International Drawing Competition 2011 on the International Year of Forests
21 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
LCM is happy to encourage these children to participate into the competition after we had a in Ester House day care center about the importance of forests and the ways we could protect them.
Do the same in your school, center or even family. If you need assistance and information, we are glad to help.
Yunga international Drawing Competion 2011 is a great opportunity to talk with the children and young people about our forests and Moldova has many beautiful forest places that derserve to be in our attention.
Happy Birthday ESTER HOUSE!!!!
20 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
Two years ago we were opening Ester House with 25 children. Now 50 children are attending the center and they find the love and help that they miss in their families.
Many thanks to all the people who are close to us and who encourage us to go ahead.
Best wishes for the children that we are so attached to now. We are part of their lives and we want to stay with them anytime they need us. Love and kisses!!!
Catalina and Marina…
PICNIC-camp finished
18 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
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The last day in the camp was enjoyble for everyone. In the morning we had the visit of Sibylle Hamann, a journalist from Viena, who is writing about migration and the situation of the families where the women are working abroad. The children were very opened to share their stories with Mrs. Hamann. They were showing pictures of their mothers abroad and they spoke about their dailly life in the village withought the mothers. These children usually stay with relatives or alone. They do not have lack of resources, but they grow up alone, withought mother’s love. Some of them have to replace the mother for their younger brothers and to pretend that they are mature enough to take care of them.
The picnic day was continued with…a picnic, of course. It was great to have all the children around the barbecue and to speak about the impessions in the camp.
The volunteers worked hard all the week , so they deserved the volunteering certificate as sign of appreciation for their effort.
The good bye moment was hard to live. We felt a great attachement to the childhood of these children and to their problems. So we promised to come back.
Now we realise that this would not happen withought the help and support of the whole community, of the volunteers of PROPLUS, the funds from Emily Sandall Foundation and Love and Care for Moldova, the accomodations provided by ORA International Moldova and the encouragement of our friends from Norway :Lena, Siv and Trond.
Thank you a lot! We gave great moment of childhood for these children toghether.
Mathew and Catalina
6th day-LIFELINE and cinema: leaning to care about our dreams and families
17 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
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5th Day in the camp-the Blind and the Dog+Giant Chess
16 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
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4th day in the camp-Indiana Jones and masks…:)
15 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
Volunteers fighting in Indiana Jones game in the morning…
We are so excited to see how children will manage the game.
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We are so greatfull to the volunteers who shared the resposability in the kitchen, making snack for children, organising the activities.
Looking forward for this after noon. 
And..here we come back with news about the 4rth day!
Indiana Jones game was fabolous for the children. Working in 5 teams, they were in a competition. Even if there were few teams ahead, they waited till the youngest team would finish the game. Then followed the discussion moment about the game, that continued with drowing or writing about the things that they would hide in a cupboard. That helped us to find out so many things about each of the child.
Our plan was to have masks from fabric, but the children changed the plan and we were flexible. They made all kind of decorations. They decorated me and Matthew with aprons that we had to wear for a while and for what Ion got a prize for being so inventive and enthusiast about the activity.
Today we met few parents in the village that were telling us what a big difference makes this camp for their children. That is a great motivation and we are doing all the best to making it even better till the end, because it is for the sake of childhood.
3rd day in the camp
14 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
This is the day when we speak about our problems and the importance of having someone helping us as well as us helping the other.
The volunteers did their game training in the morning. Then the children followed the instructions of the game in the after noon.
The friendship bracellets were the attraction of the day and even the boys enjoyed doing bracellets.
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As usually, we had the snack and children came even earlier today, because they just can not wait till the activities start. Unfortunatlly, some of them had to text me or to send me letters that they feel “so, so, so, so ,so sorry” that they can not come because they had to go on the land.
Today we also had the wonderfull company of Lenuta, a sweet little girl who helped us to make the cake. But being too late, me and Matthew took her home. It was hard to realise that Lenuta is beaten every day. She has such a nice personality. Lenuta has two brothers who are mute and deaf, but they are almost prisoneers of a house ready to fall, where there is no electricity and they still use the candle. But nothing is worse than the drunk parents who lock the door even if she is not home yeat.
Summer camp “For the sake of childhood”
06 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
Hey, can you believe that in just 3 years of life, Ester House has its first summer camp!!!
The camp will include training of volunteers and educator in recreational therapy and lots of games with the children. The camp is funded by Emily Sandall Foundation and International Initiative to End Child Labor through a grant received by Catalina Iucal and Mathew Rellaford. Many thanks to Love and Care for Moldova for its substantial support for supply and transportation, To ORA International Moldova for acomodations and to PROPLUS for the volunteers.
We were happy to see that-”Emily’s impression is : Emily would have loved to be a part of this very active and positive project to help these children towards a more hopeful future.”
This is the information on the project that you can find on this website:
http://endchildlabor.org/?p=3348#more-3348
Moldova—Cătălina Iucal and Mathew Rellaford “One-week Camp ’For the sake of childhood’ Preventing Child Labor through Recreation in June 2011”
Cătălina Iucal is the project coordinator of Ester House (a day care center for children), and Mathew Rellaford is a Fulbright Fellow with a BYU degree in Recreation Therapy currently serving in Moldova. Ester House was established in June 2009 to provide social and educational assistance. The program makes constant evaluation of the progress of the children served. It is financially supported by two humanitarian organizations in Moldova that cover the children’s physical needs (food and clothing) and the costs for running the center. The center regularly serves 50 children, but many are regularly absent during the summer and autumn months due to their work in agriculture. This results in these children missing the special summertime program that consists of interesting interactive activities. Based on assessments of the children, similar symptoms are exhibited, including poor or inappropriate use of free time; isolate themselves; poor self-image; lack of interest in hobbies, leisure or social activities; and inability to participate in education or complete tasks. Focused during the week of World Day against Child Labor, June 12th-18th, 2011, Cătălina Iucal and Mathew Rellaford will oversee the implementation of a week-long camp that will provide educational assistance to children; psychological support and social assistance for those experiencing trauma; and opportunities for children to experience success, control, creativity, and self-expression. Recreation therapy, a ‘hands-on’ technique that uses recreation and active play activities to help children learn to communicate openly, work together in teams, develop social skills, and learn the importance of taking time away from work to participate in meaningful recreation. Activities will be used to help children develop their talents, communicate about obstacles in their lives (particularly concerning child labor), develop their leadership skills, and create social bonds with peers. Ester House center staff will be trained on how to effectively apply these methods so that children are afforded intensive, small group hands-on support by facilitators. Activities will include sports, arts, crafts, drama, and participation in nature, music, etc. Fifty children will be targeted to participate in the camp. The Emily grant will be used to support the costs associated with the children’s participation. Other partnering agencies include: PROPLUS, ORA international Moldova, and Love and Care for Moldova.
