In August two families from Edgecomb are traveling to the village of Valea Plopului, in Romania to help in an orphanage and home for unmarried mothers.
The group consists of Marilee Harris, and her two daughters Emily, 11, and Lydia 13, and Cassie Dennison and her two daughters, Alex, 11, and Bella, 10.
“An orthodox priest, Father Nicolae Tanase, set up the orphanage about 20 years ago and home as a safe haven for young women who did not want to have abortions, but were either unable to take care of the children, or had no where else to go,” said Harris.
Father Tanase’s orphanage, called Pro-Vita, receives the women unequivocally, said Harris.
At least 300 children live in the village now, and about 24 buildings have been constructed to house the mothers, the aged, and the children. The mothers and children are allowed to stay there for as long as they wish, said Harris.
Dennison, a mother of six children, said her older daughter Samantha, age 22, spent 11 weeks volunteering at Pro-Vita last year after graduating from the University of New Hampshire with degrees in social work and elementary education.
“Sam was expecting to work with the preschool age children when she got there, but she soon realized that the moms needed special attention,” said Dennison.
The mothers were young, some as young as 15, and had no knowledge of how to take care of a child, or how to nurture them, said Dennison.
After hearing her daughter’s report on the orphanage, and the work she did there, Dennison decided she wanted to help also. She then asked Harris to go with her, since Harris has a great deal of experience traveling overseas.
While at the orphanage, Harris and Dennison said their daughters will play with the other children and take care of the younger ones while Harris and Dennison will be working with pregnant mothers.
Other ongoing projects include cleaning out the river that goes through the village and reconstructing a communal building that burned down.
Harris and Dennison, along with their children, will be holding a freewill offering lunch on June 3 at the First Congregational Church in Wiscasset at 11 a.m. to talk about the trip. Samantha Dennison will give a slide presentation about the orphanage.
