Drawn to help & Help to draw - A journey to Romania
In this article, Verena Hanke-Neuland reports on a special trip to Romania. She also writes about the happiness and generosity of a community that sticks together and supports each other in everyday life, overcoming both small and large obstacles.
This year we're celebrating our 50th anniversary. We're incredibly happy and grateful to have been around for so long. Achieving this milestone requires quite a few ingredients: courage, ideas, a passion for innovation, discipline, perseverance… and one ingredient beyond our control: luck.
And thankfully, we already had quite a bit of that.
Not everyone in the world has that. We are aware of that.
Therefore, we would like to use our anniversary year to share our good fortune. We want to help those who live in other parts of the world and have a much harder time making a positive difference.
You don't even have to go far. Never before has wealth been so unequally distributed worldwide as it is today. In Romania, for example, more than half the population lives below the (purchasing power parity) European poverty line.
Fortunately, you can influence "good relationships" yourself.
I wrote an email to one of our suppliers. We've had a good relationship for many years. He has business contacts in Hungary and Romania, as he's originally from there. So I asked if we could do something good together in the schools there.
Shortly after, he replied, "I'll join in." A meeting was promptly arranged in Eichenzell, where we decided together to send a large donation to Romania. Just a few days later, packing began at Neuland. Everyone helped. Thank you!
And then the trucks arrived. Tables, chairs, pinboards, flipcharts, whiteboards, and even rolls of felt for pinboards were loaded up and set off for Romania. How fortunate that we could trust that everything would arrive safely and in good condition.
Town hall in Lazarea.
The first action of our movement “ DRAWN to HELP – HELP to DRAW” has been launched. More actions will follow in the future.
Our goal: To create space everywhere in the world for visualization, opportunities for communication, and the sharing of knowledge and experiences.
The donated products had arrived safely. But we also wanted to meet the people on the ground and see what else needed to be done. So Guido and I traveled to the place where the donations were intended to make a real difference: Lazarea in Transylvania. Nearly 3,500 people live here, the majority of whom are originally Szeklers, meaning they are of Hungarian origin.
We flew to Bucharest, then took the train to Brasov, and finally drove to Lazarea. The welcome was so warm that we were often speechless. Whether it was the mayor, the school principal(s), the teachers, or the children's parents, we were greeted with open arms. Often with schnapps and homemade treats 🙂
Here we lined up for a group photo with the teachers from the primary school.
Reception in the staff room; in the back you can see István, his wife Ibolya, and two teachers. And in the background: the coffee bean bulletin board we sent. This helps the teachers communicate more easily.
We repeatedly met people who dedicate a significant portion of their time to serving the community. They work together to share knowledge and tools. István (Stefan), a trained veterinarian who later became a police officer, told us this. However, over the years he has gained so much experience in construction and renovation that he regularly helps with building projects in Germany. He would love to pass on his knowledge and experience in his village, but the necessary equipment is often lacking. We hope this situation will change.
Hospitality of a special kind
After our reservation at a small local inn unfortunately fell through, we experienced exceptional hospitality once again: István and his wife Ibolya spontaneously invited us to stay with them. They both speak excellent German. They have three children, all of whom attend the local schools. They are neighbors of Zoltán and his wife Czilla, who is a local teacher.
Everyone is helping out
Czilla was also the one who coordinated the distribution of the donated products on site. This ensured that the right things went to the right place.
Here's Czilla with the new blue chairs in her classroom (in her favorite color...not hard to see...).
Of course, there's a large team of volunteers, such as teachers and parents of the schoolchildren. That's what really struck us. They work together so naturally – both professionally and personally. They're friends and help each other out. Everyone contributes and lends a hand. For example, they share and exchange fruit, vegetables, (goat's) milk, and meat.
But back to the school: The classrooms were previously often furnished with old furniture and offered little blackboard space. However, during our visit, we found at least one extra whiteboard from Neuland in every classroom, and some also had flipcharts, media carts, or new chairs. The felt pinboard covering we had sent along was also very popular. It was used to cover what had previously been just simple polystyrene boards.
István and Guido are putting the finishing touches on the furniture that will be used in the school.
The library director (far right) was delighted with the new seating and tables. The village children often wait there for the bus or their parents and read for a while. Now there are seats and even a flip chart available.
Unfortunately, the kids were still on school break when we were there, so we only got to know a few of them (outside of school). They diligently taught us Romanian and Hungarian. But that wasn't all. We also received photos of the schoolchildren with the Neuland tablets. How wonderful that they're already in use!
The class from Bethlen Gabor Primary School, who were delighted with the Neuland tablets. And we were very happy with this photo.
Children of the Bethlen Gabor Primary School
True community is also a treasure.
Overall, we've learned a lot: In Germany, we are largely rich in material things. But when it comes to "working together for a common cause," genuine solidarity, and gratitude for what we have, our Romanian neighbors from the village of Lazarea are perhaps a step ahead of us here in Germany. In that respect, they are rich.
And they always gladly share this abundance with their guests. For example, we were welcomed at a barbecue area over the weekend, where we met several familiar faces: teachers, the headmistress, neighbors, and friends. They had prepared food, and we spent the whole day with a large group of villagers. Potatoes were grilled over the fire.
Plus homegrown vegetables like peppers and tomatoes… and of course, homemade schnapps again… there’s just so much fruit on site…