The Nagy Family Story
Elena (39), Imre (40), Iolanda (19) and Alexandru Vlad (9)
Elena Nagy was born in the house she currently shares with her husband and two children. It was built by her great-grandparents over 70 years ago, and was passed down from generation to generation. The house was made from fired adobe bricks, and has degraded steadily over the years. It has only one bedroom, a family room and a hallway that has been transformed into a kitchen. All told the house has just 30 m2 of floor space, far too small for a family of four. They have no running water in their house and must use an outhouse in their garden as a bathroom. Bathing is a sobering experience, as they are forced to wash themselves one at a time using a large bowl.
“In 1999 I saw a video clip on TV about volunteers constructing a house for a needy family”, recalls Elena, “At the time I didn’t know what Casa Draga Casa did exactly, and even if we lived in such a house it never occurred to me to look for an association for help. Afterwards I found out from friends and acquaintances of ours that received help from Casa Draga Casa. I talked with them and I learned that we too could ask for help from them.”
