These classes have been very popular this year. Significant relationships have been forged with young Romanians who have had their first opportunity to be creative in the arts. This is another creative program that has drawn young people into community awareness. Dr. Roberta Bustin left a prominent teaching profession in the U.S. and shares with club members her knowledge about environmental issues. In Romania, children and young people play, swim, and fish in polluted streams and rivers daily with little, if any, awareness of the dangers they face.
Many villages have shallow wells that are polluted with bacteria, nitrate, and other pollutants.
Some even obtain their drinking water from the polluted rivers. The Ecology Club has worked on a year-long project to analyze and monitor the water in the local river which provides drinking water for the town. All of the above programs have, thus far, been supported through the ENC program budget and outside personal donations. As programs have expanded it has been important to look for ways to generate income that will help support our relief efforts. Sighisoara has a high rate of unemployment.