I Just Wanted To Let You Know

I just wanted to let you know about my recent trip to Romania with Mairie and co from the Aurelia Trust. We went over in August for another tabora where over 100 young adults and staff went to the beach for two weeks. 16 of these young adults plus their staff were from Casa Ionut and Aurelia where you did the training last year.

The young adults all appeared to have dramatically improved and were in great form however the biggest change I noticed was in the staff. They seemed to be alot more relaxed, happier and bonded.

Throughout the week I noticed a huge change in how they interacted with the residents, constantly initiating activities on the beach including making sandcastles, singing groups, dancing, running races etc. They were having fun and I feel they also interacted alot better with the Irish volunteers. I gave them alot of positive feedback re the changes I noticed.

On the last day we had a big party and the staff and residents presented us with thank you cards they had made, they then gathered in a circle and sang the romanian goodbye song for us (the one we did everyday during the training!).

I feel the play therapy training was really positive Sue and more than anything else had a long term effect on the attitudes of the staff. I hope this feedback will encourage you to continue your good work and I hope we can run this training again in Romania in the near future.

Regards,
Sharon O'Donovan, Psychiatric Social Worker