one man or one woman can do against the enormous array of the world’s ills . . . It is from the numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man [or woman] stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others . . . he [she] sends a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”

You, the Friends of RIG, are an example of what people the world over can do to help send those ripples of hope out to those who need encouragement and help. I applaud your efforts.

Judy Erdman

November 21, 2005