Welcome to the Romanian Challenge Appeal, the UK charity that laid the foundations for the Romanian Foundation ‘O Nouă Viaţă’. (ONV) Now over 30 years old, we work exclusively with ONV, providing funding and expertise.
Here’s our story :
Back in 1990 our founder, Monica McDaid, enlisted the aid of British TV and presenter Anneka Rice to draw the world’s attention to the plight of thousands of abandoned children living in horrendous conditions in State run institutions in Romania. Anneka and her team of volunteers went out to Romania and renovated a dilapidated psychiatric institution which was home to about 700 young people living in the town of Siret in North East Romania, on the Ukranian border.
Anneka Rice: “It is hard to believe it was in 1990 that we first went out to Siret and discovered such a shocking level of abuse, neglect and despair among 700 + abandoned children. The emotional and physical journey that many of these children have been on since 1990 is extraordinary. It is a tribute to the Romanian Challenge Appeal that so many are now leading fulfilling lives. It is also a tribute to the generosity of the hundreds of volunteers who have moved the Challenge forward. However, the work must not stop here. There are many more who still need RCA’s expertise and support and I think the RCA needs to continue making the impossible possible.”
Our challenge was to nurture and educate as many of our young people as possible to become contributing members of their own society.
Part of our strategy to improve the lives of these young people who were once institutionalised involves moving as many as possible towards independent living. To help us in this quest we have built several family type homes in order to provide a more family orientated environment. One of which was purpose built for a group of seriously disabled young people.people so that they can enter their own community with confidence and enable those, whose childhood has been stolen, to become happy and accepted members of their own society.
- We try to give these young people a purpose in life.
- We try to restore their self respect and give them back their dignity
- We try to develop their social, educational and vocational skills.
- We try to find support of employment for those who are able to work
- We try to empower them in decision making in order to gain more control over their lives.
