Noi Orizonturi/FAVOR, Bucharest, Romania

When the worst flooding in hundreds of years hit the Vrencea area in east central Romania, FCF partner projects Noi Orizonturi and FAVOR were there. Teams transported assistance to the flood zone, delivering tons of food donated by local sponsors.

These flood victims cannot count on their government to restore their lives, as even the worst affected only received about US$ 250 per family in government benefits. So these Romanian families who have lost everything are otherwise faced with a dark future.

Most houses in this area were very simple, 2 or 3 room, mud-and-straw structures. This means that those people who lost their houses are now crowded into huts intended for farm animals or old, abandoned apartment building with holes in the roof and no electricity. So our next stage involves providing the construction material and paint to help these flood victims build new houses.

A retired mechanic we spoke with, who was attempting to see what could be salvaged from the property where he had lived with his 85-year-old mother, expressed: "Thank you very much for coming to help us. You have already given us so much. After speaking with you, I am looking up again and I know that we're going to make it!"