In 1990, the world was shocked by images emerging from Romania, which had just thrown off Communism. Throughout the country, tens of thousands of abandoned children had been warehoused in abysmal orphanages resembling concentration camps.

Nearly three decades later, much in Romania has improved, but much work remains to be done. Children are still being abandoned today, at rates only slightly lower than the Communist years. While conditions in state institutions have greatly improved since the 1990s, they remain dismal places for children to grow up. The law forbids children under age two from being placed in orphanages, but many children’s hospitals operate as de facto orphanages for abandoned babies. (And this is certainly a better option than life on the street.)

At Romania Reborn, we rescue abandoned children from the state system and place them into families. We identify vulnerable children through hospitals, youth shelters, and sometimes a direct call from police or child protection officials. While children are sometimes placed in temporary care, the goal for every child is permanence in a forever family.