One day in art class, a student said he had photos he wanted to share with me. It was an ordinary day at school. I didn't know it at the time, but this was txperiences in muraling around the world but none have been as humbling as Romania. As it turned out, my student shared photos from a trip where he worked with orphans. I said, “You know I went to Namibia to paint a mural at an Aids day care. I’d go to Romania if they wanted a mural at an orphanage.” He only needed to check it out and get back to me on it.
He called Romania from class.
Valentijn’s father owned a company in Romania. Val didn’t just call anyone. He called the director of the operation in Bucharest. There is nothing like having connections. I was on my way to Romania. In a very remote Roma (Gypsy) village in Moldavia, two brothers shared one pair of shoes. They alternated which days they went to school. They had no other options. They were orphans, living in a small hut with their two younger sisters. Their “home” had no roof or windows, but it did have an icon of the Virgin Mary. They all prayed to her for desperately needed help. Life in the village of Poiana NegostaruluiTheir story made it to the newspaper in Bucharest. The same director whom Valentijn called read the story and was moved to change their lives. He provided a new home, furnished it and continued to care for their medical needs, food and education.
And, yes, he bought them shoes. When I arrived in the village and saw their home, I designed a map of the country (mural and project) that included some of the traditional architecture I discovered in my Romanian travels. When the sketch was finished and the painting began, I wasn’t the only one to paint this mural. There were volunteers from the company that sponsored the children, friends of the family, neighbors and my student Valentijn who lead me to Romania in the first place. But, most important for me, the children helped paint their own mural. This mural was another positive experience for me. But, I was humbled by the words of one of my Romanian friends at the completion of the job well done. My friend told me, "For you, this is just another one of your very successful projects around the world. For these children, it is the best day of their lives." I've never been anyone's best experience. This truth never occurred to me while painting side by side with the orphans. I hope I never forget this conversation during future murals.
Once was not enough for me in Romania. During my first mural, news of the project traveled fast. Ten minutes after starting the mural, the principal of the local school came by. After seeing what we were up to, he exclaimed, “I want a mural in my school.” And, of course, I immediately liked that idea. Another wall? Yep, I’d come back for that!
space A bad road in Europe. For a real bad road, visit Africa.Actually, getting back to Romania wasn’t as easy as I’d hoped. The village of Poiana Negostarului was isolated from the rest of the country and the world. The dirt road leading to the village turned into a muddy mess, nearly impassable, when the rains came. Summer was the best time to visit without mud.
I wanted to return in October. My connections in Romania said it wasn’t a good time because of the rains. Try coming back in the spring. So, I arranged my schedule to come back in April . . . and there was still rain. Again, my connections in Romania said it wasn’t a good time. They suggested I try coming back in the summer. Unfortunately, with my schedule, that wasn’t possible. It appeared to me that the mural wouldn’t happen.
H O W E V E R, you may recall, my connections in Romania weren’t my only connections. The student who originally invited me to Romania, Valentijn, was about as connected as you can get. Remember, his father owned the company that sponsored the project. This student wanted to paint a mural for a community service project during his spring break. Need I say more? We went to Romania in the spring.
We were warned. The roads were muddy and our vehicle did get stuck once. However, the rains in Romania and the muddy road to this village paled in comparison to what I knew so very well from my Peace Corps days in West Africa during the rainy season. This trip was a walk in the park. Yep, it was a soggy, muddy park, but I had no doubts about getting to the school to paint the mural (mural and project).
Arrival in Poiana Negostarului was a bit of a homecoming. It was so much fun to see everyone again from the previous mural (which remained in beautiful condition, by the way.) This little boy in this drawing was one of the happy orphan children who welcomed me back to their village.
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The original home in Poiana Negostarului before much needed assistance
