Project Underwear Rumania Project Underwear visited Romania, located in Eastern Europe, in August 2003. Although Romania is not considered a Third World country, the need for underwear still exists. As with previous trips, I never decide for myself where Project Underwear will take me. Plans just fall into place at the right moment, all divinely inspired. People often ask me, "Who decides where you're going next?" My response? "God decides that. I just listen for the clues and follow His lead." This past summer I received a telephone call from my girlfriend, Joanne. Joanne proposed going to Romania for two weeks. She had close friends who owned a vacation home on the Black Sea and although they would not be present, they would be more than happy to offer their home to us. At this time, I had no intention of making a P.U. distribution let alone a short vacation. However, I had collected over 700 pairs of underwear that needed to be - sooner or later - distributed to the poor as promised. Moreover, Joanne offered to give me some of her baggage allowance as well as help carry all the heavy bags. Before I could respond, I realized a plan was being orchestrated. I found a traveling companion who was willing to lend a helping hand, an apartment available that would cut expenses, and 700 pairs of underwear waiting to be distributed to needy children. With all these positive circumstances, there was no question in my mind that God was leading me to Romania. Immediately, I got on the Internet and found a Texas-based organization working with Romanian children called Humanity United in Giving Internationally or simply known as HUG Internationally. This non-profit volunteer group aids and shelters orphaned and handicapped children. Their website, www.HUGinternationally.org explains the plight of these innocent children, as well as the progress and difference that HUG is bringing to Romania. I was attracted to this organization and its principles because it exposed the fact that children need to be hugged. In a country where the children are suffering from basic needs such as nourishment, medical treatment, clothing, shelter, heat, etc. HUG Internationally recognizes that the children are also starving for love and affection. Some institutions in Romania have a ratio of child to caregiver as high as 30:1. This ratio may be acceptable in a classroom where the children go home to a loving family . . . but with a ratio as high as this, it is difficult to distribute the wealth of love and affection to every needy child. For more information, call (972) 690-1HUG, e-mail us at: info@HUGinternationally.org Website hosted courtesy of Internet Texom   In 1998, HUG Internationally was one of 150 recipients in the United States to be awarded the George Washington Honor Medal for the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge, Dallas Area Chapter. The Freedoms Foundation honors patriotism and good citizenship. Other recipients of the award have included Chief Justices William Renquist and Warren Burger, Bob and Elizabeth Dole, Lech Walesa, Margaret Thatcher, and Arthur Ash In September of 2002, Braila County Romania was recognized as having the best orphanage system in the country. At a Press Conference in October of 2002, the director of the Department of Child Protection in Braila and the orphanage directors credited HUG for the success of the Braila programs and orphanage system. Humanity United in Giving Internationally, Inc. is a 501(c)3 organization registered with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. All donations are tax-deductible. I telephoned the founder and President of HUG, Judy Broom, in her office based in Dallas, Texas. After speaking with her for well over 30 minutes, I learned that Judy believed in angels, believed that she was divinely guided, and believed that we all can make a difference no matter how big or how small the contribution. Her voice was that of a southern belle - charming, polite, and warm. I realized I was speaking to a woman who was very sincere in her desire to help the children of Romania. Motivated by passion and purpose, she jumped at my proposal of distributing the underwear to Romanian orphanages. Judy promised she would do everything possible to clear the way and make it easier for me to visit the children. There were a few obstacles but with faith in God nothing is impossible. Click here to learn more about Judy Broom. Lufthansa airlines gave me an extra 15 kilos of baggage allowance - not nearly enough - but "beggars can't be chosers" and so I had to make do. Needless to say, I must thank Lufthansa for understanding my need and helping to realize my goal. Indirectly, they too helped deliver underwear to the children of Romania. Romania is a very poor country. It is hard to believe that a country on European soil could still today be living in Third World conditions. It is only since 1989 that the Romanians have freed themselves from the communist dictator, Nicholae Ceaucescu. Poverty is an immense problem in Romania. Not only are the vegetable markets lacking in a variety of foods but they are lacking in quantity as well. Potatoes are the staple food for Romanians. A typical dinner menu can read: mashed potatoes, baked potatoes, fried potatoes, boiled potatoes, soup with potatoes, etc. I love potatoes so I had no problem with that . . . but it was obvious that they ate a lot of potatoes and very little of anything else. In the mid 1960's, one of Romania's greatest industries was childbearing. Women were required by law to have at least five children. The use of contraceptives were forbidden. Poverty stricken and living in a land that offered no hope, thousands of children were abandoned on the streets. Today, the situation is slowly improving. The Lonely Planet Romania & Moldova 2nd Edition states: On the streets, an estimated 700 to 1000 youngsters live permanently in Bucharest's red-hot-heating ducts beneath manhole covers. Another 1000 to 1300 illegally occupy buildings and apartments in other large towns. Many more children beg on the streets by day but do not have a roof to return to come nightfall. For the 20% of Romania's street-kid population - aged four to 18 and 80% male - that has lived on the streets for five years or more, the chances of reintegration into a family is remote. At least 70% of the street children have tried sniffing glue, 20% sniff daily. Tuberculosis, skin and lung diseases are common. The government has taken steps to overhaul the childcare system. In March 2000 plans were announced to decentralize orphanages and place childcare responsibility in local-authority hands instead. Child benefit in 2000 stood at $10 per month (compared with $1.50 in 1996) - sufficient enough to persuade impoverished parents not to abandon their children. Benefits were only paid if parents could prove their children attended school regularly. It took Romania until 1997 to crack down on illegal adoptions and baby trafficking to the West by passing a law placing adoption procedures in the hands of the Romanian Adoption Committee. Of the 4323 adoptions the committee approved in 1999, 3041 children were adopted by foreigners. Children's rights groups believe some 10,000 children were illegally sold to Westerners between 1990-1997. The abortion rate in Romania remains among the highest in Europe and contraceptives are available only to those who can afford them. Romania has the second-highest infant mortality rate in Europe. All this is a legacy of Ceausescu's ban on contraception and abortion in 1966, coupled with his ruling that women under 45 should have at least five children. Following communism's collapse, international aid organizations and individuals on "mercy missions" flooded Romania with aid. The flood has long receded, however, leaving aid to be handled by a focused network of larger organizations committed to working with local non-governmental organizations and aid groups as part of a longer-term solution to help Romanians help themselves. The average monthly income of a Romanian is $100 - making it difficult to cope and survive. Many people live in poverty and unsanitary conditions. Winters are the worse. Turkish gypsie children, barefoot and adorable are happy with their new underwear. With the help of all my contacts, I was able to deliver some underwear to a small village near Harsova - one of the poorest areas in Romania. The village consisted mostly of Turkish gypsies. The photos below will illustrate the children of Romania and how beautiful and delighted they were to receive their new underwear. The hospitable staff at the HUG orphanage helped me distribute the underwear to children who waited patiently and who were very well behaved. While visiting an orphanage founded by HUG, a young girl came up to me and said (in very good English I may add), "This is the most beautiful underwear we have ever seen. I speak for everyone here and this is the most beautiful and lovely underwear. We have never, ever, seen underwear of this type. Thank you very much. It is all so wonderful." Moments such as these are unforgettable and moving. What most of us take for granted are treasures to someone else.    As I suspected, the boys went crazy over their Super Hero underwear and the girls were fascinated over the colors and decals found on theirs.      My traveling companion, Joanne, helped distribute hugs and underwear.        A painted Orthodox church located in southern Bucovina. To educate, entertain and arouse the interest of illiterate peasants, well-known biblical stories were portrayed on the church walls in "cartoon-style" frescoes built in the 16th Century.   Although Romania is a very poor country, it is rich with culture and history. Given more time, I would have loved to visit and explore other regions and cities. Needless to say, I consider myself lucky to have had the opportunity to visit the Bucovina painted monasteries - one of them known as the "Sistine Chapel of the East." As fate would have it, during my distribution I was introduced to a Romanian Baptist pastor who "just so happened" to have a few days off during the exact days that I needed a driver to take me to the monasteries. If there was something that I wanted to see in Romania (besides the children) it was the monasteries. This trip would require many long hours at the wheel which I was not prepared to challenge in a foreign country known for its reckless drivers.     Emi and his wife, Ioana, stepped up to the plate and became our escorts for the next few days. As Romanians they were experienced drivers, they spoke perfect English, and they were ministers. Their knowledge of Romanian history, personal experiences, insight, sense of responsibility, recommendations, and overall charm made the trip exceptionally pleasant and memorable. I thank God for placing me in the right hands. All in all, despite its poverty and sadness, Romania is a fascinating country. P.U. Romania was a success and I thank everyone involved and the heavens above for giving me the chance to spread a little joy and care to those most needy. I love stamps and these are a few I brought back from Romania, click here to see them and their stories.