|PIC1|Unknown, undiscovered and ignored, suffering levels of poverty on a scale only seen in parts of Africa and South America, villagers in the small village of Risipeni near to the Romanian border had fallen through the fractured floorboards of the aid system – until their plight was taken up by the small market town of Hitchin in Hertfordshire.

Members of Hitchin Christian Centre (HCC) have forged a partnership with the villagers of Risipeni to try to provide the basics for life taken for granted throughout the rest of modern Europe.

The church has even financed its first support worker to convert a dilapidated hotel into a modern centre to provide accommodation and care for elderly people, support that they badly lack now.

Sharon Eason has left Hitchin to travel the 1,300 miles to Moldova to oversee conversion of the disused hotel, which is rapidly being turned into a haven for people expected to survive winters with temperatures plummeting to minus 25 degrees Celsius without heat, constant light and still using toilets made from rough outside trenches.

There has been a substantial link between HCC and Moldova for some years. Sharon’s daughter, Samantha, and a member of HCC, met Leo, now her husband, during a gap year teaching in Risipeni 10 years ago. She saw first hand the poverty, pain and human suffering so near yet so far in terms of wealth from the rest of Europe.

Building work on the centre, funded by donations organised by HCC, should be completed by autumn. But HCC says more money – around £10,000 – is desperately needed before the shelter can be completed.

Says Sharon. “Most people haven’t a clue where Moldova is, sandwiched between the Ukraine and Romania in the far eastern part of Europe. So why should they have any idea of the enormous poverty faced by people living there, especially the elderly who are left to fend for themselves? We always think of Europe as rich and modern – but Moldova is a long way from that."

Winters are very harsh in Moldova, she continues, meaning that although the Moldovan government pays a small state pension of around £25 per month, it is mostly used to pay for firewood.

“Most adults move away from the rural areas, such as Risipeni, a tiny village of just 1,000 inhabitants, either to big towns and cities or even overseas to earn decent money, so ageing parents are definitely a much lower priority, left behind with many barely able to look after themselves," she says.

The new centre will also be used as a day centre for the community, hosting activities, clubs and providing support for young people and families struggling on a small weekly wage with only pickled vegetables and salted meats for food during the winter months.

Tony Summerfield, HCC’s senior pastor, adds: “The centre we are planning to create is fairly rundown now and has no running water. There isn’t even a flushing toilet or shower."

He said the church was trying to raise enough money to convert the building, connect a water supply and install a heating system.

"We’re totally reliant on fundraising and donations to make all this happen," he said. "Although we have been doing some fundraising activities at HCC, there is still a long way to go if we’re to have the centre open before this winter."

That's why the church has started its own foundation, called Gift of Love, that will channel donations to this community in desperate need, living in conditions found almost nowhere else in Europe.

Peter Lilley, MP for Hitchin and Harpenden and Chairman of the Conservatives’ Globalisation and Global Poverty Group, is a firm backer of HCC’s initiative.

"It’s shocking that such a scale of poverty and deprivation is so close to our door here in Europe. The work of HCC is undoubtedly a very beneficial step to making progress in Moldova," he said.

HCC already runs a variety of outreach initiatives across the community in Hitchin, such as an award-winning breakfast bar for schoolchildren, the Westmill Coffee Mill club for teenagers, and student counselling, but aid for the people of Risipeni is its most ambitious project by far.

“At HCC, we value community and care about people as a priority, helping those in need whether that is here or anywhere else in the world,” Summerfield adds. “We saw an opportunity to reach out to a small impoverished community in Moldova and grabbed it.”





On the web: For more information go to: www.hcc.org.uk/connect/go-global/moldova or to donate, contact Ian Milligan on 07988 003766 or by email at info@hcc.org.uk