When speaking to one of the founders of this project, I asked for Bianca’s story and the reason why this project began. This was the reply.

 

“I met Bianca when she was a day old.  Her mum was in the maternity hospital and I had gone there to do a scoala mame class (parentcraft).  Adriana, her mother was looking very upset and drawn and when I asked her what was the matter she told me that she had a terrible time at the birth - in fact she had been in the 2nd stage of labour for at least four hours.  She should have had a caesarian section.  I visited her every day while she was in hospital and once she went home, and showed her how to care for the baby.  It was obvious from the beginning that she was going to have problems - she clearly had been brain damaged from the birth.  Anyway normally what would happen would be that her parents would abandon a baby like this but with our support she took her home and our charity supported her and visited her a lot.  She had little support from the hospital, no physio etc as they said it wasn't worth it as Bianca would never be any good.

 

Her parents were very poor and lived on the fourth floor of a block of flats in Sibiu.  There was no bathroom or kitchen when I first went there although later on they added a small kitchenette but they never had their own toilet or shower. I used to visit Bianca every time I went to Romania which in the early days was two or three times a year.  Her mother could not really take her out as there was no lift in the flat, she used to sleep in the V of a sofa bed which mum propped up with a stool so that she wouldn't fall out and she used to leave her for hours with a neighbour looking in now and again. There was nothing else she could do.

 

When she was about 13 or 14 her parents were really having problems.  Her father was an alcoholic and was pretty aggressive towards Adriana.  One year when I went Bianca wasn't at home, I couldn't find her parents but eventually learnt that she had been taken into care as her father had tried to kill both her and her mother.  It took me a while to find out where she was but eventually came across the centre where you are going and she was there.  At 18 she weighed just 18kg.

 

She used to recognize my voice and always smiled - she would have been such a pretty thing.  Of course had she lived in England she would have had therapy from the beginning and been entrally fed, had regular checks from the doctor.  Bianca had none of this.  Romanians have a poor attitude to disability - it will be one of the things that will strike you.  You don't really see disabled people in wheel chairs.  

 

Anyway I would never have come across the centre had it not been for Bianca.  Sadly children are moved into an adult mental health facility once they reach 18 or 19 and often die within 3 months and this is what happened to my poor little Bianca.

 

All the children in the centre were either abandoned at birth and were moved from an orphanage when Romania went into the EU or they were abandoned later because of their disability.  The disabilities vary from severe mental and behaviour problems, Down's Syndrome, hydrocephalus, blindness through congenital cataracts.  They would be in school in this country.  They are all lovely and want lots of cuddles!

 

I have scanned in lots of pictures of Bianca and mum and will be taking them with me to put in the centre when I go in 2 weeks time so you will be able to see them when you go.”