Daniel Centre

Balazs has been having negatives and positives with the lads in the Daniel Centre.

On the negative side, Gaby, who had joined the Centre recently, has left in disappointment after verbal conflicts with another resident Alix.  Since Alix has worked well and saved enough money to soon move on, however, Gaby may well return after Alix’s departure.

On the positive side, Florin has been able to hold down a job for the first time and has been excited about stacking shelves at the local supermarket.  István has also been excited about lasting an afternoon at washing dishes in a local restaurant.  He now hopes to join Florin at the supermarket.

Talita Kum

Blythswood Romania have been helping Blythswood Serbia to develop a Christianity Explored course for Serbia and were encouraged by their visit to Talita Kum last month for this reason, and also to see how Talita Kum currently deal with primary school children in the hope that they will be able to develop their similar but embryonic programme in Serbia.

Daniel Centre

 Balazs was not at the Daniel Centre in this week, but down at Talita Kum in Jimbolia.  Two Blythswood partners had come over from Serbia to see what they could learn from Adrian Poppa’s work at Talita Kum, and Balazs was there as part of the discussions. 

 There was nothing new to report from the Daniel Centre this month, but I was able to have some time with the four gentlemen in Jimbolia.

 Talita Kum

The Blythswood partners from Serbia currently deal with a dozen primary school children on a daily basis and were encouraged to see the set-up at Talita Kum.

 Talita Kum 1 has 48 children each day and Talita Kum 2 has 33.  They are still short of teachers and could use 4 new ones immediately as a lot of the homework assistance is on a one-to-one basis with Special Needs children.

 There have been past funding issues with the local government, and though these are being gradually addressed, the delay in new funding being released is having a negative impact on finding new teachers. 

Adrian is confident that lessons have been learned and that EU funding for TK3 and TK4 will be on a more secure basis.  They hope to be working  with 15 students in Talita Kum 3 and 10 students in Talita Kum 4 by December 2021.

Daniel Centre

Balazs, the Director of the Daniel Centre, is also Blythswood’s Head of Operations for their work in Romania.

Although a young resident has been causing disruption with his strong LGB agenda, this has caused some of the other residents to more positively rally round Titi the cook who has often been on the receiving end of the young man’s disruptive behaviour.

The other young resident who was showing signs of serious depression has quit his job in McDonalds and hopes to start work in a local sympathetic filling station where other Daniel Centre residents work.

Pakistan accepted only one of the two containers of shoe boxes assigned to it this year, so Balazs has been the surprise recipient of 3000 unexpected extra boxes.

Talita Kum

James Campbell, the Blythswood CEO, was over in Romania this past month, shooting next year’s video for the 2020 shoebox appeal.

Adi, the director of the Talita Kum project, is still mired in all the bureaucracy required to access the EU funding for the building of Talita Kum 3 and 4 and for the running costs of all four Talita Kum houses.

Daniel Centre

Balazs, the Director of the Daniel Centre, had a good and satisfactory meeting with Blythswood in Deephaven 2 weeks ago.

He asks prayer for a young resident who is currently causing disruption with his strong LGB agenda and yet the abuses in Romanian society that lead to so many young men ending up in heart-breaking lifestyles.

The other resident who shares a unit with this first young man is showing signs of serious depression.

The shoeboxes have arrived, but significantly fewer were requested this year by the NGOs who distribute them for Blythswood – an indication that Romania is making real progress in escaping from previous widespread poverty.

Talita Kum

The Romanian bank has asked Blythswood to redo the grant proposal for EU building cost funding for Talita Kum 3 and 4 – possible but time-consuming and annoying.

More concerning is that the Romanian government department tasked with releasing EU funding for the running costs of TK3 and TK4 over the next three years has turned down the grant proposal and Blythswood may have to source alternative funds for that purpose.

Daniel Centre

Balazs, the Director of the Daniel Centre, visited Deephaven this week and Robert was able to meet him in person for the first time.  Balazs has been involved with Blythswood and the Daniel Centre for many years now and does a very faithful and committed work with young Romanians as they transition from school to making their way in the workplace.   Pray for the Christian impact of the Daniel Centre on these young men and their impact in turn on the wider Romanian society.

The young men of the Daniel Centre have just finished a Christianity Explored Course and hope to continue with a follow-up Bible study.

 Talita Kum

 Continue to pray for the current financial situation at Talita Kum.  In order to release EU funding for Talita Kum 3 and 4, the director Adrien Poppa has to come up with a considerable down payment which will then be returned to their project or the equivalent collateral.

Daniel Centre

Among all the residents at the Daniel Centre with their complex issues and the major challenges this presents for the staff, there are encouragements.

Julian, though he is a disaster at looking after his room, holds down a job in the local Ikea furniture factory and cooked a beautiful meal for those who recently participated in the Christianity Explored session.

Alix, who is struggling with the prospect of soon having to leave the Daniel Centre, and Aline who has been gone from the Centre now for two years, are both solid workers and are both showing spiritual promise.

An Irish friend with experience in counselling NGOs will be visiting Balazs to help him create a Wheel of Life manual to allow him to better measure the progress the young men make in the areas of happiness, satisfaction and self-esteem during their years in the Daniel Centre.  

 

Talita Kum

 Adi may have to repay part of a local government grant for TK1 and 2 – the fiscal authorities are claiming that he received too much this past year.  The local government won’t help him sue over this but will increase next year’s grant to compensate for any money given back this year.

EU funding for the TK4 infrastructure has been signed and implemented, but funding for TK3 design and running costs has been evaluated but the contract not yet signed.  Once signed, the money should be available in 60 days.

Daniel Centre Most of the residents at the Daniel Centre have various issues to cope with in their lives, which creates major challenges for the staff. They are encouraged, however, by the changes that do take place in most of these young men over the years that they spend there. Florin’s mental issues are more severe than the staff first realised when he joined the Centre this summer.  Gabi, on the other hand, is more educated than most of the other lads and is writing a novel.  He is generally a quieter and more positive influence on the Centre. The Christianity Explored course continues to have an encouraging attendance with a core group of regular attenders.   Talita Kum The major problem facing the Talita Kum projects stems from government inertia which delays the release of EU funds which are necessary for the ongoing running of Talita 1 and Talita 2. The missing consultant for the Talita Kum 3 and 4 project has now re-appeared as mysteriously as she first disappeared, and they hope to be ready to claim their first tranche of EU funding for this new project by November 20th.

Daniel Centre

The new resident Florin is currently in hospital to set up treatment for his mental issues.  Another new resident Alin has found work at a petrol station along with 3 former Daniel Centre residents.

Ionuz now has the keys, but not yet the contract, for his new apartment.  He is struggling in his nursing course because of having had an epileptic seizure in one of his lectures.

The young couple, the first Daniel Centre resident and his wife to have got a mortgage on a home, are now moving out of their temporary stay in the Centre into their new home.

The Christianity Explored course has started for past and current residents with an encouraging attendance of a dozen at the weekly Sunday sessions.