About The Sunflower Fellowship Romania

The charity was set up in 2001 to build and fund Casa Valentin; a staffed home in Romania providing a holiday for sick or underpriveleged children.

It also provides a Social programme; allowing poorer school, and kindergarten children a good meal and help with homework, all in a loving, Christian environment.

Casa Valentin is able to accommodate up to sixteen children, for a week at a time throughout most of the year. Children who come are cared for in a comfortable, warm home and enjoy good food and an interesting programme of activities (including visits to places of interest and the local countryside). It is staffed by local Romanian Christians.

Many children who have stayed at Casa Valentin come from institutions such as children's hospices, orphanages and the small family-style units that are being set up by Child Protection departments.

There are many other children who have been diagnosed as HIV positive who continue to live with their families. It is difficult for parents of sick children to cope with this situation and the whole family can benefit from the kind of short break we offer them.

In the 1980's many Romanian children contracted HIV when the Ceausescu dictatorship insisted that sick children be given blood transfusions - which were later found to be HIV infected.

Children with the AIDS virus are surviving quite well where they are receiving loving care and adequate medical attention. Until the final stages of the illness they are lively but tire easily, though they continue to enjoy similar activities to healthy children. Experience has shown that a break away from their normal surroundings can improve their health and general well being immensely.