Romanian teenager understands the value of giving back to her community
The Romanian teens wisely concluded that there are many forms of richness and many of them have nothing to do with money or material goods. Being healthy, having a loving family, having access to a good education, enjoying time with friends or doing things that make other people happy, are just a few of the things that enrich us spiritually and make us happy.
Doing things for others is something that Ana Maria, 16, seems to know a lot about. A student in her second year of high school, Ana Maria manages to find time both for school and for volunteering with World Vision. When she was just a little girl, she became part of the sponsorship project developed by World Vision Romania in five rural communities in Iasi County, located about 400 kilometres north east of the capital Bucharest. Costuleni, Ana Maria’s home village was one of these five communities.
“My relationship with World Vision goes back a long time. I think I was in kindergarten when I first participated in an activity organised by the organisation. It was then that I learned that people can do good things for others, without expecting anything in return”.
I learned that people can do good things for others, without expecting anything in return In the years that followed, Ana Maria developed into a very good student and a responsible teenager. In 2008, she was included in a new scholarship project developed by World Vision in Romania called, “I want to be in the ninth grade”, which aims at supporting children with very good school results from poor, rural families, to continue their high school education.
Just one in four rural Romanian teens attends high school, mainly due to poverty which prevents parents from covering the cost of transport and board for students who need to study in the larger towns or cities.
“This project means a lot to me and my family. And I am not talking only about the financial support that it offers, but also about the fact that it offered me the opportunity to develop. I used to be very shy, I wasn’t spending a lot of time outside my home and I wasn’t very comfortable in the company of people I didn’t know. But that all changed when I started attending the monthly meetings that World Vision is organising for us, scholarship students. That gave me the chance to get to know other kids my age and make more friends”, shares Ana Maria.
Eager to contribute in any way they can, Ana Maria and 20 more of her scholarship colleagues volunteered to organise a series of events dedicated to children around International Children’s Day, at the beginning of June. The volunteers helped to organise and perform a play in front of 700 children from six villages in Vaslui County, located 60 kilometres west of Iasi County, where World Vision Romania has just opened a new office.
Then, during the summer, Ana Maria and other scholarship students from Costuleni commune teamed up to run summer activities for the children of the communities. At the end of the summer, parents, local authorities and World Vision representatives watched the children perform on stage, in a competition between the four villages in Costuleni commune.
It was amazing. We had lots of fun during the summer. I worked closely with 17 young children... “It was amazing. We had lots of fun during the summer. I worked closely with 17 young children and it wasn’t easy. We didn’t have a place to meet because the schools were closed. We managed by getting together and rehearsing in the school yard. We performed a few songs, poems and a small theatre play. I was a bit sad when we didn’t win and I even cried. I knew how hard the kids worked and I wanted them to know how great they all were. But we’ll get our ‘revenge’ next summer”, says Ana Maria with a gleam in her eye.
“Ana Maria is not just a very good student but also a valuable volunteer. Her participation in events such as the clown show, the kids’ talent contest and also the book raising campaign that we had in the spring were just few of the many occasions that she proved her willingness to sacrifice her free time and bring joy to kids in need,” said Simona Stratulat, social worker and coordinator of the “I want to be in the ninth grade” project, in Iasi.
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Doing things for others is something that Ana Maria, 16, seems to know a lot about. A student in her second year of high school, Ana Maria manages to find time both for school and for volunteering with World Vision. When she was just a little girl, she became part of the sponsorship project developed by World Vision Romania in five rural communities in Iasi County, located about 400 kilometres north east of the capital Bucharest. Costuleni, Ana Maria’s home village was one of these five communities.
“My relationship with World Vision goes back a long time. I think I was in kindergarten when I first participated in an activity organised by the organisation. It was then that I learned that people can do good things for others, without expecting anything in return”.
I learned that people can do good things for others, without expecting anything in return In the years that followed, Ana Maria developed into a very good student and a responsible teenager. In 2008, she was included in a new scholarship project developed by World Vision in Romania called, “I want to be in the ninth grade”, which aims at supporting children with very good school results from poor, rural families, to continue their high school education.
Just one in four rural Romanian teens attends high school, mainly due to poverty which prevents parents from covering the cost of transport and board for students who need to study in the larger towns or cities.
“This project means a lot to me and my family. And I am not talking only about the financial support that it offers, but also about the fact that it offered me the opportunity to develop. I used to be very shy, I wasn’t spending a lot of time outside my home and I wasn’t very comfortable in the company of people I didn’t know. But that all changed when I started attending the monthly meetings that World Vision is organising for us, scholarship students. That gave me the chance to get to know other kids my age and make more friends”, shares Ana Maria.
Eager to contribute in any way they can, Ana Maria and 20 more of her scholarship colleagues volunteered to organise a series of events dedicated to children around International Children’s Day, at the beginning of June. The volunteers helped to organise and perform a play in front of 700 children from six villages in Vaslui County, located 60 kilometres west of Iasi County, where World Vision Romania has just opened a new office.
Then, during the summer, Ana Maria and other scholarship students from Costuleni commune teamed up to run summer activities for the children of the communities. At the end of the summer, parents, local authorities and World Vision representatives watched the children perform on stage, in a competition between the four villages in Costuleni commune.
It was amazing. We had lots of fun during the summer. I worked closely with 17 young children... “It was amazing. We had lots of fun during the summer. I worked closely with 17 young children and it wasn’t easy. We didn’t have a place to meet because the schools were closed. We managed by getting together and rehearsing in the school yard. We performed a few songs, poems and a small theatre play. I was a bit sad when we didn’t win and I even cried. I knew how hard the kids worked and I wanted them to know how great they all were. But we’ll get our ‘revenge’ next summer”, says Ana Maria with a gleam in her eye.
“Ana Maria is not just a very good student but also a valuable volunteer. Her participation in events such as the clown show, the kids’ talent contest and also the book raising campaign that we had in the spring were just few of the many occasions that she proved her willingness to sacrifice her free time and bring joy to kids in need,” said Simona Stratulat, social worker and coordinator of the “I want to be in the ninth grade” project, in Iasi.
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