Hello Friends!
It is a day for which children are celebrated as the future of Romania. The Archway kids are not recognized as a part of the future though they certainly deserve to be and, from Archway Romania’s point of view, would be a tremendous asset to the future of the country. They are bright, resourceful and loving. Archway Romania decided that they deserved to be honored as much as any child and so we set off to honor them and celebrate as the future of the country.
Our celebration was held outside in a park since they resided in abandoned buildings that are as stifling in the summer as they are cold in the winter. It turned into a wonderful experience for the children and their parents who don’t receive recognition as the rest of the recognized “middle class” do. So many of the young parents that attended grew up as street children themselves and only know what they learned during their childhoods.In Romania street children are not allowed in restaurants or even stores.
They are singled out by security guards who don’t let them enter unaccompanied anywhere. So Gica and the rest of the Archway gang decided that the best place to throw their celebration would be out in the open in a park and, since Archway began 25 years ago with a grant from Ronald McDonald House Charities, it seemed appropriate to fete these kids with Happy Meals. They were delighted. We venture to say that most of them had never had a Happy Meal before and the sheer novelty of a hamburger and French fries was not lost on them.
Once they figured out how to open the little cartons it was, for them, like opening up a treasure chest! A surprising situation arose when Gica realized that most of the kids did not know what a straw was and how to use it. That is why, in the pictures so many of them are seen standing with straws in their hands. Gica took it upon himself with help from the others to show the children how to use straws so they could drink their suc (juice)! Needless to say, it was a memorable Children’s Day and one we hope to repeat each year.
If you want to get involved in our helping mission of needy children and poor families, please visit, like, follow and share our activity from:
-Website: https://archwayromania.org/
-YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/ArchwayRomania
-Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100087582820414