A new volunteer has recently joined out team: actor Catalin Paraschiv. He told us that he had heard about our activities from his friend Horatiu, and he would like to give us a helping hand. We had no hesitation in taking him on board.
 

His first meeting with ‘recycling’ took place at Brad, where he coordinated the team of volunteer pupils. How was it? We’ll let him tell you.
 

Morning, 8:30, Brad. The merciless phone wakes me up. I take a quick cold shower (not that I fancy that very much), I struggle to find a T-shirt that is not too wrinkled and I go to the Reception desk for a coffee. The ‘Bar’ is already full, there are lots of people, I manage to have breakfast, gulp down two coffees and wait. It’s the morning when I meet the volunteers. As far as I know, there are eight of them. ‘Well, it’s a small town, what did you expect?’ I tell myself.

Morning, 8:55. Brad. In front of the Reception desk. A girl comes in. She looks around for us. ‘Good morning,’ she says. ‘I’m here as a volunteer for RoRec. My name is Marcela Gavrila.’
‘Good morning. I’m Paraschiv, this is Oana, this is Laura, and that smart-looking gentleman is Florin. Welcome! Let’s sit at that large table over there and wait for your colleagues.’

Morning, 8:57, Brad. It’s very much like the story: seven ‘little dwarves’ are marching in. Two girls and five boys. Their voices can be heard in the entire lounge. The receptionist shows them the table where Marcela is waiting quietly. They see us and get very serious, but it is not like school-serious, but rather as if they are here on an important mission. They are quite determined and this can be felt in the way they shake hands with us… Alin Mihai Militaru, Razvan Ionut Tomesc, Diana Chindris, Razvan Jurca, Tudor Andrei Lup, Ionut Andrei Jurca. Somewhere behind them, the youngest of them all is watching us with curiosity… Larisa Vlad. She is the shiest of them all and that is why she remains in the back.

Morning, 9:05, Brad. We all sit around the table to get to know each other better. Now I realise that the cold morning shower cannot compare with the energy I receive from these children. They are joking. They are poking fun at each other, but it’s children’s fun and, most importantly, there’s nothing rude about it.

Alin seems to keep an eye on them all. He is the only student there, so he is the oldest of them all.

In the meantime, we get their T-shirts ready. Two of them are size S, three M, three L and one XL … for me. Yes, I feel like Gulliver.

Oana tells them what is to be done. They are all listening carefully, nobody is joking anymore, we are all serious. Hmmm… the handshake half an hour ago was not just a formality.

Morning, 9:30, Brad. We are ready to go. In front of me, there are eight of the best guides in town. It’s not a long walk from the B&B to the centre and the street is almost deserted. I am a bit worried that there won’t be too many people to receive our leaflets.

It’s quite cold, but they are all wearing their white RoRec T-shirts… on top of their jackets, and they are marching noisily down the street.

The town looks impeccable, the streets are clean, I seem to be in a different world. A few curious faces watch us from the balconies. Suddenly, there are people all round us. ‘Ah, we must be near the centre,’ I think.
T

he children break ranks, they go here and there, I don’t understand anything anymore, I try to look in eight different directions at the same time. I watch them, each of them is talking, explaining to the passers-by why we are here. They are using words that are simple and to the point: ‘recycling’, ‘show’, ‘invitation’, ‘thank you’.

The passers-by are, in their turn, very open and they are listening with interest. I feel so proud of ‘my’ volunteers. They’re doing an excellent job.

Diana and Marcela are in charge with the questionnaires, the others are handing out leaflets and explaining in detail to the passers-by what this is all about. As if they have been doing this for a life-time.

We reach the centre and we are already running out of leaflets. A few inhabitants of Brad are reticent, they don’t want a leaflet, they are not interested, they don’t understand, but the children are explaining everything with patience, with calm, with a smile.

Larisa is beyond recognition. The shy little girl we met one hour ago is now joyfully going from one person to the other, explaining what recycling means, what waste electrical and electronic equipment is.

Tudor has spotted a teacher and runs to give her a leaflet. When he comes back, he is as red as a lobster. My guess is that she has just slapped him, but he tells me with a wide smile on his face: ‘She has congratulated me for this… for being a volunteer.’ Well done, Tudor!

At one point, they all gather around me. ‘We’ve run out of leaflets! What shall we do?’
‘No problem,’ I say. ‘We go to the RoRec tent and get some more… unless you’re already tired.’
‘Noooo!!!’ they all say. ‘We’ve only just started to warm up!’

We reach the tent, have some mineral water, sit on a bench, exchange impressions…. They are proud of themselves, of what they are doing. I have a content smile on my face and I am at the same time amazed to see these wonderful children, they are incredible. We take some pictures, I give them a few (300) leaflets, and we go for another ‘round’ in town. After about half an hour, we run out of leaflets once again. It’s clear, it’s time for us to have lunch. In the afternoon, all of us are again in front of the tent, which is almost full, and we offer explanations to the people passing by.

Florin tells me that the volunteers may leave, but they want to stay longer. I send them home ‘by force’: they need to rest because we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. We decide to meet in front of the RoRec tent tomorrow at 12.

Second day, 12:00. They are all there, wearing the white T-shirts, greeting us with warm smiles and handshakes that show the same determination as yesterday. Time flies and the rest of the leaflets soon disappear.

19:00 h. The show starts. I’m on the stage and I see them all gathered nearby. Although it’s cold and they have been working hard, they are happy and full of life. It’s their big moment. I invite them on the stage, so the entire town can see them and the Mayor, Mr. Florin Cazacu, can offer them the prizes.

A big thank you to Marcela, Diana, Larisa, Alin, Razvan, Tudor, Ionut, Razvan… Brad has a beautiful and… clean future! Many thanks to you all!
 

Catalin Paraschiv – coordinator of RoRec volunteer teams.
 

Catalin has decided to join our actions from now on, so you’ll find out about his volunteers directly from him. Anyone who wants to find out more about Catalin Paraschiv is invited to visit: www.videofil.ro/news/interviuri/catalin-paraschiv-o-surpriza-actoriceasca-pregatita-de-mircea-daneliuc.html