CLUJ-NAPOCA, ROMANIA

The Heredea family belongs to the 6.5 million Romanians living in poverty. Country Profile

June 9 - June 21, 2006

Cluj-Napoca, a city of approximately 330,000 people, is located in Transylvania in the Northwest section of Romania. The city is steeped in medieval tradition mixed with Hungarian and Germanic cultural influences. With roots pre-dating Roman times, NAPOCA was recognized as a municipality by Emperor Hadrian in AD 124 and a Roman colony by Marcus Aurelius in AD 161-180.

Cluj-Napoca is a great cultural, university and industrial city. It has a series of institutions famous all over Europe, such as the remarkable architecture of Bobes-Bolyai University, the Music Academy, the Academy of Visual Arts, and the National Theatre and Opera. The Botanical Garden is the second most important botanical garden in Europe.

The Cluj-Napoca Habitat affiliate is the site of the 150,000th Habitat house built worldwide.

About Romania
Romania is a fascinating country -- a place where medieval life meets modern times. While visiting, you'll discover a land with majestic, natural beauty, a rich cultural heritage, and a history still alive in, and sometimes haunting, the present. The Romanian landscape offers visitor's scenic hiking trails, world-renowned caves, serene streams, pine-covered mountains, green hills and forests, as well as many other dazzling views. Narrow cobblestone streets winding through skewed medieval houses, stern gothic churches, rococo palaces, and painted monasteries nestled in rolling hills and green mountains reveal to guests a rich cultural heritage in full splendor. Ensconced within the mysterious Carpathian Mountains, fortified towns are scattered in the countryside and, in the surviving unspoiled villages, rural Romanians preserve folk traditions that the rest of Europe discarded long ago.

In sharp contrast to these romantic scenes of a bygone era, urban areas in Romania bear the scars of four decades of Communist rule. Falling under Soviet influence after World War II, the government and its leaders promoted forced industrialization and collective farming, along with economic policies that produced a severe economic decline and one of the lowest standards of living in Europe. When the last communist dictator, Nicolae Ceausescu, was overthrown in 1989, the country seemed eager to embrace democracy and re-integration with the West. However, it has been a rocky transition, with the country still striving to implement all of the political and economic reforms necessary to achieve its goals.

Itinerary
June 9: Depart home country
June 10: Arrive in Budapest
June 11: Travel to Cluj
June 12-17: Work Days
June 18: Travel to Budapest
June 19-20: R & R in Budapest
June 21: Depart Budapest for home country

Accommodations
The team will stay in double-occupancy rooms, with bath, in Cluj and Budapest hotels.

Cost
The cost for the trip, excluding flight, is $1,450 USD. This includes all accommodations, meals, excursions, local transportation, traveler’s medical insurance and a donation to Habitat for Humanity Romania. A deposit of $350 USD must be submitted upon acceptance on the team. The balance is due 30 days prior to the start of the trip. Team members who wish to arrive prior to the build and/or remain afterwards are welcome to do so, at their own expense.

Team Leader
Dave Yoder, a lifetime Lutheran and Thrivent member, will be the team leader for this trip. Dave is retired and has been a volunteer with Habitat for 12 years. During this time, he has been active in his local affiliate as a committee chairperson and has served as president of the board of directors for two years. This will be Dave’s ninth GV Mission experience. He has previously led teams to Tanzania, New Zealand, Portugal, Costa Rica, Hungary, Mexico, Bulgaria and Romania.

Prior to retiring from a large corporation, Dave’s job took him to many countries in Europe and Asia. Dave’s main interests are Habitat for Humanity and golf.

If you would like to know more about this very rewarding trip, please call or e-mail Dave at (843) 237-3857 or davsal@sccoast.net .