Young People of Budesti

As the mayor introduced me, there was absolute silence. I gazed out into the hall at these hundreds of young people; all of them, virtually all of them, were clean cut, presentable, smiling, and obviously keenly interested in participating. I had nothing tangible to bring them. But the power of hope was an unbelievably powerful driving force.

They spoke with me, sharing what they hoped for for their futures. As I listened though, I noticed that not one of the ideas mentioned to me was an individual hope, moreso, it was a hope or dream for the entire village.

These young people asked for training and education: The girls wanted to learn hairdressing skills, sewing skills, art, and medical skills. The boys wanted to learn electronics, computers, nursing care, social services, to drive cars, install telegraph equipment, use heavy equipment, drive buses, etc. Many of these requests can easily be fulfilled by people from the west with their discarded and used equipment.

We Need Sewing Machines!

Sewing machines! I heard pleas for sewing machines and materials from more young people than any other item. The girls told me they could make clothes for their families, and they could make goods to sell. But there are only two ancient manual machines in the village; one of them barely works.

I would love to have a complete sewing class for the girls and women of the village. Even boys expressed interest, which I gathered to be part of their determination to help feed their families in any way they could.

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Big World Small Boat

The Good Samaritan

Empty Library and Computer Room

Germany donated basic furnishings, including facilities for a library, fro which there are no books, an art class room, for which there are no materials, other than tables, a computer learning centre, for which there is one extremely old computer that was donated to the village. Otherwise, the building is empty.