“How many notebooks, how many backpacks, how many pennants … and all triple price compared to last year. I have three children and, preparing for school, I realized how big they are expenses. Then I told myself: If it seems difficult to me, what do the parents who live with the minimum wage do? ” – This is how the confession of Oana Babagianu begins.
But beyond her parents’ worries, Oana saw more: tens of thousands of families in Romania who do not allow themselves the strict necessary for their little ones to go to school. From this thought was born a simple but huge idea: “The bell of friendship”an online platform that directly connects children in need of people who want to help.
And the story came to life. In just 10 days, the site created by Oana-alone, from zero, without a team, without sponsors or funding, without “IT armies” And without accepting money in personal account – he brought joy in the houses of 300 children from all over the country: bags, supplies and clothes for the beginning of the school year.
Friendship bell: Hope for every child Photo DMS for Truth
A different platform: Aid goes straight to child
“I do not raise money, I do not receive packages to redistribute them and I did not want to become an intermediary. Everything happens directly between the child and the one who wants to help. Those interested are on the site, I choose a child or two, they receive the data and they send online what is needed – a backpack, supplies, clothes. In the life of that child.explains Oana, exclusively for “Truth”.
Everyone who chose to help have reached the project either contacted by Oana personally, from the telephone agenda, or responding to her public call on social networks.
In a Romania where confidence in NGOs and champions is often shaken, Oana’s platform comes with radical transparency: no one intermediates help. “It’s the healthiest form of support: directly, simple, suspiciously”she adds.
According to a report from 2020, quoted by edupedu.ro, the official data appears that the number of children and disadvantaged students was over 300,000. In 2021, following a similar campaign Digi TV, it was found that the situation was even more serious: almost 900,000 children in the rural area did not live the joy of the beginning of the school year. Without bags and supplies, this moment that should have been full of hope was transformed for them into a daily struggle to keep up with the school.
From Urziceni to Timisoara: solidarity throughout the country
In no two weeks, “The bell of friendship” He joined mothers from the villages forgotten by the world with donors from the big cities. Children from Suceava, Covasna, Dolj or Baia Mare received fully equipped, uniform, train and even unexpected surprises.
A four -kid -of -children mother wrote to Oana, unbelieving: “I completed the form, but I didn’t think something happened …”. The next day, a family knocked on her door with a car full of supplies and clothes. “I wept both on the phone. People really exist, only sometimes they have to find out where they need them.”tells Oana.
More than a donation: chance at a mentor
A special case has deeply excited the founder: a donor offered to the daughter distributed not only the necessary backpack and supplies, but also an invitation to celebrate his birthday in Bucharest. “This is what I want to build: long -term links, mentoring relationships, real support to show these children that they are not alone. If at least 10% of those who help keep in touch – at Christmas, Easter, on anniversaries – then we can talk about changing destinies.”says Oana.
Incredible success: 300 children in 10 days
Which seemed at first a simple attempt quickly turned into a wave of solidarity. The platform was discovered by Tiktok, Facebook and other social networks, and in just 10 days over 300 poor children received support.
However, the challenges remain. “Many children have been registered, but the volunteers-those who choose to help-are still too few. If more were to find out about this possibility, we could change more lives”, says Oana.
A bell that can sound throughout Romania
“The bell of friendship” It’s not just about backpacks and perennials. It is about dignity, equal opportunities and community. It is about those stories that we rarely see in the news, because they do not sell rating, but which can change our perception of the world in which we live, says Oana.
“It does not matter how many children will be – 100, 1,000 or just a few who will stay in the long term with someone. It matters that they have felt, perhaps for the first time, that they are not alone. And if through this platform we manage to change even a single destiny, I know that we have not worked for nothing.”concludes Oana.
Do you want to do well without moving, without packing packages and possibly stay anonymous? Platform “The bell of friendship” It gives you exactly that. All you have to do is register online and choose how many children you want to help – 1, 10 or even 100. You will receive a clear list of what you need, and if you want to go further, you can come directly into contact with your family. With a single click, your supplies and gifts reach those who need it. Simple, fast and transparent.
The platform is also open to the families of children in difficulty, who can register to receive direct help from those who want to contribute.
Even if the site announces that a campaign has ended, the platform remains permanently open. The help has no deadline – it can be for a day, a week, for a year and even more. The most important thing is that it can change a life.
“The bell of friendship” It doesn’t just call for children. It sounds to us all – a memory that the good still exists and that we can be part of it, with a small gesture and a click at the right time, and we can become the support that a child has never had.
