Dezna: Torch Trust for the Blind in Romania

This is a copy of a speech I made to my local church, who gave me part of the money which allowed me to go over to Romania. The ten days I spent over there was one of the most enjoyable and also most heart-wrenching things I've ever done. If anyone is contemplating going abroad and getting involved in something like this, I'd really recommend you do.

Some of you may be aware that over the summer I was in Romania, helping out at a camp for blind and partially sighted kids. The very best part of the experience had to be the 11 hours worth of travelling each way. Three hours in a car to Heathrow, a two hour flight and then another 6 hours in a mini-bus to take us from Budapest, over the Romanian border and finally into Dezna. When we finally arrived we were greeted by this.

Apparently the normal camp-site had been booked by another party, and this was the last ditch effort to keep the camp going. The land the camp was built on was actually scheduled to be handed back into private ownership from the post-revolution government on the first of September, and it took a fair bit of effort on the part of the Romanian staff to convince them not to start winding down until after we'd been able to use it.

We had a day to settle in and for the helpers to get to know each other before the camp proper began. The kids were coming from all over Romania to this camp, some of them travelling for more than 20 hours on a coach. When they arrived the helpers starting mingling with the children. Some of the less disabled kids started a volleyball game, which carried on for pretty much the entire week of the camp.

After the initial hectic evening we fell into a standard pattern for most of the camp. After breakfast at 8 we set-up the dining area for arts and crafts. The blind children in particular seemed to get enormous satisfaction out of making necklaces, probably due to the different shapes and textures to all the beads. There were various activities spread throughout the week, such as painting and card making, as well as the ever present Lego and plasticine.

There was a break for lunch around 12, with some free time after for an afternoon siesta or just generally playing around the camp-site. Then in the afternoon, weather permitting, we set out for our local trips. One of the first of these was a trek up the side of a local hill, a lovely climb through woods and an open meadow which left the helpers all winded, if not the kids. There were some absolutely fantastic views from the top though, in amongst the ruins of an ancient monestary. Other times we went to a local outdoor swimming pool. Despite the cramped mini-bus rides there and back the kids absolutely loved it, staying in the chilly waters far longer than was probably sensible for them.

In the evenings it was time for the group meeting in the dining hall. Mike Townsend, who's been organising this camp for many years now, generally told a story and talked to the children about god, backed up by a local translator and Braille books he'd bought to give to the children. Then there was time for the children to make a noise, with the 'Dezna despots' as Mike so peculiarly called them. Not the most rhythmic coherent of musicians, but you could see that they were enjoying themselves. After that the children and helpers tended to wander off their separate ways for the night, although some stuck around for a little while longer.

There were some kid there who you really made a connection with. Several of the children were actually albino, in addition to being extremely camera-shy. You had cute kids like Timmie, who kept chatting on at you although you couldn't understand a single word he said. Then there were some who were truly inspirational. Manu and his sister Michaela were both blind, but it was obvious that they'd always relied on each other. They were both perpetually hunched over, as they'd never needed to lift their heads. Seeing them chase a ball together, them rolling it across the floor to each other really bought home what self reliance these two had. That made it even worse when we realised that Manu actually had cigarette burns up his arms and back of his legs, care of one of his old orphanages.

Some of the children had come from a very rough background. For instance Marianne, one of the partially sighted lads, had a stomach ulcer because he refused to eat the food served to him in his orphanage as it was so bad. This made it all the more gut-wrenching when it came time to say goodbye to the kids, for helpers and the children both. On the last day we held a 'talent show' at Casa Torch, the orphanage that the Townsend's have been building in Dezna for the last 10 years. It's getting close to completion now, with just a few more years worth of work needing to be done. Some of the children have the most amazing voices, and it was incredible to think what Case Torch could be like in just a few short years with visually impaired children like them given a safe place to life.

I must be honest and say that when I first sat down to think of what to say, I drew almost a total blank. So much went on at this camp, so much that I'm still thinking about now and probably will for a long time to come that I didn't know how to convey it over in just a few short minutes. I'd just like to thank you for helping me go over to Romania and take part in this.