Hi! My name is Julie Clark, and I was born in Rimnicu Sarat, Romania in 1991, just following the communist dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu. I was adopted along with my sister, and spent most of my life in Idaho. I recently graduated from the University of Utah with B.A. in International Studies, and I am hoping to attend law school in the next few years. A lot of people have heard my story and commented on how lucky I have been to escape the poverty in Romania. Especially as an orphan, my chanced for success would have been slim. My past, I am sure, is the reason I have always felt so motivated. I feel like I was meant to do something significant with my life, now that my circumstances have changed so drastically. Now, I have been offered a chance to go back to my homeland for the first time and help other children who have not been as lucky. I can’t wait to go back to my home country and help others have a chance for success, as well.
Probably the most horrific part of Romania’s history was during Ceausescu’s reign (1965-1989). He wanted to build the largest building in the world, which he called “The People’s Palace.” He displaced 80,000 people, tore down schools, hospitals and churches. To pay for the building, he starved people, turned off their heat in the brutal winters and ignored international debts. Later, Ceausescu ordered that all women give birth to a minimum of five children, reassuring them that if they couldn't care for them, the children would go to a "wonderful institution" that, in truth, became the overcrowded orphanages all over the country. He also ordered the children to have blood transfusions, believing it would fortify them. Later, it was discovered that over 10,000 children had become infected with HIV from the transfusions. In 1989, there was a brief revolution, and Ceausescu and his wife were executed after a mock trial.
It wasn’t until Ceausescu was overthrown that news of the horrible conditions in Romanian orphanages reached people Western Europe and the United States. In the early 1990’s, people rushed in to rescue children from the overcrowded, understaffed orphanages all over the country. Twenty years later, the country is still experiencing poverty and it’s the children that suffer the most. Holt International, which functions as an adoption agency in Romania, has also created prevention programs to keep children out of institutions. They brought in the first foster care, found housing for single mothers and brought in classes for parents. They also created an agency called “Close To You” to deal with pediatric AIDS issues, which continuously improves the lives of youth living with HIV.
My ten week internship in Iasi will include volunteering at a summer camp for HIV-infected youth in Lasi, Romania, and time at the Close to You foundation, where I will be training disabled, orphaned and impoverished young adults to enter the workforce. I will also travel back to the city where I was born. The significance of the internship to me both academically and personally is difficult to describe. I will be traveling back to my birthplace, spending an extended period of time with the local population, and helping children who, unlike me, have been unable to escape the economic problems that plague Romania.
I have been raising money in every way that I can, even selling my car to help pay for the trip! However, it will take a lot to travel and survive in Romania for ten weeks. Any contributions or donations will help me improve the lives of Romanian orphans and disabled youth. I will be grateful for any amount of funding for this, even if I don’t reach my goal. However, if, by chance, I don’t make enough money for the trip, your donations will be refunded.
If you need more information about the program, you can contact the Close to You program director, Lindi Endicott at: lindiendicott@yahoo.com, or the IE3 coordinator, Cynthia Engel, at: cynthia.Engel@ous.edu.
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