Help AMURTEL Family children in Romania overcome trauma through adventure!

INVEST IN IMPORTANT LIFE SKILLS TO PREPARE OUR YOUTH FOR LIFE

In the first week September - you can take the youth on a very special type of expedition with "Outward Bound Romania". I have been collaborating with Outward Bound for years, and it is an amazing program that really helps develop extremely important life skills in the teens and pre-teens, such as cooperation, problem solving, orientation, teamwork, communication, overcoming limits and fears and more. In my experience now of 15 years working with the children and youth at AMURTEL Family children's home- this program had a very important impact on the children that had the opportunity to go on multiple expeditions. It is both an enormous amount of fun and helps them to be well-prepared for the transition to adulthood! Indeed, it has become a type of "rite-of-passage" tradition for the youth in our AMURTEL Family.

GIVE GRIGORE SKILLS AND CONFIDENCE AS HE PREPARES TO LEAVE THE NEST SOON

Grigore* is already 17, and looking forward to the freedom of adult life. This may be his last opportunity to participate in this important program. Last year, it really helped him to develop his leadership skills, but also to discover his limitations and get very thoughtful feedback on ways to overcome them. It is not only the challenging experiences in themselves that create experiential learning, but rather the expert way that the Outward Bound instructors facilitate reflection and feedback. I feel strongly that the type of interpersonal awareness that results can be far more important for success than grades in school, especially for those, like Grigore that have educational disadvantages. He only first started school a year ago, when he came to stay with us. Non-formal learning is a very effective way to reach and inspire him! Here he is - very proud of the way he figured out to suspend the cooking pot over the fire.

OVERCOMING CHALLENGES - A COMING OF AGE EXPERIENCE

This year, we will be hiking through the mountains in Sovata, spending the nights in tents we learn to construct ourselves from plastic tarps and sticks. We will learn canoeing and build a catamaran! The children will plan and lead the expedition themselves, doing the planning, packing, cooking, tent construction, fire-making etc with minimal grown-up intervention. You can build up important life-skills to the 8 teens and pre-teens in AMURTEL Family children's home!

When you this "Outward Bound" expedition you are directly helping Grigore and all of the children to build confidence, teamwork and problem-solving abilities through challenge and adventure.

All of this is extremely reasonably priced - it is only 160 euros per child for the professional Outward Bound guides, equipment, food and lodging for 5 days.

FIRST GOAL REACHED - YOUTH SEASIDE TRIP SUCCESS!

Thanks all of those of you that donated already to this summer campaign and to the generosity of a friend of mine in Bucharest who owns a property right on the beach at Navodari, Romania - we had the wonderful opportunity use one of the apartments for free for 5 days! The four older girls came for the first 2 1/2 days, and then halfway through the week, they switched with the four older boys. We took a lot of special precautions - doing our own extra disinfection of the space when we arrived, and all of our own cooking in the apartment to avoid crowds and restaurants.

This was the very first time that Cami* and Grigore had the chance to experience the seaside. Like all of the children, they came from very poor families and had never gone on vacation before.

LITTLE ONES NOW EAGERLY AWAIT THEIR TURN AT THE SEASIDE!

In September, the small children will also have a chance to go for five days. We felt that it was important that the children have the opportunity to be in smaller groups this year, as the teen girls, teen boys, and smaller children all have very different needs and interests, it gives them a break from the larger group, and it is safer. So your donations will also be covering that trip!

90 DAYS WITHOUT LEAVING THE CHILDREN'S HOME PROPERTY

During the initial phase of the pandemic, the children could not leave the home for more than 90 days, locked down together with their caregivers who had to stay in the home 24/7 for 14 day shifts. Like children all over Romania, they finished school online, which was difficult and chaotic. It has been an intense and stressful year so far - but you can help them to have fun, relaxing adventures this summer and at the same time investing in their future. We use these trips as a fun way for the children to practice making decisions, taking responsibility and exercising practical skills like planning, budgeting, shopping, cooking and cleaning!

YOU CAN HELP THEM RECLAIM THEIR CHILDHOODS

The twelve children at AMURTEL Family children's home are placed in our care by the child protection authorities because of child abuse and neglect. All of the children that have lived through different degrees of abuse, hunger, poverty and lack of appropriate nurturing care. While their past cannot be changed - what we can do now, is to give them back their childhoods and prepare them for a successful future!

* (I changed the child's name for privacy)