59 Eastgate
North Newbald
York YO43 4SD

As a result of the images seen on western TV many small charitable organisations entered Romania to help in response to the crisis the country was in. The first volunteers who came to Romania in the early 1990's found children living in dire circumstances.

Children in the institutions were found to be in states of malnutrition, extreme neglect and privation and victim of abuse. All institution facilities across Romania were under resourced. There was a lack of human resources to care for their individual needs (one carer to 20 to 30 children) and a lack of material resources such as essential food items, running water, electricity and inadequate heating systems to counter against the harsh Romanian winters.

Extreme conditions were found across the country in shortages of essential food items, bread queues of two hours or more, lack of essential resources such as medical and water supplies, petrol, gas and frequent power cuts. The country was in economic disaster and a resulting high inflation lead to the local currency Lei becoming valueless. Staff of state run institutions would often work for several months at a time without salary and no reassurance that their full wages would be backdated.

Neuropsychiatric Hospital for Children, closed 2003.