Last September I visited Moldova with a group of volunteers to erect two playgrounds that the Oliver Rotary Club had constructed. While I was there, during the tour of the orphanage school we identified a large number of deficiencies. This prompted me to embark on mission to fix these problems. A container with clothes from “ The least of these” left Oliver in January with tables and chairs, cement, new shoes, dental supplies, computers and lumber. I left Oliver last month, with my friend, Dale Chobotar from Osoyoos, to distribute and repair as many items in our two weeks in Transnistria, the breakaway state of Moldova.  The smiles and appreciation of our actions can clearly be seen on the faces of the children, many of whom had only one pair of shoes. The new tables and chairs refurbished the cafeteria, while some two hundred beds had new slats and frames installed.  During my last visit one little orphan, Victoria caught my eye. Upon my return this year, I found to my dismay that she had been moved from the orphanage in Tiraspol to another some 2 hours out of the city. What a shock to the system. I had thought things were difficult in the city, but to find an orphanage with 300+ “special needs”  6 to 15 year olds, in a 4 storey building with broken glass in nearly all the 80 windows, was very difficult to handle. So while I have been able to bring comfort and an improved quality of life to many, much more needs to be done.

My resolve now, is to raise $16,000 for the window replacements, provide a washing machine, deep freeze and soccer balls to make a  difference to these children. I will be coordinating this next trip in September, by partnering with Bob Ellis’ charity “For the least of these”. By this means people are able to make a tax deductible donation. I want to thank the following groups and organizations for their assistance in this past endeavour: Berry and Smith, Paul and Barb Eby, The Oliver Chronicle, Bob Ellis, Vic and Diane Dias at Tru Hardware, Dr Jordan Nuftle, Linda Nunweiler, Wilma and Troy at Vincor Canada, Oliver Rotary Club, the ladies who provided the beautiful blankets, Dale Chobatar, Mark Faschevsky, Anna Dovgaliuc and others who helped me in small but significant ways. If  you want to contact me for information or a donation, call 250 498 3788 or my cell, 250 488 6896.