Community Center Lumina Nord is open

After months of preparation, November 1 was the day: community center Lumina Nord is open! This is the second community center in the city of Codlea, located on the north side of the city, on the edge of a densely populated area.

In the days leading up to the opening, we distributed flyers in the neighborhood to generate awareness. We received a lot of help from the teenagers and children from our other community center, Lumina Colorom. It is wonderful to see that there is a lot of talk about community center Lumina, even in schools, making the name well-known in this neighborhood.

First club afternoon

The afternoon began at 3:00 PM. Before the program started, we walked through the neighborhood to inform the children that the children’s club was launching. In this environment, things are not as structured as in the Netherlands, where schedules and weekly planners are common. Here, the children live more day-to-day and often find out at the last moment what is on the program. This makes it all the more important to repeat information regularly and send out invitations. Although many children had heard about the children’s club and knew it was starting, the exact time and date were often unclear. Most children also lack a good sense of the days and times of the week.

Surprisingly, the children trickled in, and soon almost all the chairs were filled! Tania had put together a fun program for the afternoon, and time flew by.

Involvement of mothers

What stood out was the involvement of several mothers. Unlike Colorom, where there is virtually no attention and involvement from mothers, here the mothers were enthusiastic and indicated they passed the news on to other families.

Gratitude

We look back on this first afternoon with gratitude. We didn’t expect to welcome so many enthusiastic and happy children, along with some involved and grateful mothers!

On November 7, the youth group will also start at Lumina Nord. We look forward to further developments!

Read more about the work and activities at community center Lumina here.