More than 8,000 children would receive help through a national social mobilization campaign launched by the Narada organization, in collaboration with Inditex, “1 shoed child = untied destiny”.
Ilie is “a very clever, sensitive, altruistic and sociable child” PHOTO Narada
Elijah is “a very clever, sensitive, altruistic and sociable child
One of these children is Ilie, who lives in a modest house in Verguleasa commune, Olt county, and whom the director of the school he attends describes as a good and smart boy, for whom school is everything. These children, however, feel marginalized and ashamed because of the lack of basics such as a schoolbag, school supplies, a winter jacket or a pair of boots.
The child’s mother is a person with mental problems, and the father works as a day laborer for a family in the village, taking care of their herd of goats. Ilie has two more brothers: an older one, 14 years old, and a six-year-old sister. Although born into such a family, living on the edge of subsistence, Elijah is “a very clever, sensitive, altruistic and sociable child. He is very hardworking and skilled. He takes care of the family’s goats where his father works, and often sleeps in an outhouse of that household. At school he has very good results in all subjects and excels in math. He has a very developed vocabulary, and his way of expressing himself far exceeds the limits of his age and the precarious conditions in which he lives”says the headmistress of the school, a place that is a second home for him, and the teachers are his parents.
In his eyes, the teacher is “mother”, showing affection towards him, but also towards his colleagues. A sad story of this innocent child who knows many deprivations happened last winter when all the children received gifts from Santa Claus and only Ilie did not. Ramona Pavelescu, the director of the school where Ilie studies, and remembers that the little one asked, with tears in his eyes, repeatedly: “What did I do wrong that Santa Claus didn’t come to me?”.
The teacher caressed him and promised him that he would also come to see him, even if later, his beloved Santa Nicolae. Big-hearted people gathered then and brought joy to this child’s eyes, and the gifts received were like a beautiful fairy tale for him, always giving thanks for such joys. Although he is surrounded by people who do not remain indifferent in the community, Elijah needs more. And like his story, and thousands of other children who need to be helped to move on.
Thus, starting on August 26, the Narada organization launched a new social mobilization campaign, in collaboration with Inditex, the parent company of several clothing companies, a campaign that invests in solving the material needs of over 1,000 children.
Through this campaign, which is called “1 child in shoes = an untied destiny”, the organization aims to gather as many supporters as possible to help at least 2,500 children, to begin with, so that they can go back to school without to no longer have to carry their books in their bags and no longer be marginalized for the clothes, shoes or supplies they have.
The social mobilization campaign proposes a close collaboration between organizations, companies and private individuals, to unlock the potential of children from vulnerable communities and thus contribute to the generation of equal opportunities for education, childhood and dreams, and its objective is that each child to benefit from a winter jacket, a pair of new and comfortable shoes, a schoolbag and all the supplies he needs.
Anyone can contribute by sending an SMS to the number 8864 with the text EDUCATION, online at descult.hartaedu.ro, where the stories of these children are located, in the “Teachers’ Journal”, where the teaching staff characterized them with emotion and the desire to help it grow nice and fair. In Bucharest, all those who wish to donate physically can do so at the immersive installation created by the artist Irina Dragomir and exhibited in the Băneasa Shopping City mall, from August 26 to September 1, in Afi Cotroceni, from September 2 to 8, and subsequently , between September 9-15 in Promenada Mall.
