Hope and Homes for Children has been working to eradicate orphanages across Romania since 1998. We’re working with the Romanian Government to close all remaining orphanages by 2026.
Why we work in Romania
Over the last 23 years, Romania has made huge strides in reforming its child protection system. When we started work there, over 100,000 children were in orphanages across the country. Today, there are under 3,000 children living in 113 institutions.
But there are still millions of children living in poverty, at risk of entering orphanages.
We wouldn’t have made it without you. God bless you. I would never let go of my children.
Cristina Mihăescu, mother
What we do
We close orphanages and support families
Since 1998 Hope and Homes for Children has succeeded in directly closing 37 orphanages. We have developed a range of initiatives to strengthen families, including a network of day centres, emergency reception centres, mother and baby units and community centres.
We develop alternative care for children without parental care
For children who are unable to return to their biological families we have developed a number of alternative care services including foster care, small group homes, young adult support services, specialist emergency services and family-based care for children with special needs.
We transform child protection systems
We have worked closely with government and civil society in the development of policy, service standards and national action plans to underpin and consolidate reform of the child protection system.
Our work in numbers
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children supported through our programmes
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
children we've prevented from entering orphanages
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
professionals trained on deinstitutionalisation
Our impact
To date we have successfully worked with 20,629 children and their families and helped create the conditions for reforming the child protection system across Romania.
Over the years, over 9,000 participants in our specialist training programmes were equipped with the knowledge and skills to support the deinstitutionalisation process and to work children and families. As a global centre of expertise our Romanian training team have supported the development of new training programmes throughout Europe, Africa and Latin America.
Updated April 2023
"Just don’t let them take our kids away.”
Without the intervention of our team in Romania, the Mihăescu's children would have been taken away from them.When we met them, in March 2021, none of the children were in school and the entire family was living in a one-room home, with no access to running water or electricity.
Ukraine crisis appeal We need your help
Over 300,000 people have crossed the border into Romania to escape the war. We need your support to help them.
Get in touch
Visit the Hope and Homes for Romania website here to contact the team.
Or follow their in-country work on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn
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