So why is there a problem needing your help now? After all,that was years agoand Romania is now in the European Union. Maybe, but progress is very slow and much remains to be done.

We are small: we have three families - l6 children - whom we care for in two villages on the edge of the Carpathian mountains. We give them security, love and joy in a proper childhood and for some, now, in adolescence. Some will be with us for the next fifteen years at least and our houses in Harja willl always be their homes.

But this work costs money and a fair amount. We are spending some £60,000 in Romania this year and the amount is rising month by month as the exchange rate of our funds from the U.K. is devalued. The children grow up and need more. We will ensure they are educated and trained for whatever skills and life they are best suited. Land is a prerequisite as an inheritance in these villages and we aim to buy small plots as the children’s dowries.