A Rock Solid Foundation

It’s not often that the offer of help falls out of nowhere. As even the most experienced charity worker will admit, you can count on one hand the amount of times that unsolicited assistance comes your way out of the blue. At Bridging The Gap, Lady Luck gave us a wee wink in late Spring in the form of some kind of manna from heaven (and BTG friend, Ian Tilling).

Earlier this year, members of the Canadian Air Task Force (CATF) temporarily relocated to Cimpia Turzii, a town located near Cluj-Napoca in the heart of Transylvania. Through Ian, they contacted Bridging The Gap to ask if we knew of any projects near the city of Cluj-Napoca in which they could become involved. CATF, they told us, had over 50 individuals ready to get their hands dirty and give support to a community project. Now, BTG is not one to rest on its laurels, so we immediately contacted four of our known charitable NGO’s in Cluj to tell them about this potentially life-saving opportunity.

Over the next month, these organisations contacted CATF and proposed different projects. The criteria was that the team of volunteers could contribute towards providing equipment for or help to build something for a social project. The military personnel at CATF were willing to give up their free time to work on this project and so it was key that it should have a real benefit to the community. After heavy deliberation, CATF decided on working with the Basis Project, run by Blythswood Romania.

Blythswood Romania has been working on social projects since 1995 and is linked with Blythswood Care, a British charity which provides humanitarian aid and spiritual support to the underprivileged in Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia. The Basis Project provides basic social care for vulnerable families who might need medicine, food parcels, home visits or even shelter. One of the beneficiaries is Stella*, an elderly woman raising her granddaughter in a wooden shack on top of a hill in the village of Floresti, right next to the city. Stella receives no government pension or social benefits and the roof of her home does not keep out the rain or cold. Blythswood Care Romania intended to raise money to replace the roof of the shelter but were not sure where to find the finances nor the manpower to carry out such a project.

“This is where Bridging The Gap came in”, says Blythswood Romania’s Executive Director, Balazs Csiszer, “and the difference they made was crucial”. Putting Blythswood Romania in contact with CATF not only guaranteed a new roof for Stella, but they decided they would go one better - our Canadian heroes decided to build her a new house!

The Canadian Air Task Force unload to start the project

On the 9^th and 10^th August, over 70 volunteers from CATF came together to build a prefabricated house for Stella and her granddaughter. This was all made by possible by the generosity of the Boomer’s Legacy Foundation of Canada, the Floresti Town Hall and the Romanian Air Force. Mr Csiszer continues, “this project will improve the living conditions of the family and the shelter, so generously built by our Canadian friends in their spare time, is not only insulated but will also collect rain water to meet the needs of house. We want to thank the CATF personnel and we are so grateful for the generous funding from the Boomer’s Legacy Foundation”.

Building the foundation for the new house in front of Stella's previous shelter

“Here at Bridging The Gap, we are delighted to have  been able to provide this vital link for Stella and her family”, says BTG Chief Executive John McKellar. “This is exactly the reason why Bridging The Gap exists – to provide a connection between Romania’s vulnerable and people who want to help. Whether it’s a large corporation, an individual or a group of people who want to lend a hand like the Canadian Armed Tasked Force, we are thrilled to be able to bridge the gap and be a small part of making a difference in the lives of people life Stella”.

Over 70 volunteers came together to build the structure for Stella and her granddaughter

The new building starts to take shape 

The house is now almost ready and Stella will receive the keys on Sunday 17th August at a ceremony with the members of the Town Hall present. We'll keep you up to date with this next week. Balazs adds, “None of this would have happened without this first critical step. Bridging The Gap has put us in touch with volunteers from CATF stationed here in Romania and allowed us to make a much greater impact than we originally anticipated". 

All in a weekend's work

*Names have been changed