From Mary Ferris, mission worker with NOROC:
The following account is written by Carol Schempp, one of the NOROC Board members who visited Romania last summer (2011) for the 15th time.
Meet Maria, an abandoned child in Tulcea, Romania. When Maria came to Cocorii Center a year and half ago she was totally mute. Her mother was absent from her home most of the time, working at a small bar for very little money. Maria was left by herself all day long. One day Maria left her home and roamed the streets until evening. A police team found her and brought her to the center. She was unclean, hungry and couldn't say a word. She was "wild" and without any social skills, but little by little, with our grannies' help, she started to speak words, to play with the other children in normal ways, and to socialize.
Our Granny Fanica Preda had a big role in her development. People were astonished to see Maria recite a four-stanza poem for the Children’s Day Festival on June 1st!
Granny Fanica is just one of the miracle workers employed by NOROC (in the form of Grannies) to work with the youngest children in the centers. Granny Fanica works daily at Cocorii One. A natural teacher, she instructs the children daily in language, math, and sports activities that exercise their bodies as well as their minds. This provides the children with experiences and practice that would normally be provided by a loving family.
During my visit this summer Petru took me to Cocorii where the children recited poetry, sang songs, and counted forwards and backwards for us...all from memory and with a tremendous amount of pride. Granny Fanica also organizes a “backyard” physical education routine each day to teach spatial orientation and positional concepts. The routine is engaging and requires the children to focus their attention and follow instructions. “Super” Granny Fanica has created a well balanced early childhood curriculum!
All of this would not be possible without your continued support of NOROC. No matter how tight our budgets become, these children still need NOROC’s wonderful Big Hearted Grannies to nurture, love, and teach them. We thank you for your past support and pray that you will continue to support NOROC with your generous donations as well as your prayers.
