Locked up in her own house

Last week I went to visit the Day Center and Elderly Care project in the village Crasnaseni and together with one of the sisters from the chucrh we went to visit Vera. Visiting Vera, who is 85 years old, is not so simple. She doesn’t see very well and in the past people have often come to her house and stolen things from her, so now she keeps the house locked from the inside and nobody can come in. She doesn’t trust anybody anymore. Only after you have knocked on the window and shouted who you are and why you have come to visit, she might get out of bed and open the door.

As we come to visit this old lady, we are lucky to bring Angela with us, the sister from the local church who daily brings food to six elderly in the village. Four more elderly come to the local church and eat the meal there but these six aren’t able to come to the church anymore so they get the food delivered to their homes.

After Vera has recognized the voice of Angela, she unlocks the house and we enter. The first three things we notice are the smell, the cold and the fact that it is dark in the house. Already for years the electricity has been cut off and so Vera doesn’t have light. Her heating system also broke down and because Vera can’t make a fire in her house anymore, she lives in the cold every day. The absence of any source of heat in her house also means she doesn’t have the possibility to heat any water, so washing clothes or taking a bath is not possible either. Life is very hard and lonely for Vera.

When we ask her what she is doing during the day, Vera tells us that for the last few days she has just been lying in bed, trying to keep warm. She has nowhere else to go. Her children are grown up and have left her by herself. Her son lives in the same village but never comes to see her and as she can’t walk so far anymore, it is not possible for her to go and visit him. Angela tells us that the son is not healthy mentally and therefore can’t take care of his mother. The daughters are working abroad and haven’t been in Moldova for years.

Vera shares that she doesn’t know how to survive, now that winter is coming, but that she prays to God and to Mother Mary to help her. When we say goodbye, Angela promises to bring some bottles with hot water later in the afternoon, so Vera can more easily stay warm in her bed. Of course she will bring some warm food, too. As we leave the house, Vera immediately puts the lock back on the door and returns to bed. I was touched to see how this lady lives and I realized how blessed I am. I pray that God will send somebody who help this lady.