This article is from page 34 of the 2007-07-24 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 34 JPG
AFTER immense fundraising ef- forts, Clarecastle woman Lorraine Reynolds is preparing to help chil- dren in one of Europe’s poorest countries.
In September Lorraine will travel to Moldova to work in the Hincesti Children’s orphanage with the Irish charity Outreach Moldova.
The orphanage is home to 395 disa- bled and orphaned children, all of whom are girls.
Already, through various fundrais- ing initiatives Lorraine has raised €4.500 for Outreach Moldova.
In order to raise costs for the trip, a fundraising night will be held in
Powers Bar in Clarecastle on Friday are
€1,000 must be raised for the cost of flights and board, while a further €1,000 goes towards the orphanage.
Lorraine was drawn to the idea of traveling to Moldova after reading an advertisement in a newspaper. The mother of two said she was a little nervous but is now looking forward to the trip.
“T have never done anything like this before and I am glad to be doing it. | was nervous at the start. Moldova is the second poorest country in Eu- rope. A lot of the children there have been abandoned. It will be hard, but when you have two children of your own, it makes you think that it’s good
to give something back.
In Hincesti, Lorraine will work in the orphanage helping with feeding the children and organising excur- sions. Lorraine and her fellow volun- teers will work from 9 to 7 each day from Monday to Saturday and stay in an on-site dormitory.
Outreach Moldova _ concentrate on all aspects of the children’s care from medical and surgical to build- ing and renovation, to improve the environment in which they live. The Dublin based charity has implement- ed and supervised the incorporation of social, educational and care pro- grammes with local staff to provide the care these children need.
There are two full time Irish ad-
ministrators living in the orphanage to oversee all work carried out by both local staff and Irish volunteers.
Outreach Moldova employs over 275 Moldavian staff including 12 full time doctors, 30 full time nurses, six physiotherapists, two speech thera- pists, and a dental team, all provid- ing 24 hour a day care, 365 days of the year. Over 150 carers, a dance teacher, 15 teachers, 12 classroom assistants and four play assistants supplement this medical team. All programmes are funded by the peo- ple of Ireland.
Lorraine added, “It’s going to be the experience of a lifetime. They say that when you go there once, you will want to go back again”’.