Every weekend when Tom comes in Romania and we go to visit the kids from Mogosoaia is special. The kids simply love Tom and they are so happy when he comes. He always brings special people with him that are willing to help H2H in every project that has.

But this weekend it was one of the most special weekends of all. Tom traveled to Romania together with Kjell. The story is so beautiful. Tom and Kjell are the ones that build the center from Mogosoaia with their own hands. Tom and him have a beautiful history together as they bought went into the Bucharest ditches in order to write true stories about the kids from there and how can they help them.

Kjell is a 83 years old man, with a charisma and charm hard to find. We all adopted him as "grandpa" and were so happy that we could meet such an important person to what is today "The Door" from Mogosoaia.

Because of the tremendous work that Dana Cristescu does, Tom and Kjell were in a live radio show at Delta RFI, in which they talked with Tiberiu Crisan, the producer of the show, about their beginnings in the social life of Romania, Bucharest specifically and the work as a therapist that Tom does.

Of course we went to the kids and we watched movies, we took some pictures and we even played in the snow.

The beauty of the weekend doesen't stop here.

We went to Oliver's studio and we recorder the H2H song that Magnus wrote and sings, together with the kids. This is for a project that H2H want to make: a CD with special songs, a H2H CD that has the purpose to promote what H2H does and bring people that want to donate for H2H projects.

In the same time we met beautiful people that came with ideas for the our kids from Mogosoaia and not only.

At the end of the week-end we felt that it was a busy one, that we have talked a lot and put on the paper summer projects, we met important people and did future plans. We are all so exciting and feel that h2H is going to grow a lot.

30th of November, Saint Andre Day

We are all familiar with Halloween and the traditions and customs that this celebration bring. But do we know the customs in our own country? Do we know if there is something similar to this?

We asked the kids this and the answer was, as we expected: no. So, because of this we organized an event in order to celebrate Saint Andre (Sfantul Andrei). So we said that it will be a day in which we'll cook and paint and after this will sit together and listen the kids while they are telling us what they have found about this Romanian tradition.

The day started good. We came to the kids home and started to prepare the ingredients for the  meal. Some of the kids helped us to prepare what we have decided to cook and the rest stood at the table and paint some gyps figurine.

We decided to prepare macaroni with shrimps, some small sandwiches with olives, mozzarella cheese and cherry tomatoes,  fish eggs and fruit salad. We know that almost nothing from our menu had any connection with traditional Romanian food, but we had to feed almost 40 people that came - the kids and friends of us that usually come to the center to vist the kids.

Roxana Chihai and hes husband was with us and helped us a lot in cooking and preparing a beautiful dinner and with this occasion we thank her. In the same time Flo Petrescu became one of our good friends that comes to the center and immortalise all the beautiful moments that we have with the kids.

So the evening developed good. We prepared a beautiful dinner, we arranged the food on the tables and had candle lights. On the opposite part of the room there was the table with the kids painted figurine. After we eat healthy and plentiful dinner the moment that we had all been waiting for: is Saint Andre better then Halloween?

We all went in the living room and saw that the kids really prepared them selfs for this evening. They had papers in their hands with what they have found about Saint Andre. They know that Saint Andre is the protector of Romania and it is known that on the eve of 30th of November charmed and in this eve the bad spirits - the ghosts, the vampires, the hunted souls, the dead people - come to life and come to the places that they have been when they were alive. To have protection we have to put garlic on your windows and doors.

The kids loved not only this story but more others that Laurentiu, Roxana's husband told them. We talked a little about the history of this celebration and what other interesting and beautiful celebration we have. We finished close to the midnight and we decided that from now on we'll be happy and proud to celebrate the Romanian tradition rather then the American ones.

Stop for a second! Close your eyes, take a deep breath and let your mind and spirit travel back in time, right where you were still starring at the world like at an unexpected miracle.

Are you there yet? Are you able to smell the sweet scent of your childhood Christmas?

On this 20th of December, about 40 people signed up for this unbelievable journey. Sitting in the living room of The Door Children Home in Mogosoaia, waiting patiently for the miracle to happen, we understood once again the true meaning of Christmas. For more than one hour, note by note, their voices became lauder and clearer. Full of hope and cheerfulness, these kids spread light through their acting, singing and dancing.

Near the Christmas tree, always aware of Santa's reaction, our children gave us the most beautiful present. They reminded us that life goes on no matter what. Sometimes, driven by our problems, we forget what life is all about, but during this magical evening, through every dancing step and all the beautiful carols, these children stated that smiling or crying, but always full of hope and with our heads held up high, life can be beautiful if we want it that way.

During that hour, they allowed us to be part of their fairytale world. They sang Christmas Carols in Romanian, Norwegian and Italian and they danced on a traditional Romanian song. While the little ones told us a story about how Santa wanted to sabotage Christmas, the teenagers moved on the beat of an international Christmas song.

At the end, every child received his present from Santa's hands. The genuine happiness was breathtaking. During that evening, the kids gave us the chance to see the spirit of Christmas through our adult eyes. For someone looking desperately for hope, this 20th of December became a miracle and a testimony of the existence of a Greater Good.

This year was an amazing ride for the Romanian H2H Voluntary Hands. We learned a lot and felt so much more. Thank you Tom Andreassen for bringing light into our lives. Thank you Vivi Lunstrom, Jan Fretman, Magnus Granholt, Alina Andreassen and Dana Cristescu for sharing this great experience with us.

In October, my daughter Julia and I went to India. It was the first visit for Julia and her expectations were high.

We first visited Vinod, out contact in Delhi, and then a school we had been visiting a few times before, where we were greeted by the children singing for us. Last time, we donated school supplies to these children. It is a school for the poorest children in the area and the teachers explained that if the students do not show up – the teachers will do a housecall to find out why. Often, the parents prefer to have the children at hom, helping out earning money to the family instead. We will continue to support this school.

Suman, a woman living on the street outside of Vinod's was taken to the hospital with our help after a previous visit. The test results showed that she suffered from HIV. She has now been treated with blood transfusion and medicine – all paid for by contributions to H2H. Feeling well enough – she was transferred to Sahara – an organization and shelter focusing on HIV positive and/or drug abusing women. To help them out of the addiction and teach them how to treat themselves and their condition. There is also a daycare who look after their children for free, while they are at work. At Sahara, handicraft like jewellery, cards, candle holders etc, are made to support the organization.

Both Julia and I were amazed by the warmth of both staff and the women living at the shelter. We have decided to support Sahara in the future to help maintaining their work.

When you think the magic slipped away...

To say that meeting the children from Mogosoaia was a life changing experience is not enough. Since they came into our lives, almost two years ago, every day spent with them was a new lesson about life and love. If every youngster had the patience, courage and willingness to do something great about their lives, as these children have, the world would be a better place.

Following the example of H2H Norway, we, the hands from Romania, decided to organize en event in order to raise money for the education of the children from Mogosoaia. Because we're surrounded by great hearts and souls, the idea came to life easier than we thought. Dana Cristescu from PromArt, a close friend of ours and one of the most amazing persons we've ever met, did everything humanly possible to transform this event into something worth remembering.

Thinking about the perfect location, we came up with Clubul Taranului. Intimate and full of positive energy, this place proved to be the perfect host.

The next step was to contact the bands that we thought would accept play for this noble cause. To our surprise, big names from the Romanian music industry, such as, Maria Raducanu, Alina Manole, Cornelia Tihon, Silvia Stefanescu and Band to Rent and the Quartus quartet accepted our invitation without thinking it twice.

The surprises didn't end here. When we thought the list of guests was completed, Tom announced that 3 artists from Sweden and Norway signed up for the event. VIVI, a great artist and a marvelous person, who, even without knowing the children, decided to give them all the money obtained from the download of her latest single, LUCKY BASTARD, MAGNUS GRANHOLT, the vocalist from Sharing! Out Loud, now, an old friend and supporter of H2H and the guys from H´kon and Joppe.

We had the people and the location. Things couldn't go wrong!

Between each representation, the children from Mogosoaia chose a favorite picture from Tom's exhibition. After explaining their choice, Tom told us the story behind each photo. The moment was completed by the auction held by Dana Cristescu. As we expected, all the pictures were sold.

To everyone's surprise, the kids went on stage and enchanted us with two songs they had prepared with Tom and Magnus. We had the chance to hear the H2H anthem and a very famous Norwegian song, "Skyfri Himmel". It was a magic moment that brought tears of happiness into everyone's eyes.

The pictures will recreate the atmosphere from the event, will show you the emotion that was floating in the air.

We want to send a special THANK YOU to everyone who took part at the organization of the event, and to those who came and supported our cause. During that night we experienced a miracle. The LOVE was tangible.

Did you know that people you've never seen before can lift your spirit in a matter of seconds, that a couple of words are enough to make you believe all over again in the power of good and love?

We've seen movies, we've heard stories, but living it on our own skin was more intense and real than we could have ever imagined.

On the 15th of November, Tom arrived in Bucharest in order to make the last arrangements for the H2H concert, scheduled for Friday, 18th. Full of energy and good vibe, he brought along some of his closest friends, VIVI, JAN FRETMAN and MAGNUS GRANHOLT. We knew nothing about each other, about our lives, but the connection that was established was so powerful and real that we realized we didn't need anything else.

Dana Cristescu, one of the most important persons when talking about the organization of the H2H event in Bucharest, made sure that everyone in this country heard about our benefit concert. She arranged for our foreign artists to be present at some important Romanian radio and TV shows:

Kanal D – Draga mea prietena

http://dragameaprietena.kanald.ro/Editii/2011-11-16-68/

TVR 1 – Loteria Romana

http://www.loto.ro/jocuri/lozul-cel-mare

Since you've already read about the H2H event from Clubul Taranului, I'm just going to tell you that it's been a while since I've felt so much love coming from so many different persons. We were blown away by the genuine reaction of those who were present at the event. For five hours, more than 100 people had the same purpose: helping the children from Mogosoaia. It was magical, and, we the hands from Romania, Sweden and Norway were there to witness it.

The next day, the fairytale become even more vivid. Tom, Vivi, Jan Fretman, Magnus Granholt, and we, the voluntary hands from H2H Romania visited the kids. Shy at first, the children soon relaxed and showed us what unconditional love truly means. Vivi, Jan, Magnus and Tom offered us a private concert and then, Vivi, showed some of the girls a few ballet steps. The children loved every second spent with them, took advantage of all the knowledge and talent and now all they do is counting down the days till their next visit.

Five days was all we had. Five days of joy, smiles, courage and inspiration. Five days of beautiful people and positive energy.

Till the next time, we love you all!

One day Tom had an ideea: how wou;d it be, if we would try to introduce education with theater at the kids in Mogosoaia? At the beginning the idea was little and we didn't know how to put it on tracks. We took time, read books, watched different video with children and we came to a plan. We decided to start by doing different games, games that are made in Theater Universities, firs year and then, little by little to star, together with the kids, write a play that they can play and performed later in order to raise some money for them-self.

Day 1

It was a difficult day. I personally know the kids for two years and we spent lot of time together. They know Alexandra Enescu too. The difficult part, at the beginning, was introducing them to Adina Cristescu, an actress who accepted to be part of our project. We had the introduction and then we started to play. The kids took "the playing" as fun, at the beginning. Then we explained them the importance of the games, the abilities that those games develop, if we treat them seriously and we concentrate a little bit. The two hours of playing finished...See you next Sunday!

Day 2

We become more familiar one with each other and we started to treat the games with fun and joy, but with responsibility. Because it was our second encounter, the games were more easily played by the kids and the two hours flew so quick. They understood better the utility of the games and they were serious in doing good and trying to be themselves, expressing themselves free with no exhibitions.

We did games that have the goal to develop their memory and how they and exercise their ability to memorize.

We are home after a great trip to Romania. We had some meetings and got new members of "H2H´s voulentary hands" We are very happy for this becouse we need a lots of hands to help us. This is people who voulentary visit the children home, read for the kids, help them with home work and play with them. 

One of the days we stayed almost the whole day at the childrenhome. We reharsed with the kids for our upcomming concert the 18th november. The children will there sing a norwegian song during this concert written by Bjørn Eidsvåg a very well known singer songwriter here in Norway. All the income from this concert will be used for education of this kids. 

In connecton with our last trip to Romania in October 2011 we made a new logo that we will use on T-shirts. Frøydis Pettersen and Tom Andreassen put their handprints on a paper and then we made a red 2 there. This print we took with us to Romania and two of the children form the childrenhome made the yeallow and green hands. In november 2011 we will arrange a concert in Romania where all the income will be used for education for this children. And together with Tom Andreassen from H2H they will preforme a norwegian song wearing this T-shirts. 

Hand 2 Hand (H2H) is a fantastic help organization that has 2 wonderful mottos:

"Less paper and more action", and "One can't help all but all can help One".

The work they do is dedicated and effective.  One of the projects supports orphan kids in Romania in different ways, for example educational funding, benefit concerts, exhibitions and arranging activities involving the kids in different cultural engagements to restore their motivation, faith and self esteem.

For the last 3 years I have supported H2H in different ways and I have been invited to Romania between November 15-19 to appear on TV and Radio shows to promote the single and support their cause and I will make sure that all profit from downloads worldwide of my new single Lucky Bastard goes to help these kids.

You can also help these children through buying the single and share this message with all your friends.

A lot of people that helps a little is all it takes!

DOWNLOAD HERE

Love ViVi

We will again arrange art&aid here in Halden - Norway. From 14th to 16th of october 16 artists will participate in the exhibition, glass, welding, tattoo and pictures. Saturday evening it will be a special concert. Claes Neeb, Mikael og Hamlet, Per-Morten Nilsen and Magnus Granholt will preform for us. We hope to see many people there during the weekend.