Our first permanent residence, the Villa Boys' Home, was opened in 1994. It was the first of its kind to offer a comprehensive solution to the problem of the abandoned/orphaned street children--a permanent, loving home. This approach has been recognized as a long-term solution to the problem of children dying on the streets.

Several years after opening the Boys' Home, and seeing it filled to capacity, we continued our work on the streets. We encountered many street girls who are especially vulnerable to all kinds of sexual abuse at a very young age. These girls would come to us and beg us to find a home for them. In 1996, we were able to open the House of Hope for Girls and it became a place where these girls could heal, be cared for 24/7 and be educated as well as loved and nurtured.


In early 2004 we launched our newest project, the Village of Hope Baby House. We are so excited because we currently have rescued 8 abandoned babies from the abandoned baby maternity ward of the hospitals and plan to save as many as possible with your help!

 
UPDATE: This project has been discontinued because of new Romanian government regulations stating that children 2 years old and under cannot be in an institutionalized, or group, setting and that all babies deemed abandoned must be placed in maternal assistance. We are beginning renovation on the building to convert it into two family homes as well as an additional outreach for our Life Skills Mentorship program.                            
As of 2002, most of our boys and girls have now been placed in Family Homes with our staff becoming their "mother" and "father".
As of October, 2003, our organization took in 5 boys from an orphanage that closed near our Village of Hope property. These boys now have a place to call home!!
In 1996, while we were encouraged by the provision of our homes for girls and boys, we were still overwhelmed by the many needs of the children still living on the streets, especially during the harsh Romanian winters. We began searching for a building downtown near where many of the street children lived. We were able to rent a small building which became the Hope Rescue Center. The HRC has been providing warm meals, clothing, basic first aid and many other services during the past 7 years. Hundreds of street children and families are being cared for each week.

In 2002, we started an outreach to an abandoned baby hospital, taking some of our staff and volunteers to help the nurses. We help care for, change and hold the babies, as well as provide diapers, formula and other items. Most of all, we give the babies love and attention.
Our project, now in progress, is an undertaking we are calling the Village of Hope. This will be a multi-faceted facility, outside of Bucharest, where we can provide education, recreation, medical care and assistance for up to 200 children. We are now in the process of raising funds to complete this awesome project!
In addition, we have an Apartment for Boys that provides direction and a stable environment for older boys while they finish their education and a Life Skills Mentorship program which assists older teenagers by enabling them to become responsible adults. Along with mentoring these young adults, we also help with their food and housing while they continue their studies and find employment.



Even though we don't have enough facilities to provide all of the street children with a home, Orasul Sperantei (City of Hope--Romanian) is now well-known in the city of Bucharest as a place for real help and loving care.