School Aid Romania
School Aid Romania is a registered charity that has been going out to Brasov, Romania for over 20 years.
The charity sends 160 Lower Sixth pupils from 8 different schools across Northern Ireland to provide much needed aid to people living in extreme poverty in Romania.
At the start of the academic year our Lower Sixth pupils complete an application form and from that, selected for an interview. The College takes roughly 20 pupils to Romania each year.
Each team tries to fundraise as much money as possible to support the following projects:
Deliver food parcels to Comona De Jus village which is a gypsy village located an hour outside of the city. The government offer no support to this village and it is only recently that the village has some electricity supply and running water to each house. The charity has also been able to provide windows, walls, roofs and much needed furniture for some of the houses. The temperatures can reach -20º in winter so insulated walls and sealed windows really make a difference to these people.
Visit the abandoned baby unit at the local maternity unit where we deliver lots of nappies, blankets and baby clothes. Unfortunately, the number of babies left behind by their families for various reasons is still very high. Often already large families will leave their baby in hospital as they cannot afford it. With our aid, the nurses at the hospital are able to encourage families to take their child home.
Visit a few orphanages where the children have been brought up In from a young age. Again, we deliver things such as cleaning materials and food, but we spend quality time with the children. These children have few toys or people who rarely spend time alone with them playing with them.
Visit Secele Old People’s Home, spending quality time with the residents. The home is run by donations from various charities and the residents appreciate the entertainment that we bring. We spend time with them, playing games, singing and dancing. As they might only get a few visitors per year, they really appreciate our time.
Visit other institutions that house patients with mental and physical disabilities. Again, we bring aid such as clothes, cleaning products and spend time singing songs like ‘head, shoulders, knees & toes, dancing and playing games with them.
