ORIGINALLY WRITTEN JULIE ANDERSON
Danita Unrau and her son, Darci, hope to make a difference in the lives of children during a service trip to Romania in August.
The Unraus are going to Romania with a group of 30 people organized by Robin Horner from Tennessee.
Danita decided to go when she found out her sister was going. When she told her family about it, her son said he wanted to go, too.
“My aunt kept going to all of these places and I wanted to go,” Darci said. “I hope I can go to the Amazon next time she goes.”
Danita said she thought it would be fun for Darci because they would be working with children.
The group will leave Aug. 8 or 9 and will spend a week in Romania.
Danita said the purpose of the trip is to show the Romanian people someone cares about them.
“It is more of a good will, here we are to help you,” she said. “We’re not here to do big, super, wonderful things.”
Each day, the group will go to a different place to work on projects or help children.
“They tell me these kids have nothing,” Danita said.
During their trip they will visit local sites. For at least five or six days, the group will spend part of the day at the Inasmuch Children’s Home, where 20 girls now live.
While the group is there, they will help sort through a shipment of clothes sent over in May.
When they are not at the children’s home, the group will visit a children’s hospital, church for the blind and a day camp.
Some of the clothes and toys will be taken to the hospital.
The group also will hold a one-day vacation Bible school at Barbalest, a gypsy village.
“I hope we can just make these little kids feel happy for one minute or one hour or four days,” Danita said.
She said they want to have a good time with the children. She said the children there have the same problems as children do here.
“Alcohol and drugs and all that stuff is hard for them, too,” she said. “Could you imagine not having your parents or grandparents?”
Residents in the children’s home often had been living in the canals or sewers to get out of the weather.
The home is not funded by the government.
In conjunction with the trip, the Unraus are collecting clothes to send to Romania. They also need Tylenol, IB profin, shampoo, toiletries, makeup and toys.
Money also is needed for diapers and other items that can be purchased there.
While the clothes and larger items will be shipped over, the Unraus will take some of the toys and smaller items, which are being collected up to the time they leave.
The items are being shipped by Milk and Honey Ministries.
The Unraus also could use money to help with the airfare.
“If people want to give us money, that’s fine,” Danita said. “We haven’t really gone out on a big ‘We need money’ campaign.”
While they are there, Danita hopes to get to know the children and what they like, so she can fill 15 book bags with items and send them over for Christmas.
