Hello Everyone!
I promised you a couple of weeks ago that I would bring you up to speed on things that have been happening with PHFTC! Life has been hectic so I am just getting around to writing this and am thrilled to share!
I have been deeply blessed by my Board Members- Aileen, Rick, Amy, and Debbi! We have been busy setting up a budget, writing our bi-laws and making decisions. One of our biggest decisions has been to set up a 501c3 for Project Hope for the Children! This has been a step that I have contemplated many times, but have felt too overwhelmed to do on my own. With the help of our Treasurer/CPA and Julie, our attorney we are going to proceed! Please pray that this next step goes smoothly as we transition from being under PCC to our own non-profit. Stay tuned for me on this!
March has kicked off our 2014 Fundraising and Project 11 on 11 is still going on! We have had a good start with 3 people promising $11 a month for a year. Another person donated $100 and one of my churches chose PHFTC to donate over $480! Still looking for at least 7 more people to join in this month! You can donate from anywhere in the world by clicking on the PayPal button on the Homepage on our website or mailing a check to PCC, 6983 Chase Rd. Fabius, NY 13063 -Memo line Project Hope for the Children.
Some more exciting news is that we have been asked by a nurse in another pediatric hospital in Romania to donate diapers and wipes so she can help the abandoned babies warehoused there. This hospital is just like ours was 10 years ago. The babies are languishing with no diapers, wipes, baths, decent food or clothes. The hospital does not even have water some days. We are going to have several boxes of diapers and a few of wipes sent to her and see how the arrangement works. In the summer, I am hoping to gain permission to enter this hospital and see what else can be done for these little ones!
And lastly, I have a prayer request for you all. Many of you know that I was in a car accident a year and half ago. I injured my left knee and neck. I am still suffering pain, stiffness and many sleepless nights from this. I have had many different types of treatments and nothing seems to give me long-lasting relief. My knee could be permanent and we are waiting on the insurance company to give permission for a pain therapy treatment on my neck. All this to say, that I am tiring of the pain, fatigue and limitations this has put on my family and myself! Please pray for total healing so I can function normally again! Thank-you!
Please remember to LIKE us on FaceBook and spread the word about PHFTC
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Project-Hope-for-the-Children/146117805560061?ref=hl
Many Blessings!
Mona
A Not for Profit Christian Foundation helping the Orphans and Needy in Romania and Beyond.
Wednesday, March 19, 2014
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Fundraising 2014
For those of you who know me, you know I like numbers and how things relate to a certain number! I am very excited about a fundraiser that I am going to offer! This is going to be a great way to kick off our 2014 Fundraising Season! Please consider joining in to support our babies this year!
Today is the 11th of March and 11 years ago in March I flew over to Romania to live! That is when I Project Hope was founded in my heart and funding the abandoned babies with supplies started! I would like to propose three donating options for your consideration.
During the month of March if you would:
Give a one time donation of $11 to PHFTC
Give a one time donation of $11 for every member of your household (Pets included:)
Give a monthly donation of $11 from you or your family. ( Every month or a lump sum amount is fine)
Eleven dollars will buy several packages of wipes, several bottles of shampoo and soap or 1/2 pack of diapers!
If 11 of you give $11 then we would have $121 for supplies; if 111 of you gave then we would $1221 and we could keep going... We need to raise at least $10,000 for this year's budget! Get your families, your churches and even groups involved if you want and lets see how much we collect for Project 11 on 11!
You can donate using our PayPal button on our home page on the website or you can send cash or checks made out to Pompey Community Church. Memo line- Project Hope for the Children. Mail to 6983 Chase Rd, Fabius, NY 13063.
Thanks!
Today is the 11th of March and 11 years ago in March I flew over to Romania to live! That is when I Project Hope was founded in my heart and funding the abandoned babies with supplies started! I would like to propose three donating options for your consideration.
During the month of March if you would:
Give a one time donation of $11 to PHFTC
Give a one time donation of $11 for every member of your household (Pets included:)
Give a monthly donation of $11 from you or your family. ( Every month or a lump sum amount is fine)
Eleven dollars will buy several packages of wipes, several bottles of shampoo and soap or 1/2 pack of diapers!
If 11 of you give $11 then we would have $121 for supplies; if 111 of you gave then we would $1221 and we could keep going... We need to raise at least $10,000 for this year's budget! Get your families, your churches and even groups involved if you want and lets see how much we collect for Project 11 on 11!
You can donate using our PayPal button on our home page on the website or you can send cash or checks made out to Pompey Community Church. Memo line- Project Hope for the Children. Mail to 6983 Chase Rd, Fabius, NY 13063.
Thanks!
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Great Article!
This article explains so well what is happening to the children in Romania! It also shows how important PHFTC is even when it seems small! If you want to join in and help, please check out our donate page and share this blog with your friends! ~Mona
For Romania's Orphans, Adoption Is Still A Rarity
hide captionA disabled and orphaned Romanian child in his bed at the Targu Jiu orphanage in southwestern Romania in 2009. Romania has, in general, improved conditions in orphanages that provoked outrage when they were exposed internationally nearly a quarter-century ago. However, some 70,000 kids are still in the care of the state.
A disabled and orphaned Romanian child in his bed at the Targu Jiu orphanage in southwestern Romania in 2009. Romania has, in general, improved conditions in orphanages that provoked outrage when they were exposed internationally nearly a quarter-century ago. However, some 70,000 kids are still in the care of the state.
Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty ImagesThe 1989 overthrow and execution of Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu provided the first glimpse of a country that had been mostly closed to the outside world — and many of the scenes were appalling.
Among the most disturbing were images of tens of thousands of abandoned children suffering abuse and neglect in Romania's orphanages. Many were confined to cribs, wallowing in their own filth and facing mental health issues.
There was outrage in the West. Foreign charities came in to help. Europeans and Americans adopted thousands of children.
Nearly a quarter-century later, the fate of Romania's abandoned children is an unresolved issue. While the orphanages, in general, have improved, the number of children in state care — more than 70,000 — is nearly the same as it was in 1989. Many in the field say there are tens of thousands more on the streets who are not being counted.
Romania remains a relatively poor country, and the legacy of Ceausescu's policies has not been completely erased.
Complicated Laws
Romania's adoption laws are complex and are seen as one of several reasons there are relatively few adoptions domestically. Annually, between 700 and 900 children are adopted of the 1,200 to 1,400 considered adoptable. Foreign adoptions, which were common during the 1990s, were halted a decade ago.
hide captionUnder Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaucescu, handicapped and orphaned children were neglected, unbathed and malnourished in orphanages throughout the country. This photo shows orphans at a state institution in Grandinari, Romania in 1989, the year Ceaucescu was overthrown and killed.
Under Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceaucescu, handicapped and orphaned children were neglected, unbathed and malnourished in orphanages throughout the country. This photo shows orphans at a state institution in Grandinari, Romania in 1989, the year Ceaucescu was overthrown and killed.
Isabel Ellsen/CorbisBogdan Panait, head of Romania's Office for Adoptions, says he hopes the new law can bump the number of children considered adoptable to 2,000. But this number would still be less than 3 percent of the children in state care and less than 9 percent of those residing in non-family situations.
"It's not a system for children's rights. It's a system for parents' rights," says Bogdan Simion, executive director of SERA Romania, a nonprofit foundation that is one of the largest financial contributors to Romania's child welfare system.
Consider the case of Tatiana. She spent two years in a baby ward at a Romanian hospital because she had no birth certificate, her caregivers say. But the law states a birth certificate should be issued within 45 days, even if it means listing the mother and father as "unknown."
In Romania, to be considered "adoptable," a child's biological parents must be deceased or indicate that they have no interest in having a relationship with the child. But beyond this, all relatives as distant as siblings of grandparents also must sign away rights to the child. The aim to reintegrate a child into his biological family, for better or worse, is considered the ultimate goal.
Defining Relationships
The biggest change in the new law is a child's eligibility for adoption should be considered after a year without a parental relationship.
But what a "relationship" is, exactly, is unclear. How frequent must contact be to constitute a relationship?
"As often as possible," says Ramona Popa, ROA's cabinet director. "It depends. There are possibilities because sometimes it is very hard for them to come."
hide captionRomanian orphanages were routinely overcrowded and children often lacked toys, as was the case at Bucharest's Number One Orphanage in 1991. A new law should make adoptions a bit easier. However, adoptions remain relatively rare.
Romanian orphanages were routinely overcrowded and children often lacked toys, as was the case at Bucharest's Number One Orphanage in 1991. A new law should make adoptions a bit easier. However, adoptions remain relatively rare.
Siumui Chan/APMothers have the option of leaving their newborns at the hospital when they go home. They do not have to give up the rights to the child at this point –- or ever. Some kids are lucky enough to get moved into foster care, which is required prior to adoption eligibility. Others remain at the hospital until they are 2, and are then moved to orphanages.
One foster mother living in Eastern Romania says she considers the two children she fosters her own. But she's unlikely to adopt them. She worries what would happen if she brought the idea up to the children's mother at this point. She's afraid the mother, an alcoholic and victim of domestic violence, would block the adoption and, possibly, take the kids back.
"It's a hard situation because they are not legally adopted," says the foster mother's biological daughter, Cristina. "But they are so much a part of my family. But they are not legally abandoned and they are not adopted either."
For Panait, there are many challenges. Any new approach not only requires the buy-in of a separate-but-intertwined child welfare system – but also relies on changing the minds of a people.
"This is a first step," he says of the revised law. "We are trying, after we are finalizing this first step, to find a solution for all the children. And after we will try all the possibilities. Probably we will have to find other solutions."
Ceausescu's Legacy
Many of the problems today can still be traced back to Ceausescu. When he came to power in the mid-1960s, he aimed to create a race of Romanian worker bees. He instructed all women to have at least five children, and outlawed abortion and birth control.
But many parents couldn't afford to feed and clothe families of seven or more, and children were abandoned in the thousands each year and the state orphanage system grew.
Many thought the state would be able to do a better job of taking care of their kids than they could. And this mentality, especially among the poor, remains today.
Most of those who apply to adopt children are couples who have been unable to have children on their own. Yet few Romanian couples are open to adopting children with disabilities or those of Roma descent.
Meanwhile, studies by the U.S.-funded Bucharest Early Intervention Project and other groups show that mental, physical and emotional issues that result from living in a non-family setting, such as anxiety and attachment disorders, have a much better chance of reversal if the child moves into a family setting before they turn 2.
But within the current structure, it's difficult to get children into the arms of a couple before this small window of opportunity slips away.
Tatiana, the 2-year-old toddler left at a Romanian hospital, was lucky enough to form an attachment to a caregiver who took a special interest in her.
"To get to adoptability you will need a period of 18 months, which is huge. For the child this is huge. For the small child it is huge," Simion says. "It touches the very soul of its brain development. So this has to stop."
Meghan Collins Sullivan is a former supervising editor at NPR. Her reporting in Romania is supported in part by a Rosalynn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Every Person has a Story....
2004
As I gazed at the young girl bending over the crib and smiling at her baby, I struggled with emotions. Yesterday, I had been angry and incredulous that someone could abandon her baby at the hospital where there was so little comfort or concern given. Now as I watched this teenage girl smiling at her baby, I wondered if I had been too harsh.
I continued to watch the girl struggle to feed her baby. She precariously held a spoon of potatoes over her prone baby and attempted to get the food into the baby's mouth without it falling onto the bed or choking the baby. She was trying... but had no idea how to care for her little blessing. I tentatively walked over to her, braving the stench that rose from her body and offered her a smile. I asked if I could feed another baby with her and set about modeling to her how I fed my baby. She watched me carefully as I propped my baby up and fed her with the spoon. She smiled and copied me. I chatted to her with my limited Romanian and she did so with hers.
I remember showing her how to clean her baby up after feeding and changing his diaper. She smiled appreciatively for the tips and for the courtesy that I was extending to a gypsy- something that rarely happens in the country. We forged a bond that day and when I explained to her later that the only reason her baby had diapers, wipes and cereal was because my ministry was providing it, concern rose in her eyes! You see, she thought that her baby would be better cared for in a state run, Romanian hospital than in her village. Sometimes that is true, but in this case, it was not. This young teenage girl made an adult decision and took her baby home that day.
And I learned something that day, as well. Every person has a story and it shapes their decisions. Sometimes those decisions are based out of selfishness, but sometimes they aren't. It might not look smart, loving or selfless to us outsiders, but not knowing the story we cannot not judge. When a woman leaves her child at the maternity hospital hours after birth it could just be that there is a physically and sexually abusive husband at home and she desperately wants to keep this baby safe. And when she makes this decision, it becomes our responsibility to care for that baby and love on her and keep her safe.
Thank-you for the part you have in that in supporting this Ministry!
~from the Heart~ Mona
As I gazed at the young girl bending over the crib and smiling at her baby, I struggled with emotions. Yesterday, I had been angry and incredulous that someone could abandon her baby at the hospital where there was so little comfort or concern given. Now as I watched this teenage girl smiling at her baby, I wondered if I had been too harsh.
I continued to watch the girl struggle to feed her baby. She precariously held a spoon of potatoes over her prone baby and attempted to get the food into the baby's mouth without it falling onto the bed or choking the baby. She was trying... but had no idea how to care for her little blessing. I tentatively walked over to her, braving the stench that rose from her body and offered her a smile. I asked if I could feed another baby with her and set about modeling to her how I fed my baby. She watched me carefully as I propped my baby up and fed her with the spoon. She smiled and copied me. I chatted to her with my limited Romanian and she did so with hers.
I remember showing her how to clean her baby up after feeding and changing his diaper. She smiled appreciatively for the tips and for the courtesy that I was extending to a gypsy- something that rarely happens in the country. We forged a bond that day and when I explained to her later that the only reason her baby had diapers, wipes and cereal was because my ministry was providing it, concern rose in her eyes! You see, she thought that her baby would be better cared for in a state run, Romanian hospital than in her village. Sometimes that is true, but in this case, it was not. This young teenage girl made an adult decision and took her baby home that day.
And I learned something that day, as well. Every person has a story and it shapes their decisions. Sometimes those decisions are based out of selfishness, but sometimes they aren't. It might not look smart, loving or selfless to us outsiders, but not knowing the story we cannot not judge. When a woman leaves her child at the maternity hospital hours after birth it could just be that there is a physically and sexually abusive husband at home and she desperately wants to keep this baby safe. And when she makes this decision, it becomes our responsibility to care for that baby and love on her and keep her safe.
Thank-you for the part you have in that in supporting this Ministry!
~from the Heart~ Mona
Monday, December 23, 2013
Merry Christmas!
Christmas Blessings to you All!
I want to thank you all for your support this past year! It has been a great year for Project Hope for the Children and we have so many things to be thankful for! Just a quick recap of the year:
Alina has continued to work for our ministry and is such a valuable asset! She has had so many wonderful sponsors pay her salary and she wants everyone to know how grateful she is! She has persevered through physical ailments and the hardships of losing several of our babies to heaven this year so your support is so encouraging to her!
Donations were generous this year and we were able to not only collaborate with our usual foundations in the hospital and buy our regular supplies, but we also purchased $2,000 worth of medicine and diapers for two additional foundations! My heart was so Blessed to be able to do this!
The whole Cummings family traveled to Romania this year and it is so special for me to hear my four year olds talk about the babies in the hospital and how much help they need! "Train them up in the way they shall go and when they are old they shall not depart from it...."
We have completed the renovations of our supply room in the Plugar's basement! Ali and I are so pleased with the finished result and so humbled by the willingness of people here and there to help us!
This blog site is doing well and spreading the word about PHFTC and our Face Book page is gaining more followers. Still trying to tweak the new Mail Chimp updates. We have chosen four lovely individuals to start our Board next month and I can't wait to get started and see what Next Year brings! We have also been Blessed with people spreading the word about the Ministry and I have spoken at several new places this year. Keep up the good work!
Enjoy this Season and remember the God who blesses us so much!
Mona
I want to thank you all for your support this past year! It has been a great year for Project Hope for the Children and we have so many things to be thankful for! Just a quick recap of the year:
Alina has continued to work for our ministry and is such a valuable asset! She has had so many wonderful sponsors pay her salary and she wants everyone to know how grateful she is! She has persevered through physical ailments and the hardships of losing several of our babies to heaven this year so your support is so encouraging to her!
Donations were generous this year and we were able to not only collaborate with our usual foundations in the hospital and buy our regular supplies, but we also purchased $2,000 worth of medicine and diapers for two additional foundations! My heart was so Blessed to be able to do this!
The whole Cummings family traveled to Romania this year and it is so special for me to hear my four year olds talk about the babies in the hospital and how much help they need! "Train them up in the way they shall go and when they are old they shall not depart from it...."
We have completed the renovations of our supply room in the Plugar's basement! Ali and I are so pleased with the finished result and so humbled by the willingness of people here and there to help us!
This blog site is doing well and spreading the word about PHFTC and our Face Book page is gaining more followers. Still trying to tweak the new Mail Chimp updates. We have chosen four lovely individuals to start our Board next month and I can't wait to get started and see what Next Year brings! We have also been Blessed with people spreading the word about the Ministry and I have spoken at several new places this year. Keep up the good work!
Enjoy this Season and remember the God who blesses us so much!
Mona
Friday, December 6, 2013
Suffering
Hello Everyone!
Every now and again I run across an article or such that depicts what children have and do suffer. The one that I watched last night is one that needs to be shared! It is approximately 60 minutes and I do not expect you all to sit for that long; however, please follow the link at the bottom of the page and just watch for 5 or 10 minutes. Make sure you start at the beginning!
What you see is very graphic, but it is all to common. It is why I have this passion for Romani and for the children that we serve. It is why Project Hope for the Children is such a vital mission to these children that have no hope! What you will see are glimpses into what thousands of Romanian children have suffered and a small degree of things I have personally witnessed.
At this Christmas time, please remember how blessed we are and think how you can change someone else's life for the better!
In His Love,
Mona
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyCmwlQcAuo
Every now and again I run across an article or such that depicts what children have and do suffer. The one that I watched last night is one that needs to be shared! It is approximately 60 minutes and I do not expect you all to sit for that long; however, please follow the link at the bottom of the page and just watch for 5 or 10 minutes. Make sure you start at the beginning!
What you see is very graphic, but it is all to common. It is why I have this passion for Romani and for the children that we serve. It is why Project Hope for the Children is such a vital mission to these children that have no hope! What you will see are glimpses into what thousands of Romanian children have suffered and a small degree of things I have personally witnessed.
At this Christmas time, please remember how blessed we are and think how you can change someone else's life for the better!
In His Love,
Mona
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyCmwlQcAuo
Monday, November 11, 2013
An Update
Hello Everyone!
I hoped you all enjoyed Jack's perspective on his trip to Romania. Even though it was his second trip over, it is still so interesting for me to hear his point of views of my "home"! I have a few things occurring within the Ministry that I wanted to fill you in on.
We have received four very special applications for PHFTC's Board! Our treasurer and I reviewed them the other day and were delighted in all of them. They each bring something very special with them and we will be contacting their references soon! Our target date is to meet after the Holidays! Also, please pray for the finance committee at my church; they are undergoing some changes with the new year and we will be getting a new treasurer to oversee PHFTC. So there will be some challenges in that area as well!
A unique event coming up is the Fabius-Pompey Holiday Bazaar that is being held on November 23rd from 10-2pm at the Fabius Community Center. This Bazaar highlights local non-profits and I am so excited to be a part of it this year. If you are looking for a beautiful Christmas wreath or swag come on down! Wreathmania is a business that a friend started to fund Project Hope for the Children! All profits go to the ministry! I will also have bead necklaces for sale to profit the ministry! If anyone has something that you would like to donate for us to sell at this fundraiser please contact me:)
Lastly, our renovations are still coming along! Painfully slow for this New Yorker, but it looks like it is being done well! We have hit a snag with our floor to ceiling shelves! It is very difficult to find real wood in Romania, but I believe thanks to the help of some friends that we have found a place that sells rough cut lumber. I am hoping we can get them sanded and painted and the price will not break the bank!
Also, if you are a facebook friend remember to like our page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Project-Hope-for-the-Children
Many Blessings to you All,
Mona
I hoped you all enjoyed Jack's perspective on his trip to Romania. Even though it was his second trip over, it is still so interesting for me to hear his point of views of my "home"! I have a few things occurring within the Ministry that I wanted to fill you in on.
We have received four very special applications for PHFTC's Board! Our treasurer and I reviewed them the other day and were delighted in all of them. They each bring something very special with them and we will be contacting their references soon! Our target date is to meet after the Holidays! Also, please pray for the finance committee at my church; they are undergoing some changes with the new year and we will be getting a new treasurer to oversee PHFTC. So there will be some challenges in that area as well!
A unique event coming up is the Fabius-Pompey Holiday Bazaar that is being held on November 23rd from 10-2pm at the Fabius Community Center. This Bazaar highlights local non-profits and I am so excited to be a part of it this year. If you are looking for a beautiful Christmas wreath or swag come on down! Wreathmania is a business that a friend started to fund Project Hope for the Children! All profits go to the ministry! I will also have bead necklaces for sale to profit the ministry! If anyone has something that you would like to donate for us to sell at this fundraiser please contact me:)
Lastly, our renovations are still coming along! Painfully slow for this New Yorker, but it looks like it is being done well! We have hit a snag with our floor to ceiling shelves! It is very difficult to find real wood in Romania, but I believe thanks to the help of some friends that we have found a place that sells rough cut lumber. I am hoping we can get them sanded and painted and the price will not break the bank!
Also, if you are a facebook friend remember to like our page at https://www.facebook.com/pages/Project-Hope-for-the-Children
Many Blessings to you All,
Mona
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