NEWS

The time flies by and here we are in the summer of 2008 with a lot to report and, finally, something tangible to relate about the clinic.

We have made four clinical trips to Romania since the last Newsletter and have welcomed some new volunteers/conscripts to our teams, notably Sarah Bacon, a specialist paediatric Physiotherapist, and Ian Massey, Prosthetist, who have both added so much knowledge and experience to our teams.  It really is amazing the effect that coming on a trip has on people: before they even get home they are all talking about their next trip!  Perhaps we should issue a warning when people volunteer; it is never a one-off, always expect to come back again and again.

We had a further meeting with the Mayor of Cumpana where we submitted the proposed plans for the building and the business plan for the operation of the clinic.  She seemed very impressed and we hope to formally sign for the land within the next few weeks.  We also met with the Romanian Architects who advised us that the existing building on the site will have to be demolished as it will not pass the current earthquake resistance regulations.  In some respects this is good because we will be starting from scratch with all options open to us in terms of layout of the clinic.  It does, however, have some cost implications, which means we will need a bit more money.  We have planned the build in four stages so that we can start small and, as more funding becomes available, we can extend accordingly.

Artist impression of the proposed new clinic

Floor plan of the proposed new clinic

THE TEAMS AT WORK IN SLATINA & CARACAL
Report from Ken McCrea, Clinical Director

It has been really pleasing to see the progress made by the children we have been treating for over four years in Slatina.  Stefan now attends school and continues to develop physically as well as intellectually and I’m ashamed to say his writing is much neater than mine!  Ana has made amazing progress in terms of her ability to communicate and Mihai is now able to walk with only having one hand held, a remarkable transformation.

We continue to increase our patient numbers and basically operate on the principle that if someone appears, we will see them.  On the last trip, some concerned parents came all the way from Suceava, a five hour drive, so that we could examine and treat their son.  The jungle telegraph must be very effective in Romania as we never advertise the fact locally that we are working there.

IT’S ALONG WAY TO CONSTANTA

It appears to be a common theme that our patients are far travelled.  Petrisor, Marius and Vasillica had an average journey time of eight hours to get to the clinic in Constanta .  The sad fact is they have no other option.  There is no local provision of Prostheses where they live and, in reality, the costs are way beyond their means, so the service we provide for them is absolutely priceless.  We really do transform their lives and, without us, they would be in dire straights.

Petrisor gets his new leg

Ken explaining alignment to Marius.

Vasillica after some repairs to her leg.       

Ian and Arthur hard at work!

At UK prices, the limbs we have supplied over the past twelve months would have cost around £40,000 but, because we have been able to recycle discarded components from the UK, we have only spent around £3500 on this area.  However each trip to Romania costs around £450 per person because of flight costs and accommodation.  The sooner we have our clinic with accommodation attached the better, so that we can reduce costs and have more money available for limbs.

As far as our fund-raising efforts are concerned, our latest DVD will be available by the time you read this and, if you would like a copy, please let us know. We will be sending it with the various grant applications that we will be making. If you have any suggestions for fund-raising ideas we would love to hear them.

Thanks to our  supporters:

Mick Kempster who cycled hundreds of miles and raised over £500.
Arthur Beavers who raised £500
The skilled technicians at Cardiff, Preston and Newcastle who helped build the limbs and devices.
Chas. A Blatchford & Sons Ltd for their continued support and assistance.
Mr Jon Minshaw for his very generous donation.
The “Volunteers”: Ian, Kevin, Arthur, Mick, Liz, Sarah and Deborah who all put up with Ken on the trips!
Kathleen Lawrence-Smith (aged 90) did an article for the Anchor magazine, which she puts together, about Cornel and the Charity.  Readers donated £122.
Donations of varying amounts from people at Woodgreen Evangelical Church, Worcester.  In particular, thanks to several pensioners who have each given £10 or £20.  Lots of small amounts such as these all add up!

Cornel and Ken are available to speak at “after dinner” venues and we would welcome any offers of help with fund-raising.  Please contact Doreen on 01905 354363.