The Press
   
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Advertiser & Times - 8th April 2000

Sponsorship Needed For Lorry To Romania

Help us find a lorry! Clockwise from left: Ann Croft, Zoe Noon, Mike Browne & 8 year old Millie Smith, from Pennington, who has collected toys to send out to Romanian Children.  

A 38 ton articulated lorry & driver, or £3000 to fund this, is urgently needed by the New Life Into Romania charity, for a 10 day excursion to Romania.

Local photographer Mike Jay Browne & his fiancee Zoe Noon have teamed up with New Life Into Romania organiser Ann Croft, and are booked to go to Romania Romania from 1st to the 10th of May, to produce a calendar to raise funds and awareness of the plight of the homeless children. Zoe will be working with children in the orphanages and taking photos so that children who have donated their toys can really see where, and with whom they end up.

The transport and accommodation need self funding, but many organisations are helping out. Stanwell House Hotel has provided bedding, local schools and Brownies groups have given toys, Fuji UK are sponsoring the photographic materials and have donated a box of Fuji sweat shirts to hand out. Avalon Imaging in Ringwood are handling processing, The Royal Photographic Society will host an exhibition at it's galleries in Bath, H.E.Figgures in Lymington have donated a video camera and Meridian Television will be using the story in a special news feature.

New Life Into Romania has been sending aid and opening orphanages in Romania for eleven years, and has collected "yet another mountain of stuff" to send out. But unfortunately, this time, the £3000 needed for the lorry to take all this has not materialised. If anyone is in a position to help with either money or a lorry and driver, please contact Ann Croft on 01425 613404.

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Southampton Daily Echo - 23rd June 2000

Limitless love for little ones

Photographer Mike Jay Browne reflects on his recent trip to Romania, where he spent time in children's homes and saw how aid sent from this country was being used.

Generous: Hampshire youngsters like Ben & Sarah Evans are sending toys to Romanian children like Gabbi (far right).

    

About 10 weeks ago I decided to get rid of some unwanted clothes. Being warm but not smart clothes my fiancée Zoë & I wanted them to go to Kosovo refugees or somewhere they would be needed, but we were surprised how difficult it was to find a way to send stuff out.

Eventually the trail led to Ann Croft who runs New Milton based charity New Life Into Romania, which sends aid to Romanian orphanages. As a professional photographer I’ve always wanted to do something photojournalistic, to highlight something not so well known and maybe bring about some awareness, transformation and joy at the same time. We had to go.

We visited both street children and kids in private as opposed to state orphanages, looking at who they are, how they live and the difference aid sent out from here makes to their lives. There’s so much negative feeling towards aid to Romania and so much attention drawn to corruption that we wanted to show the other side of the coin.

Corruption does exist and from time to time things do go missing, and not only in Romania. Happily there was no sign of it in the five orphanages we visited. They were all clean, warm, loving places which really brought the message home. If we don’t support the efforts of a brave country, struggling to change from communist to market economy after bankruptcy and revolution, because of some well publicised events the joy and transformation of these kids lives would not happen.

We’ve all seen the images of children laying six to a urine soaked cot in state orphanages and we all find it unacceptable. So do the Romanians. And it’s easy for us to point an accusatory finger at them - we’re not financially bankrupt. Romania has to think long and hard about where to spend its money and revitalise the economy so it can have fully functional hospitals for all it’s people, worthwhile employment, - clean, warm, loving state orphanages.

We followed the trail of some toys donated by Ben & Sarah Evans in New Milton, out to Romania on Ann Croft’s lorry. Not wanting to show favouritism, Zoë put the toys out in a common room and let the kids choose themselves. Ben’s ‘Car Capers’ jigsaw found a home with two boys, Radu and Feli. And eight year old Gabbi fell in love with Sarah’s pink cuddly Rabbit. Gabbi came to Casa Nostra orphanage three years ago. When he first arrived he didn’t speak for three months and is still the size of a five year old.

Each is orphanage is called a home and home life is simulated as much as possible. There are three ‘families’ of eight children at Casa Nostra, each with their own apartment within the building. Each family has it’s own ‘mothers’ who are paid staff who take the roll of parent. Unlike adults, children rarely pretend to be comfortable with anyone they don’t like and something that struck us about the orphanages Ann is involved with was the effortless bond of love between the kids and staff.

During the last two weeks of November there will be an exhibition of the photographs I took entitled New Life… at The Royal Photographic Society, Milsom Street, Bath. And I’m trying to set up another more local one so the many wonderful people who have contributed to Romanian orphans can see what a difference they make. Thank you to all the people who put odds and ends in a bag marked Romania - you make a huge difference.
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Bath Star - 2nd December 2000

Romanian Pictures on Show

Cultural attaché Ramona Mitrica with photographer Mike Jay Browne  

Romanian cultural attaché Ramona Mitrica attended the launch of an exhibition celebrating Romanian children at the Royal Photographic Society in Bath.

The exhibition in the Members' Gallery, which will run to 5 December, is of pictures by Lymington based photographer Mike Jay Browne, who visited Romania earlier this year.

An established wedding photographer, Mr Browne branched into photojournalism for for his Romanian exhibition to portray the children in a positive light. Mr Browne said: "I've often felt there's too much negativity behind the pictures used by charities to ask for help."

His images have been used in a calendar which is on sale at the RPS to raise for new Romanian children's homes.

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Advertiser & Times 22nd February 2001

Photographer's "New Life" Romanian Exhibition

Left to right: John Scott, sponsor from The Camera Shop; Pauline Elsworth, Lymington Mayor; Mike Browne, photographer; Ann Croft, New Life Into Romania; David Hartwell, sponsor, FujiFilm  
Romanian wine was served to sixty guests who attended the launch of an exhibition of photographs, which shows the positive side of sending aid to Romanian orphanages, at Stanwell House Hotel in Lymington on Thursday evening.

The exhibition entitled New Life... by Lymington photographer Mike Jay Browne, shows the huge difference a few unwanted items sent out from here make in the lives of these children.

“We all know of the harrowing conditions associated with Romania’s homeless children.” Said Mike “My wife Zoë and I were very apprehensive when we visited the country in May last year and were surprised		   to find another side to of the story to that which is generally portrayed.

Through the exhibition and accompanying text I’ve tried to explain how the situation arose, and show how completely lovable these children are and what a huge difference a little help can make.”

The exhibition is free and open every day from 9.00 am to 9.00 pm until Thursday 8th March, before it moves on to the Romanian Ambassador’s residence in London. A calendar to help raise funds for two new children’s homes is available at hotel reception.

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New Forest Post 1st March 2001

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Southampton Evening Echo 12th April 2001

Photographer snaps meeting with
Romania's ambassador

   
Mike Browne (left) with Radu Onofrei & Kevin Wilson, President of the Master
Photographer's Association

A New Forest photographer who used his skills to record the upturn in former revolution-ripped Romania has been honoured by a meeting with the country's ambassador.

Mike Browne from Lymington held an exhibition of his photographs at the official residence of Radu Onofrei, Romania's man in London.

Mike's pictures - many showing bright and happy youngsters - focus on the positive side of a country recovering slowly from political upheaval.

Romania's revolution took place in 1989 and even after twelve years the country is still in need of support - especially for its children.

But Mike says: "In most cases the images we see used to ask for aid are horrific. I have tried to show there's another way.

 

"Dirty and often homeless but laughing and naughty, these children are just everyone else's kids and free of pathos. I want people to fall in love with these children and feel good when they lend a helping hand".

Mike and his wife Zoe visited the Balkan country at the invitation of new Milton based charity New Life Into Romania, which has been sending out aid ever since 1989.

Sponsored by national companies like FujiFilm and local ones like The Camera Shop in Lymington, Mike made a calendar of his photographs from that visit, which has been sold to boost the Romanian aid effort.

For more information on helping New Life Into Romania, contact Ann Croft on 01425 613404.

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