I’m an American student studying here in Romania and doing an internship with Fundatia Noi Orizonturi. FNO sponsors IMPACT clubs, which are service-learning groups that attempt to positively impact their communities. These IMPACT groups participated in Let’s Do It, Romania! I went to Let’s Do It, Romania because of my internship. And that is how I ended up climbing through a pine wood on a foggy morning, picking up trash that tourists had left behind, with a group of kids from some of the IMPACT clubs of Hunedoara County.
I was deeply impressed by the commitment the IMPACT kids showed on the Let’s Do It, Romania! clean-up day. We found a lot of trash in the woods up on Straja, the skiing town located on the mountain where we were working. I was surprised by some of the garbage we found—building materials, abandoned clothing, old bottles, broken skis, and even several tires were all lying in the woods. Despite how heavy all of these things were, the IMPACT kids along with the leaders pulled all of it out of the woods.
Even though the day was cold, we kept warm because of how hard we were working. At times, it was discouraging to realize how many people do not care about the environment, or the other people who might want to enjoy nature, trash-free. But when we gathered all together at the end of the clean-up, to celebrate how much we had done, I was encouraged by how much each group had done and how much we had all done together. Our group as a whole filled an entire dump truck with bags of trash!
Now that’s an accomplishment.
Thanks!
Sarah
