Romania

Sanctuary Children's Home (Ocna-Mures, Romania)

American and Romanian volunteers began rescuing abandoned children from Romanian hospital wards in 1990. They incorporated the first foreign non-profit charity in the centrally located county of Alba in 1992. Since then, the ministry has grown to two campuses comprised of three age-appropriate homes. The original home is dedicated to children under 10 years old, a neighboring house is home to boys aged 10-20, and a nearby girl’s home houses up to 10 girls aged 10-20. It is estimated that Sanctuary has rescued over 120 children since inception.

Prior to Romania joining the European Union in 2007, Sanctuary was actively assisting adoption agencies in placing children in families from the USA, Europe, and Israel. The Romanian government changed its adoption policy in favor of local foster care to comply with EU law. Since then, Sanctuary's mission is to raise the children until they are adults, providing the older teens with vocational training including sewing, hair styling, bicycle repair, and carpentry.

Our organization, Sanctuary International, helps support Fundația Sanctuary, our Romanian counterpart, by representing their needs, collecting funds, and sending contributions. These donations supplement local government funding and contributions from other European and American sources, which cover much (but not all) of the orphanage's operating expenses (food, utilities, schoolbooks, medicine, salaries, etc.). We occasionally earmark funds for special projects like building improvements, dental care, summer activities, and scholarship assistance.