Coker Crumania 2016

It was difficult to believe the day had finally come - to be honest a year ago most of us

barely knew where Romania was and here we were: bags packed, passports in hand, saying

our goodbyes as we set off on our adventure.

We got to Heathrow nice and early, plenty of time for sampling the perfumes (!) Whilst we

checked in, the conveyor belt broke so some of our bags had to be trolleyed round and the

plane was a bit delayed. Budapest airport was even more of a challenge: police with guns,

foreign languages even Jon didn’t understand, and only nine of our 20 bags appeared on the

conveyor belt! We waited and waited but eventually gave up, joined an angry queue, filled

in forms, accepted the explanation, in broken English, that the bags should arrive tomorrow

and finally boarded our minibus for Romania.

A restless night trapped on the bus, stabbed by other people’s elbows and serenaded by the

snoring and mutterings of the group, was ended by a glorious Romanian sunrise and a

friendly (if heavily armed) border guard.

We’d arrived, well nearly - Jon said we’d be there in another couple of hours!!??!! It turned

out to be three because the mountain pass had road works every half mile and the dirt track

at the end shouldn’t have been driven on by anything but a tractor (How wrong I was, over

the next eight days I was to spend several hours shaking my fillings loose on that bit of road

- I got so used to it, I dropped off once on the way home).

Then we were there - our new home for a week - the site. We were greeted by Puiu (Jon’s

Romanian mate) who helps organise things. The site was amazing from that very first

moment, camping next to the river in a beautiful mountain valley was really breath taking.

The tiredness and aches and pains of the journey were forgotten as we put up our tents and

had our first dip in the river. The explorers with no bags were taken to buy a set of

emergency clothes, as it looked likely that the bags wouldn’t be with us for 24 hrs.

Darkness fell and it was proper dark, the stars were amazing. I slept like a baby!

The morning work team left us on site, doing the daily chores: filling the solar showers,

cleaning the kitchen etc. We were able to enjoy the river before lunch and then off for my

first work shift. As we turned into the care home entrance, the big question in my head was

what sight would confront me and how I would handle it.

I was the first to get out of the car and immediately I was greeted with a bone-crushing hug.

The lady, who I later learned to be mute, held me in this hug for what seemed like a good

few minutes, and it honestly took my breath away! This is one of those moments that will

be imprinted on my mind forever. When she finally released me from her iron grip, I was left

with tears in my eyes. She quickly moved round all the rest of us hugging, greeting or using

universal sign language to ask if we had fags.

Later I went to fill up my water bottle. The site where we were working was on one side of a

long building, which divided us from the residents, who sat out in the courtyard on the

other side of the building. To get to the water cooler, I had to walk past the courtyard to the

second building. There was music playing in the background and there must have been

about 20 residents sat out in the shade. I felt slightly uneasy at the number of people sat

rocking on the floor, a few people were wearing strait-jackets to stop them hurting

themselves. A lady called Christina put on a song about chicken, before dragging me over to

dance with her. Suddenly the atmosphere changed and everyone was clapping their hands

and dancing. Every time I walked past a few of the residents would wave and shout hello.

Every other day we had a workday: two teams, two shifts a day. Each time I came, I was

surprised by our progress. It was hard work and it was hot but finding inspiration to put the

effort in was easy, these people had so little, they’d been dealt such a poor hand in life…

Frameworks were bolted together, holes were dug, beams were painted, and concrete was

mixed, poured and left to set. The afternoon team one day didn’t get back till 9pm, but we

were on schedule!! Each night we’d enjoy Sara’s cooking, sit round a fire, enjoy being

together and reflect a little on how lucky our lives were.

Our trip wasn’t all work and no play, we had some great times messing about in the river

and sat around the campfire, and then of course there were our days off.

Our first ‘rest’ day, the sun was shining but without the fierce heat we’d had and with a light

breeze, perfect for hiking to the top of Creasta Cocosului (the Cockerel’s Crest) - a dormant

volcano and the highest point for miles around. We were guided to the top by Arpi, a local

scout leader, and a group of his scouts. The walk was easy at the start, along forestry tracks

but the last section was hard work. Arpi guided some of us to the top of the rocky ridge that

gives the mountain its name. It was a truly breath-taking experience. We thanked our hosts

for an amazing day and headed back to camp. Having changed we went into town to eat

out: pizza and intermittent Wi-Fi - what more could we want!?

Our second trip was to Mogosa, a beautiful mountain lake at the foot of a ski slope. Most of

the group had by now been reunited with their baggage. We bombed and flipped off the

diving platforms into the cool blue lake; we swam, and we pedaloed. Some of the boys

decided to swim around the lake which we estimated was about a kilometre all the way

around. We bought chips at the café and drank cold coke and real Lavazza Coffee at the bar

- this was the life. Then the sky darkened and within minutes a storm unleashed. Half an

hour later with no sign of it letting up we headed home, then on to the restaurant. We were

given the go ahead to order “Gigantica” the family size pizza. There was barely enough room

on the table…

Our final work day was manic. I thought we’d achieved so much already but on the last day

it really was flying up. We knew this was it, the last day - it HAD to get done. Despite the

heat and the tiredness no one was slacking. This was us together proving that we COULD do

it. One by one the pieces of equipment were finished, the swing seats were hung, the roof

put on the pavilion. I couldn’t believe we’d done it, it looked so professional. The residents

were going to love it. It turned out to be a very long day but as we went home, exhausted,

we knew that we had done a good thing. We all ate a hearty portion of Sarah and Dan’s

curry back on site that night!

Our last full day in Romania was no less jam packed than the others. We began the day at

Jonny the Priest’s Church, which is an entirely wooden building and a world heritage site.

Some of the wall paintings are 300 years old. It was impressive and quite beautiful. We

moved on to ‘The Memorial’ a museum in an old prison where resistance fighters who

fought against communism were imprisoned. Finally the Happy Cemetery was a stop off,

more for the souvenir tat and street food that’s on offer than any happiness that the place

exudes. Let’s be honest – it was still a cemetery!

Finally we made our way back to the care home to hand over the garden to the residents.

We went with Puiu to buy balloons, juice and cake, to take to the orphanage. We set these

up before the residents were allowed out. I was proud of the results we had achieved and

excited to see how the residents would react. When they were allowed out, many ran

towards the new equipment and began to try things out. I noticed a man in a wheelchair

was sat on his own looking upset, which contrasted with the joyful atmosphere of the

others. I walked over and passed him a balloon, at which his face lit up and he gave me the

most heart-warming smile. Christina took a great liking to the swing, and part of me

wondered if she’d ever used one before.

Going back to the orphanage for the party was by far the most rewarding experience I have ever had. It was humbling to see how something so simple could make others so happy. Reflecting on all the planning, fundraising and building of the project, I was sad it had come to an end, but I felt extremely proud at what we’d achieved. I’m grateful to have been in the lucky position to give others, who had very little, an opportunity for a small amount of stimulation, and to make what is hopefully a positive change in their lives, as it is mine.

And then we had to say goodbye. It was incredibly emotional for me and I found myself overwhelmed by a mixture of feelings. I was obviously very happy to have visited and helped the care home, but I was also really sad, knowing what these people had gone through and the circumstance that they were in. I realised just how lucky I was. The overall mood on the campsite was melancholy. After having such an amazing week in

Romania we were all sad to be packing up. I felt slightly relieved that I didn’t have to spend

another night in the tent but I would have loved to be able to spend more time in the

amazing countryside. Saying goodbye to Puiu dampened the mood further, as we got onto

the crowded minibus, and waved goodbye to the field, which had been our home.

After a long drive, we finally arrived in Budapest - it was stunning. After an hour, we set off

for our Danube cruise. The boat tour was magical with all the lit up buildings! When we got

back to the hostel we all spent a little time exploring which ended with one of the best

night’s sleep I have ever had.

We didn’t think that the next day would top the boat trip but... We breakfasted in a

Hungarian version of Greggs then set off for Buda Castle, up the funicular railway, a 70

degree railway going straight up a hill. From there we went to a craft market where they

offered lots of souvenirs including knives and boxes that were impossible to open. Then we

walked to Saint Matthias church and later watched the Budapest Iron Man competition. We

had great fun cheering and clapping the cyclists before travelling home on the plane.

I’m not sure there are appropriate words that can explain how that relatively small sum of

money made something so special for the orphans ,and I’d go so far as say a life changing

experience for the builders of the playground. So I know we would all like to say a massive

thank you. You supported a project that gave people who have almost nothing, something

permanent, solid and made with love.

The message that I would give to our financial supporters would be thank you. Thank you so

much for helping me to open my eyes and see that my life is so easily set out in front of me

and that they have helped some really good people make some serious changes in the lives

of these young adults. There was no real motive for you to do what you did, but you were

kind and caring enough to help us do our job. Twenty of us went to Romania but we felt like

we had a 21st member back at home.

IF YOU’D LIKE TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT OUR TRIP PLEASE JOIN US FOR OUR ROMANIA

CELEBRATION EVENING, WEST COKER SCOUT HUT, SUN 16th OCTOBER, 7 – 8:30PM.